A Tangled Plot Structure

I am on the road today and have had a slight change in today's post. I will be posting about villains next time.

If you've not seen Disney's newest movie, Tangled, then go out and rent it. In fact, buy it. It's one of my FAVORITE Disney movies! And the hero is one of the top Disney hero's EVER!!!
One thing that makes this movie such a good story, is that the plot structure follows a very nice arc. For your reading pleasure, I've plotted out Tangled - so get ready for another LOOOOONG Pepper-post.

Let's start off with motivations, and then we'll get to the plot.

Rapunzel External Goal: See the Lights

Eugene’s External Goal: Wealth (get the crown)

Rapunzel Internal Goal: Where does she belong?

Eugene’s Internal Goal: Someone who will care about him for who he is; meaning

 Set up the plot – who, what, where

An old woman who desires eternal youth steals an infant princess whose magical hair can provide it.

Over 17 years later, Flynn Rider, a handsome thief, steals a crown belonging to the ‘lost’ princess.

2. Hero’s motivation – what does your protagonist want?
Rapunzel wants to see the ‘lights’ that always come out on her birthday, but she’s never left the tower in which she’d been raised by her ‘mother’.

Eugene (Flynn Rider) wants to be wealthy, so he’s stolen the lost princess’s crown with two other thugs.

3. Begin the hero’s quest – “I’ve Got a Dream”

Rapunzel wants to see the 'floating' lights that come out on her birthday every year so she asks her 'mother' to take her. It's her first step toward reaching beyond her tower into the world. (this could also be #4)

4. Change the hero’s direction

Eugene (Flynn Rider) tries to escape the king’s men and in the processes hides within this mysterious tower, only to find that he’s wrapped from shoulders to knees in a chain of golden hair. To make matters worse, his prized –crown is missing.

Rapuzel makes a deal with Flynn: Escort her to see the lanterns and she’ll give him back the crown.
(this could also be viewed as when Flynn & Rapunzel stop working against each other, and begin to work together to save each others' lives)

5. Challenge the hero with problems

Eugene and Rapunzel are chased by two thugs, the king’s men, a hilarious horse named Max. Gothel and the two thugs who are after Flynn join forces.

6. Change the hero’s status

I LOVE this part – because there is an obvious change to show the status change in this movie. While on the run from the king’s men, Rapunzel saves Flynn’s life – in turn, he rescues her, but then they are both trapped in a cave that is filling with water.  Flynn shares the secret that his name is really Eugene Fitzherbert and Rapunzel shares the secret that she has magical hair. They escape, she heals his wounded hand with her magical hair, and a ‘connection’ is made between the two of them. Status? He starts calling her Rapunzel and she starts calling him Eugene. There’s a new motivation beginning. Romance & connections start to happen...and of course, a Disney duet.

7. Give the hero tougher problems
Eugene/Flynn  realizes he’s got to end the manhunt from his former thugs, so he leaves Rapunzel to return the crown to them. Unfortunately, they’ve learned of Rapunzel’s amazing power – and are working for Gothel- they capture Eugene, tie him to a boat, and make it ‘appear’ that he’s running away from Rapunzel with the crown. Heartbroken, Rapunzel returns to her mother and her life of insecurity and imprisonment, only to realize that SHE is the lost princess and Gothel has been the enemy all along.

Eugene’s boat floats directly into the castle, where he is arrested and set to hang at dawn.

 9. Let the hero suffer maximum angst
With the help of some hilarious ‘thugs’ and a horse-with-an-attitude, Eugene escapes from the noose and sets off to find Rapunzel. When he climbs to the tower, he sees Rapunzel tied up and gagged – and then he is stabbed by Gothel. Gothel plans to leave him there to die, but Rapunzel promises to give up her freedom, if Gothel will let her heal Eugene. Just as Rapunzel gets ready to heal Eugene, he reaches up and cuts her hair – freeing Rapunzel from her promise and eternal servitude, but losing his chance to live. When the magic hair is cut, Gothel’s years catch up with her. She rapidly ages. Mortified she falls from the tower window to her death….and Eugene dies in Rapunzel’s arms.

