I love Ellen. She's so good at explaining things. She's actually educational. No click bait, rants about tropes, or "YOU CAN ONLY DO UT THIS WAY"ism. Just exactly what the writer needs to know for their particular process.
Hi Guys, I hope you find the start of this new series helpful! I'm hopeful it will assist with clearing up some confusion about plot structure and story construction. I wanted to clarify that I realized after filming that I used the word "novel" when referring to a film at a couple points in the video. Sorry about that! Let me know if you have any questions. Thanks so much for watching! -Ellen
Hi Ellen you are awesome when it comes to story structure I have a question when it comes to the fighting scenes in the story whereas the readers want to see the execution on its conveyed if you can do you think you can do a fighting video whereas you can give an example on the proper us the execution when it comes to the fighting scenes in the story line of your novel. Thank you
Hi Ellen! I love your videos! I was wondering if you could use more visuals? For visual learners, it's so helpful to see tips written out and having signs to distinguish the segments of a longer video. This can help some of us prime our brains to absorb the information we're about to get. I've definitely found that videos with visuals and lists are easier to understand, focus on, interpret, and remember.
Hello! I have super-enjoyed your videos! So many videos address polishing one's novel, when what I'm working on right now are the bones, so I really appreciate all of your videos about developmental editing! I do have one request--is it possible to rename this video so that it says (1st quarter, part one) after the title you have, so that it's easier for viewers to find? I found your other 4 videos first (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th quarter, respectively) and I was looking for this one but initially couldn't find it and went into the 2nd half of 1st quarter somewhat confused. Thanks!
Hi Ellen. Thank you for this great video. 😊 In my current project I am trying to pull of another variation of the status quo/disruption element. I start with three separate scenes of disruptions in the normal lives of the three main characters/entities in the story and then go into their "new" status quo after those disruptions occurred to them and how they try to deal with or in one case repair their normality before they are all pulled into the "big story".
I really appreciate that the focus on this channel is on the writing, rather than on aesthetics and establishing a platform in order to sell books. It really shows in the content.
Your insight is unreal. Other breakdowns I've read/seen on the Status Quo said "Show your protagonist in their everyday world/job" and went no deeper than that. Here we get a reminder to keep things interesting by starting the story on a normal-yet-unusual day. That Hunger Games example was spot-on.
00:01 Intro 02:05 Definitions Catalyst, inciting incident, call to action 04:00 Status quo doesn't mean mundane 06:00 Disruption of the status quo makes the day worse 07:20 Disruption is unexpected but isn't necessarily immediately bad 08:05 Boring/mundane status quo 09:40 Story starts with characters already transitioning from status quo 15:05 Status quo length 1. Uniqueness of status quo 2. How well you can create compelling scenes Don't linger too long Character can still interact with status quo after disruption 22:45 What to include in status quo Status quo conflict explains why character gets involved in main storyline 25:40 Keep the character active 27:50 When not to open with status quo Prologue Flashback Flash forward
I'm so glad these long and complex videos are back! Really only a few youtubers go in that deep on craft. I love doing my dishes and cooking while watching them
@@EllenBrock Hey Ellen you the Empress of the novelist development structure if I say so myself and I do say that respectfully. I don't know if you got the chance to read my post but I wanted to asked if and when you do another video novel story telling if you can do a video segment on the fighting scenes which is pertaining to the execution and examples how its demonstrated whereas the readers can see for themselves without spoon feeding them the answer on how its properly used thank you.
Can’t believe I never realized that the status quo is usually not an actually mundane part of a character’s life. One of those things that are so obvious once you hear them. Thank you :)
Ellen PLEASE don't stop making these in depth videos. They are BEYOND immensley helpful. Im an absolute sponge on ur channel. Ive actually been binging. Lol
I never feel as motivated to write as when I watch one of your videos. The hardest things for me to write are the "Status Quo" and, pretty much, the first page. I almost always skip it and only go back if I think the project is worth finishing. I find it very easy to write Prologues, but I try not to write them because usually I use them as a shortcut instead of using it to make the story better. This video was very helpful. Thank you so much!
I am working on a novel and inmy philosophy of story construction I amended the 2 act structure in my head to mean: Act 1: Establish the status quo, Act 2 deconstruct the status quo, Act 3: the main character reconstructs a new status quo from the ashes of the old. In this model, in Act 1 you want to establish the status quo and then show a challenge to that status quo and how the status quo responds and maintains ordder. This 2 beat structure is fractal in nature, i..e: within each Act you also recreate the status quo of the situation, deconstruct it, and the recnstruct it so you can move to the next Act.
