Episode 721 - A plot B plot
Jan 4, 2025
A standard thing in stories is to have multiple plot lines. In short stories or when you're just starting out as a writer you tend to have a single line, the A plot, but as soon as you get a bit more experience and write longer stories you'll find the plots tend to branch and multiply, even if you don't always fully intend it. The usual is to have the A and B plots: the A is the main one that drives the story and the B is where you put other interesting junk like character development, villain stuff, comic relief, love interests etc. But it can get a LOT more advanced than that and you can have far more than simply A and B.
Topics and Show Notes
The genesis of this cast was that I was moaning and groaning about long-form TV series that are intended for binge watching these days. Instead of being reasonably contained episodes you're actually watching a 16 hour long movie and I find that fatiguing and stressful because with those plot structures you feel compelled to watch and finish it (not all in one sitting, but finish it regardless). My complaint was that these things tend to have the A plot as the overarching story plot that connects all the episodes while the B and C plots etc are reserved for the episode itself, and that is NOT how it should be done, at least in my opinion. When series started this trend it would be a C or D line that connected the episodes, just minor developments and a continuing lore. Then it moved up to a B, major story stuff but the main storyline was still episodic, but now it's the A line and that is not cool.. according to me.
In the Quackcast we chatted about interesting structures and variations, like twin A plots that complete for attention. One of my personal faves are the A and B plot lines that constantly switch: An A shifts down to be the B and vice versa over and over so you're not sure which is the main line. That's very organic and keeps you on your toes. One of the most boring versions are strict A and B plot structures where it's all pure formula and things just don't break out of that so you know that one line is always less important to the other and things become too predictable.
Do you play with A, B, C, D etc storylines or just not bother and let things develop into that on their own, or do you just stick with only an A? And what do you LIKE in stories you consume?
This week Gunwallace has given us a theme inspired by AlfiesWorld - Exciting electronica salsa, shimmying and shimmering across the glittering dance floor, shaking the hips, grinding, and sliding to this cool, sophisticated Latin sound!
Topics and shownotes
Links
Featured comic:
Auguste Fighter - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/news/2024/dec/30/featured-comic-auguste-fighter/
Featured music:
AlfiesWorld - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/AlfiesWorld/ - by RealityJockey, rated M.
Special thanks to:
Gunwallace - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Gunwallace/
Ozoneocean - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/ozoneocean
Tantz Aerine - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Tantz_Aerine/
Banes - https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/user/Banes/
VIDEO exclusive!
Become a subscriber on the $5 level and up to see our weekly Patreon video and get our advertising perks!
- https://www.patreon.com/DrunkDuck
Even at $1 you get your name with a link on the front page and a mention in the weekend newsposts!
Join us on Discord - https://discordapp.com/invite/7NpJ8GS
Episode 717 - Stories out of order!
Dec 7, 2024
Non-linear stories are a different way of telling a tale. There are many famous examples (Pulp fiction, Mulholland Drive etc), where the sequence of events isn't in strict chronological order. This style has gained a false reputation of being superior or more advanced or challenging to an audience than linear stories.
Episode 716 - Identify with characters?
Dec 2, 2024
Is it important to Identify with characters? This question occurred to me as I was watching a rather banal sitcom, Rules of Engagement. I love two of the stars, David Spade and Patrick Warburton, but it's not really that engaging a show, the humour is anodyne and a lot of it is based around traditional gender roles and expectations, but I forced myself to watch it anyway just to see more of the aforementioned stars. The only way I was able to get into it was because I somewhat identified with David Spade's character- being a small blonde guy with long hair and a bit of a perv, haha!
Episode 715 - Apocalypse
Nov 25, 2024
This is the third in our weapons trilogy and it's about what happens AFTER the ultimate weapons have done their work: Apocalypse! The end of all things… This term comes from the bible, with the Book of Revelations which talks about what happens during the end of the world, but aside from the myth it's a pretty real concept- there are a LOT of ways the world can end and has indeed ended for various civilisations throughout history.
Episode 714 - Future Weapons
Nov 18, 2024
Last week we had an overview of weapons throughout history and how it's a constant game of balance and oneupmanship. Now we're looking at future weapons and Scifi stuff! There's a lot of potential and a lot of interesting ideas you can use in comics and stories. We talk about a few of these and some of our faves, as well as our own inventions.
Episode 712 - Guncast
Nov 4, 2024
This week we're talking the development of weapons, tactics and armour over the millennia. This is a fun little overview of everything from ancient stone weapons, to bronze, to iron, steel, guns, tanks, and jet-fighters and all the interesting stuff in between. Comic stories often involve literal conflict whether set in the past, the present, future, or fantasy and Scifi, so overviews are always good.
Episode 710 - Ducks in in the wind
Oct 21, 2024
The fleeting greatness ducks of in the wind! This is a weird one based on a notion I had: Life and experience isn't typically based on long moments, rather it's all based on very short, lightning quick highlights: a song that lasts 3 minutes is massively striking and important and its impact can reverberate down through the decades, despite only lasting such a short amount of time. Things like comics can take days, weeks or years to make and yet each page is consumed in no more than seconds! But even so, it can have a huge effect.
Episode 709 - Dragons!
Oct 14, 2024
Dragons are cool, aren't they? That's our subject for today, specifically the giant, monstrous beasties of myth, fantasy, and legend. They can be evil, they can be clever, they can be animalistic and wild, they can be friendly, they can be wise and all knowing, there's absolutely no common personality to dragons at all.