10. Change the hero’s direction
Just before Eugene dies, he confesses to Rapunzel that “You were my new dream.” And she tells him the same thing. Their motivation had changed.

11. Give the hero new hope

When Rapunzel’s tear drops on Eugene’s cheek, a glowing light swirls around them. Could this be a miracle?

12. Achieve a win/lose conclusion
Her tear heals him. Flynn wakes up, and with his usual swagger, says “You know, I’ve always had a thing for brunettes.”

13. Tie up the loose ends
Rapunzel’s reunited with her real parents – who had been searching for her all 18 years. All the thugs have their stories, Max (the horse) has a happy ending, and, of course, Eugene and Rapunzel live happily ever after too.

Questions for you:

If you’ve seen the movie, what are the characteristics that make the hero and heroine endearing? Eugene is a selfish thief afterall – why is he so darn likeable?

From the first scene with Gothel, what characteristics does Disney portray that ‘hint’ she’s not as good as she seems?

Are there any other movies you’d like to see ‘plotted’? Would you modify my plot structure for Tangled at all – remember, some points can be seen from different perspectives by different people J

Melody Plotting Along with Disney - The Song of Hope

Welcome to the second part of my series, Melody Plotting along with Disney, where I’m taking the general ‘songs’ in Disney movies and applying them to novel writing.

As I said before, Disney is brilliant at using songs to portray the emotions and forward motion of its stories. The first post discussed the Song of Longing. You can read about it here:

The three song-types I'm discussing are:

Song of Longing

Song of Hope

Song of the Antagonist/Villain

And I might end the series with a Happily-ever-after post, but for now, we’re going to talk about the second ‘song’ we can learn from as authors. 

The Song of Hope.

In almost every Disney movie (especially the ‘princess’ ones) there is a Song of Hope. This song is the moment when the ‘longing’ (from the first post) seems like a real possibility for the protagonist or it shows a ‘change’ in the protagonists previously ‘hopeless’ circumstances. Lots of times, it involves a love song of some sort. It’s the ALMOST-but-not-yet.

http://www.zastavki.com/eng/Cartoons/wallpaper-27238.htm 

A few examples?

A Whole New World from Aladdin – Aladdin’s song of longing to be seen as more than a street rat is realized in the carpet ride with Jasmine. (the fun doesn't last long as Jafar has him kidnapped right after he lands Jasmine on the balcony)

At Last I See the Light from Tangled  displays Rapunzel’s deepest dream of her heart, she finds hope in being with Flynn. (Yet again, it doesn't last long before Mother Gothel and the gruesome dudes mess things up.)

Belle and the Beast have a clear ‘change’ in their relationship when they sing Something There that Wasn't There Before, followed pretty quickly by the title song, Beauty and the Beast. The adventure and romance Belle had been searching for became a possibility. (But when she leaves to rescue her father, the tables turn and the beast’s life is in danger)

Kiss the Girl clearly displays the hope Ariel has to be ‘kissed’ by Eric and gain her voice back, as well as her future. Her dream is literally a pucker away, but due to the magnificently maniacal Ursula, a hurricane of trouble is soon to follow.

Frozen succeeds in flipping this idea on its head by giving Ana false-hope through the song, Love is an Open Door, while Elsa’s song of hope is the extremely popular, Let it Go. Ana believes her longing from For the First Time in Forever has been revealed in Hans (boy, is she wrong) and Elsa’s biggest fears represented in the same song are replaced by her new-found freedom from her ‘concealment’ of her magic.

If we want to switch gears and look at popular movies?

The Song of Hope in a movie like Titanic is the night Rose and Jack spend together dancing, painting…and other things. There is hope that Rose will no longer be confined by the expectations

placed upon her – it’s a taste of her dream-come-true. But only a taste. We’ll discover near the end of the movie, she has to make that final choice to bring her dream to reality.