I'm guilty of a long set-up, so hearing the catalyst can occur before the status quo is established/disrupted made me happy, and have that "Aha!" moment. Thank you! :)
Thank you for using examples from such a wide range of movies, spanning decades. I have only seen a few of those you mentioned but I'm aware of the others, mostly. Super helpful. Appreciated! Your content is excellent. 💫
Methodological plotter next! I can't wait to see it. This video was really helpful. I was worried about the length of the 'status quo' in my novel, but based on your criteria I think it earns its length. I'm setting up a sci-fi world, and there's plenty of interesting conflict already happening (a key part of my characters' everyday life is that they get into lots of escapades). I love that you explain how different strategies can produce different effects and work for different kinds of novel, rather than preaching a 'one size fits all' structure.
In Karen Blixen's story, "Babette's Feast," the status quo is long, charmingly boring. it is a master set up of the very slow and unchanging: I often warn my friends to hide their remote control for the first half of this film. The second half explains (and satisfies) everything. Hallie The film garnered ackowlegement among "best foreign" in the 1987 Academy Awards.
That was very validating. I've been second-guessing my choice to use a prologue because "prologues bad" is common wisdom, but the story needed kind of a slow start as the rather cynical protagonist gradually came around to accepting that yes, in fact, no "logical explanation."
Another incredibly informative video! Oftentimes in discussions of writing craft, the status quo gets glossed over in favor of talking about the inciting incident, but I always struggled to establish the world and the protagonist's everyday life in an exciting way. It makes sense to have the status quo be more stressful than is usual, while also displaying the character's routine. Really appreciated the section about how different genres can utilize the status quo, and how different stories need different 'amounts' of status quo established. Thanks so much!
I keep coming back to your videos because you explain things in such a grounded, implementable way... more than any other creator who does videos on these topics! You rock. Thank you!
Back for round two ✌🏻 I hope you realize how invaluable this series is for all of us! Because of you I was able to work through each spot I got stuck on and I finally finished a full manuscript last year 🎉😊
The number of lightbulb moments I had while watching this is astounding! This has been really helpful for me (as a methodological pantser) to understand how story structure works. This is great!
When I’m plotting the next season of my Webtoon, I just turn on Ellen Brock videos and they get the creative juices flowing every time. I can’t remember how many times I’ve recommended the story structure series to people! Rocked my writing world. So glad to see this popping up on my feed again!!
Amazing work. You are a natural teacher! You’re right that the same terms for different plot points is really confusing. I have a cheat sheet that I use as I learn about plot with the main terms experts use for each point, so I can keep them straight. There’s a business in inventing new terms and points... when really we are all looking at the same thing, just through different eyes. I’m not jaded in general as I’m hugely appreciative of these analytical minds that can digest story and elucidate the bones. This video of yours was one of the best I’ve seen!!!
Whenever I'm plotting or revising for structure I come back to your videos. They are so incredibly helpful each time and probably the only reason why I managed to work through some of my earlier "draft monsters" and made them into actual novels. Especially your videos on the Status Quo and the Climax, my personal antagonists ^^
That's how I used my prologue in my debut novel, to hint at the tragedy that comes later in the story, which was Andre's car accident and severe brain injury, and to set up the theme and focal point of Eva striving to keep her wedding vows during adversity.
I watched your plot videos totally out of order (debate, 3rd qtr, 2nd qtr, status quo, climax, 2nd plot point, opening hooks, pinch points...) after watching your intuitive pantser video which led me to your other writer type videos. Long story short, you are an amazing teacher and everything you are putting out is SOOOOO helpful. Thank you Ellen!!
You magically gave a solution the very specific problem I was having about how long to linger in the 'before' section for my character. So helpful! Ahhh!!
Hey Ellen! I love your content and have been subscribed for awhile. I'm an aspiring writer but actually mostly an aspiring editor! I'd love it if you made a video for advice on how to become a novel editor!
This is a great video! Things I found helpful: - you not only listed the different types and lengths of status quo but also WHY a writer might choose one over another - you focused on the purposes and functions of the status quo rather than just the structural elements - lots of examples! I also appreciated how you gave enough context to the examples so that they were helpful even if I hadn't seen that film Can't wait for more videos!
My favourite prologue is the one at the beginning of Game of Thrones. We get a bunch of political knights and castles-style fantasy, but the build up to the Others (white walkers) is slow. So the prologue has three members of the Night's Watch try and find wildlings and come across the Others. And then one of the three Night's Watch ends up deserting which is who Ned Stark beheads in the first chapter. And that leads to them finding the Dire Wolf pups.
