Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Fanfic Related What about those pesky a-plots?

Okay, I was planning, just like *all* the rest of my stories, not to have an a-plot. I just can't write 'em. Nope, lack of talent. Lack of desire.

You all remember those whack-a-mole games at the arcades...where they poke their little heads up and you whack them with the...whacker (what is that thing called anyway)? Well, for the last few pages I've written of my current WIP, I've been playing whack-an-a-plot. I'm hoping that I can get the pesky thing to stay down while I finish *my* story.

My question...yes I did have one...how much do you think readers mind if there is hinting at an a-plot but no expansion and no resolution of it by the time the story is finished? Am I in trouble here? )

Shh...it's the A word! /me runs and hides. In case you cannot tell by that scientific demonstration, A-plots are my arch-nemesis. They're the reason why I cannot write a story past 3 pages. I guess it depends on what kind of story it is. If it's some kind of relationship story, and you think you can advance it along without having to chase after criminals and beat them with a ficus, then by all means, go ahead. Or, in my experience, comedies don't need a whole lot of A-plot. I hint at them every now and then just so I can make it to the third page. As long as it's not the focus of the story, you can probably get away with it.

JD

I'm not a big fan of a-plots either. I didn't like them in the show, and honestly, within a fanfic, unless they are brilliantly written and are critical to the whole Lois and Clark relationship development, I tend to skim them lightly.

And I avoid writing them like the plague. That being said, what I find myself doing is "skim writing" them. Make mention of them and the barest facts necessary. Mostly I'm finding that I need a-plot topics to give me stories that Lois and Clark have been writing - thus things like "After turning in their expose on the bribery scam involving two US Senators, Lois and Clark went to dinner." That's it for the a-plot for me!

So I say skip it. If you can, just barely mention it if you even need to do that at all. I've written plenty - OK, all - of my stories as b-plot intensive. And those are the stories I prefer to read.

Lynn

Sorry, but I have to disagree here.

If your fic is a vignette or a short then there is no need for an A-plot as the time frame is usually short enough not to need inclusion of the duo's 'work'.

But if it's a longer story you have to take into consideration that Lois and Clark are reporters by trade and as such are generally on some sort of story investigation. That story is often your A-plot.

That doesn't mean it has to be overly complex or even include some particularly nasty villian. It mainly serves as the excuse to have Lois and Clark in a situation where they have to be together. This is especially true if it's prior to their 'getting together'. In order to build the relationship you need reasons for them to get together.

Of course there are always exceptions to everything, but a B-plot only longer story needs to be very clever in order to make it hang together logically. It's been done, and done well by some, but I think it's a lot harder to do.

A-plots aren't that tough. The main problem people have with them is 'over-thinking' them. They don't have to been really complex or convoluted, just consistant.

Tank (who sits back and waits for all the comments chiming in telling him he's full of it)

I don't particularly need an a-plot in a story, but I do think that if you raise a question, you'd better answer it somewhere. As Lynn says, you don't have to go into a lot of detail, but it really annoys me when an author sets up a problem and then never solves it.

But then, I agree with Tank, too -- a-plots really are useful in propping up your b-plot. Is there a plot from the show you could borrow/modify? Or, what situations might you want L&C to get into that they wouldn't otherwise agree to? <g> Force 'em together with a stakeout, keep 'em apart following different leads, make 'em change their behavior by going undercover... it's fun <g>

PJ

I don't know. I've always considered A-plot to just be 'the main plot' and B-plot to be a secondary story. Neither of these have to be some master evil scheme with a villain. Sometimes the plot *is* the relationship, or even just a personal problem that the characters have to learn to deal with. It's all a matter of how well you can pull it off, what kind of story you're writing, etc.

As for action plots, though, they really do give you some good foundation for moving the characters around, sticking them in different situations, spicing things up in general, and even much needed intermissions from heavily emotional relationship issues. Plus, as it was mentioned, Clark and Lois are both working professionals. You will need to come up with a reason why they're not working or at least gloss over some moments at the Planet if you intend to avoid an 'action' plot entirely.

Maybe you want to consider throwing in a fairly cut and dry case, just to give them something to do. It doesn't have to be Lex having some multi-tiered plot to take over the world with conspiracies and secrets to boot. You could do something like: Something bad is going on in the world. Let's research this bad occurrence. Oh, the bad guy is obviously Bob. Stakeout Bob. Showdown with Bob. Bob is defeated (or gets away, depending on how evil you are).

Now, if you're a nitpicker about cliches, the above obviously isn't going to work unless you do some serious brainstorming for ways to make it fresh. But if you just want filler or background that you don't intend to spend a lot of time on, it will suffice for adding a bit of flavor and varying circumstances to help stir things up.

Hi, Aria!

Welcome to the boards, Aria! We're glad you're here.

PJ

Hi back I'm trying to slowly stop my lurking ways hehe.

And thanks for the clarification!

Thanks Jen, Lynn, Tank, Pam, and Aria for your replies. I think for now, I'm planning on stamping it out as best I can. But then again *I* haven't been the one writing my story lately...those darned characters keep running off by themselves. So if they want to write themselves an a-plot, fine by me...so long as they leave me out of it. I will, however, keep in mind what you said, Pam, about leaving something dangling. )