The Song of Hope in The Princess’ Bride is when Wesley and Buttercup are reunited before going into the Fire Swamp. Sure they’re almost killed by lightning sand and R.O.U.Ses, but they’re together. (but the sweet happily-ever-after moment ends as soon as they get through the swamp and come face-to-face with Humperdink)

In my historical romance, it happens after a horse-riding incident that ends in a kiss. In one of my contemporary romances, it happens in a tower that ends in a kiss.

Do you know what the Song of Hope is for your story? Is there a part of your novel where the protagonist realizes his/her dream is possible, almost palpable? The Almost-but-not-yet part of your book?

Would you like to share?

I Have a Dream: Defining Your Characters' Dreams

Confession: In the last seven years, almost every movie I have watched has a princess in it. I would guess I've seen all of the Disney princess movies at least ten times.

There's one Disney movie my children have played several times a month and I never get sick of it. Tangled.

I'm convinced every writer should watch this movie. A villain with depth. Quirky characters that defy the Disney "mold." A compelling beginning. A fairy-tale worthy ending that is "earned."

Do you have a favorite song from Tangled? Three guesses what my favorite is....

Let me set the scene. Snuggly Duckling is an eating establishment hidden in the woods. Hero Flynn Ryder brings Rapunzel in to the disreputable inn to frighten her from running away from her guardian. Rapunzel is naive to the world's ways. Mother Gothel keeps her locked up in a tower in the forest, isolated from the rest of the world. Reading, baking, cleaning, painting, and brushing her hair have been Rapunzel's sole entertainment. 

When Flynn and Rapunzel step into the Snuggly Duckling, they are surrounded by a clan of men in brown leather wielding weapons. Every metal detector's nightmare. Hook Hand Thug and his friends determine to make some money off the arrival of the "wanted" Flynn Ryder. 

Her entire life, Rapunzel dreams of watching as hundreds of lanterns are launched from the nearby village one single day each year. She needs Flynn to help her achieve this. Therefore, she is ready to defend Flynn with her handy weapon, a frying pan. 

"Find your humanity! Haven't any of you ever had a dream??!!" Rapunzel screeches out in frustration when even her trusted frying pan does not ward away these thugs. 

Rapunzel backs away as Hook Hand Thug makes his way to where she is standing and raises his axe high in the air. 

Ready to watch a chase scene, the viewer sits tense in her seat and then bursts into fits of laughing as Hook Hand Thug belts out "I had a dream once..." as he pounds on the ivories.

What is your character's dream? 

Dreams are a vital part of who your character is and show you what makes them tick. We spend a fair amount of time dreaming in our heroine's head, but each character has a dream that is essential to making your character likeable. We want to invest in their dreams. A good character's dreams become our own for at least a few hours.

What can we learn from Tangled about creating our character's dreams?

• Make at least some of your characters' dreams unexpected... We delight in the dreams of the misunderstood thugs who run Snuggly Duckling. These characters are violent rogues, yet their dreams amuse us because they are surprising. The wart and goiter covered lanky gentleman wants to fall in love. It is wonderful because it is unexpected. The reader is thrilled when his dream is realized. How can you choose a dream for one of your characters that will create surprise and delight in the readers?
• Don't forget to make the reader look deeper to find "layers" of the character's dream. Flynn Ryder is the first character we see and hear in the movie. At the beginning of the movie, Flynn takes a valuable tiara belonging to the lost princess from the palace. Flynn and his thief buddies appear to be mainly caught up in gaining riches for themselves. His heart seems to beat with the thought of the notoriety he earns as a "wanted" man. As Flynn is lowered in through the ceiling of the palace to steal the crown, the guard sneezes. "Hay fever?" Flynn questions. The viewer sees here that Flynn is more interested in the chase than the actual loot. We find a deeper insight into Flynn's dream as he opens up while sitting around a fire with Rapunzel. Here we learn Flynn is an alias for Eugene, an orphan boy who grew up poor and alone. Here we begin to understand, Flynn's true dream is to be known. 
• Bring in another character who will validate your character's dream. Rapunzel validates Flynn's true desire to be known by asserting to him that she prefers his real name, not the name he picked out of a storybook to impress others. She shows here she values Flynn's dream and who he is as a person.
• Don't forget your villain has dreams of his/her own, in addition to a desire to thwart your main character's dream. Mother Gothel's dream is to live forever and maintain her youth. Rapunzel thwarts this dream by making an escape from the tower and seeking to find out more about the lanterns launched from the palace each year. Make your villain's dream compelling and realistic.
• What does your character most fear and how does that relate to their dream? After leaving her cloistered tower world and the only human contact she has known, Rapunzel tells Flynn her fears. "What if its not everything I dreamed it would be?" Perhaps your character reaches what she thinks is her dream only to find disappointment? Maybe you just need to peel back another layer, like in Flynn's case? Perhaps the dream brings little fulfillment because it is only a cover for the character's real dream. Fame, riches, even romance can all come out empty and meaningless. What lie does your character believe that may keep him or her chasing false dreams?
• "You get to find a new dream." Flynn tells Rapunzel. There is no end to the dreams of our characters. Keep the conflict going. As soon as your character reaches their dream, leave a new dream dangling out of reach on the horizon. 