I love these videos! I hope the almighty algorithm is nicer to you these days, as your videos make me want to write. Instead of telling me what to do and making me go: "Oh god, another thing for the endless list of everything I'm probably doing horribly wrong" Prologue wise I think Jurassic Park is a good example, both the novel and the movie, even though they are handled slightly differently. Michael Crichton loved using them. There's some mystery as well as "here's a dino cuz that's what you came here for". Then the opening can be slower and work towards what will inevitably go wrong. Stephen King is fond of them as well, as a lot of his stories take place in ordinary towns with ordinary people with a supernatural twist added to the mix. He often shows an example of that underlying threat and then he can literally go to town bringing the whole town alive. Which is what he does best. The Lord of the Rings movies really benefited from a prologue as there's just so much the viewers need to know that isn't easily squeezed into the format of movie vs novel. What they came up with was pretty clever, with Galadriel as a narrator for a quick overview of sauron and the ring over the last three thousand years. Because she was there all along, as was Elrond who we see fighting. This brings home so many elements that would be difficult to pull off otherwise. It also highlighted the epic portion that wouldn't be seen again until much later, although it didn't really need it to show the fantasy. As hobbits are pretty fantasy too. Unfortunately LotR's narrated prologue inspired a trend in movies that I often feel don't need it nearly as much.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I’m enjoying these videos. I’m many years into trying to write my first novel. The more I learn the more I come to understand how important it seems to be to map out the story in advance of the actual writing. Thanks again.
Your videos are superb for clarifying some of the sticking points I have gone through since starting my novel. I know there isn’t a set structure and it is critical to be yourself in whatever style you decide but this means avoiding glaring mistakes. Your tutorials do this for me. Many thanks
Very informative! The status quo usually varies by genre, so for instance I have a novel I'm working on that doesn't "fit" entirely 100% into one category, so the status quo takes turn clashing with the various plot lines that intersect at certain plot points (for reference, there's two inciting incidents for each main character, as it's dual protagonists). The important thing to keep in note is something like a horror story usually has the element of suspense heighten at the "point of contact" with the supernatural force, whereas something like the superhero genre(if oversaturated), takes place at the point which the power forces the hero to make their choice to become one or not.
I'm really glad you brought up stories that kinda skip the status quo. I am writing a memoir, and I feel my story falls into this category. I've worried so much that I was skipping the inciting incident. But anyway I've tried to work it, starting further back felt way too front heavy, or like there is too much exposition and back story that just wasn't adding much to the story. I feel better about my choice in where to start now. Thanks!
As per usual, very helpful stuff, explained clearly, already finding it useful, and a pleasure to watch. Hoping I can join your patrons as soon as I get the chance (still out of money)
I've been stuck for MONTHS trying to figure out the status quo of two projects and your video just helped me gain so much clarity about everything, I literally can't thank you enough! Also, totally unrelated, but I really like your glasses, I think they make you look very stylish, lol.
Super helpful, as always. I think I am a methodological plotter, so I'm impatient for that video, but I'm interested in all the videos you upload, in any order you see fit.
I love how you don't edit out small mistakes, like "her characters" when you meant "her family" when talking about Juno. I don't know why, maybe it makes the video more relatable (?). You're amazing, that's tjr point 🤩
Wow... This video came at the right moment. I've finished the 1st act of my 1st draft a few days ago and read through it again yesterday. And something about the beginning just felt off. Didn't really know what and it drove me crazy. Now, after watching this video I actually realize that my way of writing the status quo is really just too mundane and boring as hell. I can achieve the very same thing if I skip the first few scenes I've written entirely and get to the fun stuff much, much sooner. Thank you so much for making this video!
So helpful as always! This is the part I always struggle with and then I get disheartened about the whole project. There is a lot of help out there for inciting incident, later plot points but not so much for the status quo. Thank you!
Hey Ellen, thank you so much. The video‘s length is perfect to explain a rather complex concept. Your examples are really helpful and support totally what you want to explain. I simply love your new videos where you dive deeper into a specific topic. You have the rare gift of being able to explain things without just repeating what you said before but using always new phrases/examples. Especially the beginning of a novel can be quite hard and now you gave me something to think about - what I want to convey and what my plot needs.
Thanks. This was very helpful for me when doing the first edit. I was unsure if I was doing the beginning right or wrong, and this convinced me I had at least roughly the right idea. Namely, whatever is fine as long as it's interesting and helps the rest of the story. But at the same time, this video gave me some new ideas how to possibly re-shape the chronology in my story. So, thak you again.
Funny enough, the only movie I've watched out of all these is the Gremlins 😅 But you explain well enough that no watching is required. I'm waiting for the intuitive pantser :)
Okay I took notes throughout the video because it helps me to process and remember the info. These notes can't substitute watching the video of course since it goes in depth and Ellen explains everything so well. But I thought it might be useful for someone to read a summarised version after watching the video
Just started reading HOLES by Louis Sachar with my son. It starts with Stanley getting off the bus, just like you mentioned. Harry Potter is a good example of a middle-grade book that doesn't follow this format. Harry isn't a regular kid, and the intro establishes this well by delaying his entry to Hogwarts.
I was thinking about Harry Potter too. There's a longer status quo to establish that he's not a normal kid, and to explain why he is up for taking the drastic step of entering Hogwarts (and basically this whole new world that he knows nothing about).
