Quotes About Plot

Emotions serve characters' purposes. That is their motivation.

When WCW first really began to enjoy the success that we enjoyed, it was because of the story lines that we were putting out in front of people.

A subplot is a distinguishing characteristic of the novel; the short story, for example, does not need subplots.

The goal, first and foremost, is to tell a satisfying - entertaining - story.

I knew there was a story; once you find a dog with a fork through it, you know there's a story there.

You double-crossed me, MacVeagh," continued Hollenbach, his speech... You've joined the plot to discredit me and disgrace the administration—for what exact purposes, I don't know yet.

Without a twich of exertion, Redd sealed his lips with glue. Who wants to kill him? The Cat raised a paw. Siren and Alistare raised their hands. Mmmmmm mmm mmm, protested Jack.

The Baron could see the path ahead of him. One day, a Harkonnen would be Emperor. Not himself, and no spawn of his loins. But a Harkonnen. Not this Rabban he'd summoned, of course. But

It is easy to be beautiful; it is difficult to appear so. I admire you, beloved, for the trap you've set. It's like a final chapter no one reads because the plot is over.

If you read a book that's fiction and you get caught in the characters and the plot, and swept away, really, by the fiction of it - by the non-reality - you sometimes wind up changing your reality as well. Often, when the last page is turned, it will haunt you.

You run the risk, whenever you build your story around a central mystery, of either letting it go too long, or revealing it too soon and then taking the wind out of the sails of the narrative.

Whether it's 'The West Wing' or anything else, my first thought is always, 'What's a good story?'

Action-adventure, that genre, only works for me if you can care about the characters. If the hero's not taking some kind of a journey, then there are no stakes - and no stakes, then you don't care if he lives or dies, wins or loses.

You can read a dozen different textbooks or how-to manuals that will tell you the basic rules of what makes a story - a beginning, a middle, and an end.

For me, the first thing is to tell a good story.

Anyone who has ever tried to plot a detective mystery knows that the hardest thing to come up with is motive.

If you look at the history of the letter in the novel, small changes in the British postal service became really significant because of how quickly people are suddenly able to communicate, and letters actually arrive at the intended time, and they arrive to the correct recipient. All of this is really important to a plot.

The most important aspect of any story, to me, is character.

In re-reading 'Presumed Innocent,' the one thing that struck me - and I re-read the book four different times in writing 'Innocent,' interested in different things each time - but I did think there were a couple of extra loops in the plot that I probably didn't need. The other thing that sort of amazed me was how discursive the book was.

The one thing I would like more credit for is being part of a movement which involves recognising the importance of plot and asserting that books of literary worth could be written that had plots.

Each time I'm starting to work on a film, even if I love to settle the plot in the real world, I start to think about the plot as a fairy tale, or a dream, or a nightmare... As if it was the best way to tell the truth about characters or narration, instead of realism.

You asked what is the secret of a really good sketch. And it is a sketch is a small play. It's got a beginning, and a middle and an end. It should have a plot; it should have the characters, conflict. It is a little play. And in it, will be funny stuff.

What I loved about romances was the character, and I think I still bring that to my novels. What romance taught me was that the 'who' will always matter more than the 'what.' It's fun to come up with plots, but I want to make sure the reader cares about who it's happening to.

I've learned that in the theater the story is everything. Every lyric, every line and every musical gesture has to propel the journey of a given character or the overall plot.