What are your character's dreams? 

 Julia enjoys writing women's fiction whenever she can find a chair free of smushed peanut butter sandwiches and lego blocks. She is a wife and homeschooling mama of two littles. She also a reviewer for Library Journal, Christian Library Journal, and Title Trakk.

Tangled: The Boxed-In Effect

Earlier this year, our very own Pepper dissected the plot of the movie Tangled. If you missed it, you can rewind here.

I just now got around to watching the movie last weekend. I know, I know, I'm way behind the times. But wow, what a movie! I can see why Pepper was inspired to post about it, because it inspired a post from me too.

As I watched this movie, one particular theme shouted at me from the screen--the concept of being boxed in. This theme came out in three primary ways.

The Initial Condition of Rapunzel

The whole premise of the movie is that Rapunzel is a lost princess who was stolen from the castle as a baby. She's being raised by the woman who stole her and she now lives in a tall tower, which she's ordered to never leave. Her life revolves around being boxed in--both physically and emotionally.

Relationships and the Can't-Trust-Anyone Dilemma

As the plot unfolds, she and handsome thief Flynn Rider join forces. But they face opposition from not only one direction, but ALL directions:

Rapunzel's "mother". Flynn's old cronies whom he cheated and who now have it out for him. The king's men who are chasing Flynn for his thievery. The crazy horse who later becomes an ally.

The viewer has all these opponents scrolling through the back of their minds as they watch. At any given moment, we wonder when one of these adversaries will make things interesting.

Flynn and Rapunzel truly are on their own. No one can be trusted. They're boxed in relationally.

Physical Danger--A Literal Representation of Their Internal Struggle

The boxed-in concept is well established in the viewer's mind. So to hone it even further, the writers of the movie provide physical action that represents the internal struggles of our beloved characters.

Flynn running from a crazed horse and getting stuck in Rapunzel's tower. Rapunzel and Flynn being trapped in a cave as it fills with water. Flynn escaping prison with the king's horses trapping him from both sides. These are just a few of the many examples of being boxed-in physically.

Bravo to the writers of Tangled for creating this boxed-in effect throughout the movie...on all levels. I was swept away in it and when the movie ended, I wondered how it could be done so fast.

So what does this mean for our novels?

The power of theme can't be underestimated. Think about the internal struggle your main characters face. Then build conflict and challenges that grow organically from it. Provide physical representations of the internal struggle, and you'll have a breathtaking combo.

How much does the theme of a book or movie stay with you afterwards? Can you think of other examples that use this type of effect?

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Sarah Forgrave is a stay-at-home writer-mom who feels blessed to pursue her calling and passion. She writes contemporary romance for the inspirational market and is a regular contributor to the webzine Ungrind.

To learn more about Sarah, visit her personal blog at:
http://www.sarahforgrave.com/blog