8butterflyboy8 wrote in charloft 😦busy

Munday Plotting Mwahahaha

Today, we invite you to look at one particular school of thought, which lays out 37 Classic Conflicts (thanks m_benitez) that are recurring themes in much literature.

Which of these sources of drama and tension can you see in your own character's story? Tell us about them, illustrate away with examples!


All righty, let's go down and see what's what:


  • Deliverance: People getting saved all over the place, especially in the later parts of the story. A general theme is Victor getting "delivered" from what would have been a fairly boring life. And Victor ends up saving all of his closest friends as well as Secundus in general from the Queen in the climax.
  • Crime Pursued by Vengeance: How Barkis meets the Queen, more or less (he's hiding from the cops), and Christopher and Richard get a chance at their revenge in the upcoming Chapter 18.
  • Pursuit: Victor gets chased by a lot of things: his parents, monsters, Alice. . . He's good at running.
  • Disaster: What would you call the Queen's attempted takeover of Secundus?
  • Falling Prey To Cruelty Of Misfortune: Anybody who gets abducted by the Queen's tentacles. Especially Victor.
  • Abduction: As above, the Queen kidnaps a lot of people in the climax. Victor is just the most notable, because of her plans for him. . .
  • The Enigma (temptation or a riddle): Victor's "glowing butterfly" dreams. I think he's figured out what they mean by Chapter 17, even if he's a little -- distracted.
  • Obtaining: Does getting a girlfriend count? Surely getting his first job ever does.
  • Enmity of Kinsmen: Yeah, Victor's not on good terms with his parents throughout the story. And he's about to be on even worse terms with them now that he's gone Creative.
  • Madness: How obvious is this one? I mean, if Victor ending Chapter 17 with "hysterical, mad laughter" didn't tip you off. . .
  • Obstacles To Love: For a while, anyway. Before Victor and Alice get together, they have to get past a typical romantic comedy misunderstanding. And now, of course, the Queen has separated them, and Victor's going crazy. . .
  • Ambition: This one comes up more in the prompts and the drabbles/flash fics. Victor really wants to do something to impress his genius friends. Later he wants to restore Wonderland Park and show off his own insect-related Inventions. He also tries to provide for his family, even if he's not the primary breadwinner (Alice ends up in that role).
  • Erroneous Judgement: Victor totally misreading Alice's feelings for him. Also probably his decision to run off to Wonderland Park alone and without a weapon. Need to think things through more, Victor!
  • Remorse: Victor's feelings over what happened to Lewis, Emily, and what he did to the Queen. This is gonna cause us some problems come Chapter 20.



Okay, that's a hell of a lot of plots. O.o I have been a busy beaver with this story.