Plotting your fiction novel a la Avatar

Cameron's characters, Jake and Neytiri have vastly conflicting goals that create good conflict in Avatar.

This is the third of a three-part blog about what you can learn from James Cameron’s hugely successful film, Avatar.

 In parts one and two, universal theme, high stakes, and new twists were discussed. Today, we’ll look at the tried-and-true concept of GMC .. or GMCD (Goal-Motivation-Conflict-Disaster).

Solid story, good old GMC. Cameron’s stories are character-driven, his characters highly motivated and invested in their stories. This engages the reader and makes him or her care about the characters’ fates, as well, creating memorable, satisfying stories.  Because character-driven plotting makes for seamless, compelling stories, it’s my favorite workshop to present.                                                    

See Avatar.  Use it for the colorful, fantastic inspiration it is to create your own best work.  I’ll leave you with the delicious tidbit that inspired this column.  It’s taken from James Cameron’s February, 2010 TED talk.

Cameron says:   Take risks.  NASA has this phrase that they like to use: “Failure is not an option.” But failure has to be an option in art and in exploration because it’s a leap of faith.  No important endeavor that required innovation was done without risk. You have to be willing to take those risks. So that’s what I’d leave you with, is that, in whatever you’re doing, failure is an option–but fear is not.

 

GMC – the juice that drives the story

GMC.  It’s a mantra

GMC-Clarice's desperation to silence the lambs provides the capital M-Motivation that drives her out of her comfort zone and makes the action riveting.

fiction writers have heard frequently, a principle that can add power to your writing.

I recommend Debra Dixon’s book, “GMC: Goal, Motivation & Conflict, the Building Blocks of Good Fiction.”.

While there’s a huge following for Dixon’s GMC, some writers think the concept is too simple, that it can become formulaic and predictable.  Boring, even.

Craft is more apparent in children’s stories, which makes them a good source for observing writing principles in action. More sophisticated stories require a closer look but possess the same GMC format, a format that strengthens a protagonist’s motivation and the progression of the story.

Without motivation, there is no juice.  Imagine Clarice in “Silence of the Lambs” as she explains to Lecter that she hears the lambs crying … and that it kind of interrupts her sleep on some nights.  She may even shrug as she says it.

By the dialogue and body language, the reader is cued that Clarice doesn’t much care, and if the character doesn’t care, we don’t care, either. Any heroic or dramatic actions this character may later take to silence the lambs won’t be convincing to us, later.

Characters grow when they face their fears. Like us, they’re quite comfortable with the status quo. It hurts, embarrasses, frightens them to step outside of their comfort zones and grow. What makes them do it is motivation.

The intensity must be there.  Clarice can’t just sort of want the crying to go away – she must *desperately* want it to go away.

This strong motivation is what carries her through very difficult moments in the story. Without it, she’d just leave Lecter and the next victim to their private hells and perform within the rules and requirements of her job.

That’s just one example. In GWTW, imagine how flat this classic story could be if Scarlet just “sort of” liked Tara.

GMC is the juice that drives the story.