It's funny... my first draft had a lore dump... then the inciting incident. I rewrote it. Now I have a status quo with slowly creeping doom leading up to the inciting incident. The rewrite is so much better.
Another incredibly informative video! So often the 'status quo' is glossed over in discussions on writing craft in order to talk about the inciting incident, but I often struggled to establish a baseline of what the world and characters are while also keeping things exciting. It makes a lot of sense to have the 'status quo' be more stressful/important than the character's everyday life, while also displaying their usual routine. Really appreciated the explanations of how different genres can utilize the status quo, and how different stories need different 'amounts' of status quo to work. Thanks so much, Ellen!
Good to know that I've done it right. My novel starts with my character shopping for a new suit with his overbearing mother on the day before starting a new job that he knows he's not qualified for (he lied on his resume). It's super uncomfortable and stressful for him in different ways. Then he enters his new stressful world, but the real inciting incident for the story is three chapters later. :)
I subscribed to Ellen to get ideas about conversational storytelling and saw this lady with a bun and glasses and thought she was a different person! 😯
I don't know, maybe it is necessary to clarify the point that this "normal" day usually has some problems, for the benefit of authors who are really new to the process, but I'd point out two things about it: 1.All stories are conflicts, and virtually all scenes are stories. 2. The scenes of the protagonists' "everday life" are of everyday conflicts. Even in the Hunger Games there's nothing special about the selection process to her, the shadow of the games looms over her and everyone else at all times, and the Hunger Games happens every year, the big surprise of the day is the selection of her sister. It is a more stressful day than normal but it's a stress that has settled in for a long time, she's used to it. It wouldn't make sense to start the story much earlier because the status quo is stress (and this leads directly into that change that makes things worse) which I think is a common trait for protagonists in film and literature. Like in Breaking Bad Walt seems to be having a particularly bad day (on his Birthday no less) but this gives us the impression that "particularly" bad days are not unusual for Walt. At least not as far as he's concerned anyway
Loved this video and explanation of different ways to disrupt the status quo. I do have a question (which you might be answering in your next one 😬): You mentioned that many guides refer to the call to adventure, inciting incident, and catalyst as interchangeable. I prefer to view them as entirely separate beats. For example, in Harry Potter, one might view the snake incident at the zoo as the inciting incident because it introduces the audience to the first hint of status quo disruption; the letters flying thru the chimney as the (literal) invitation or call to adventure; and Hagrid's appearance on the island and subsequent explanation of Harry's background (along with affirmation that magic is real) as the catalyst. When studying story structure and in your own writing, do you have a preference? And what terms do you use? I'm fascinated with plot and the various ways authors script their beats. Thanks again for all your excellent information!
Really excited for this series! What i am struggeling right now, is that i am in constant fear (while plotting) of plotholes, that sneak into my story. I have a great first Act put somehow i dont believe myself to execute the story from that point, because there are things which feel "constructed" and not natural. :(
I recently read some fantasy -- Priest by Matt Colville -- where I felt like the status quo wasn't given nearly the attention it might have normally gotten given its uniqueness, and it sort of lent a maturity to the book? Like it expected me to figure it out along the way. I didn't dislike it at all. Not to say books that do spend a lot of time on the status quo for unique settings are coddling the reader, but skipping that stuff when it was expected (at least I expected it) felt refreshing.
I think you can also break up the status quo somewhat across the story if you need to - if you have a complicated setting you don't need to front load it, just demonstrate it when the information is/will start to be relevant.
Ellen, your videos are excellent! I really enjoyed this discussion, and it's not a topic I often see addressed. Since you're going into this level of detail about plot structure, can you speak a little about the role of flashbacks in the section of a plot prior to the first plot point? For instance, if a status quo has been going on for some time, is it permissible/advisable to flip between the present moment and memories? I feel that I read this often, and yet and somehow afraid to practice it dues to widespread advice not to info dump or use flashbacks at all!
Always happy to see a new video from you! Would you consider making a video about how to keep things interesting when the protagonist doesn't have a lot of agency? I'm writing a coming-of-age novel where the entire point is that the kid is living a very disruptive life and he'll only gain agency towards the end, but I'm worrying how I can make this exciting for the reader without sacrificing my entire plot idea.
This is definitely something I want to cover. I need to first gather some examples of films and novels that are a strong example of this type of story.
I'd love to see something on this too. One of the character flaws of my protagonist is not trusting herself enough to take initiative. But all the writing advice says your character has to be constantly taking initiative.
@@jasonbaker6274 Hmmm...that seems a very broad statement. I just read a book about a protagonist who had procrastination as one of her faults, and it was very interesting. I know that a book where the character never does anything would be BORING, but I still feel like you could have a character who struggles with decisive action.... if you do it well.
