Wednesday - The Great Escape

When looking at action plots, there's an escape plot. How does this differ from other action plots. The main reason is that the prisoner is no innocent waiting for a rescue. This person who is imprisoned either falsely or not, plans and executes his or her own escape.

Any moral issues are black and white. Shades of gray can muddy the plot and turn it into something different from what the writer intends.

The things that need to be addressed early are the imprisonment and the reasons for this. Perhaps for a crime not committed or the villain putting the main character in confinement. The difference from the rescue sort of plot is that this hero or heroine will plan and execute their own escape. Therefore this character must be a strong one and even a clever one.

There must be several attempts that fail but remember this doesn't make the hero or heroine down. He or she will try again.

These stories end with the escape allowing the hero or heroine to gain control and thwart the villain.

Remember when using this as the basic plot of the story that the two main characters must be strong. If either is weak the story will fall flat.