The Secondary Principles of Plot: Progress, Setbacks, Costs, Turning Points

Plot is more than "stuff happening." At the most basic level, a plot should have these elements: goal, antagonist, conflict, and consequences. In this article, we will go over the secondary principles of plot: progress, setbacks, costs, and turning points.

But first, let's briefly review the primary principles. Without these things, the storyline will always feel weak or even "broken."

The protagonist has a want (which may be abstract) that manifests in a goal or even goals (which should be concrete and measurable--in that the audience knows what reaching the goal looks like). Not all protagonists start the story with a clear goal, but nearly all protagonists should have one by the end of Act I. Furthermore, not all protagonists have the same type of goal--for example, some goals may be aspirational, others goal may be simply to stop the antagonist, others may be to return balance to a previous lifestyle. It's possible the goal may change, and in such cases, it may be helpful to view the story as having act-level goals, rather than one, grand overarching goal from beginning to end.

Something antagonistic is in the way of that goal. The antagonistic force is a form of opposition--it is something in the way of the goal, not just something annoying or heckling the protagonist. In some cases, it may be more helpful to think of the antagonistic force as the resistance or obstacle in the way of the goal, and there will probably be more than one. Not every antagonistic force that appears in a story will be the "main bad guy" (or what have you), particularly in scenes and sequences. Nonetheless, if it is something obstructing the way, it is an antagonistic force.

The protagonist and antagonist want conflicting things. There isn't an easy, foreseeable way for them each to have their desires. This leads to conflict. The protagonist needs to somehow outsmart or overcome the antagonist. The more the protagonist wants the goal, and the tougher the antagonist, the bigger the struggle. This helps create meaningful conflict, not conflict that is cleverly disguised filler.

Conflict only really matters in that it affects what happens next, or in other words, it has consequences. This is where cause and effect come in. A strong plot follows a sense of cause and effect. In most stories, the effect will be both internal and external, but it's possible to be only one (internal emphasizes character more, external emphasizes plot more). When we project the cause and effect trajectory forward, we create stakes (what is at risk in the story). Stakes = potential consequences. Ramifications = actual consequences.

Next, we will dive into the secondary principles of plot: progress, setbacks, costs, and turning points.

Why Are the Secondary Principles "Progress, Setbacks, Costs, and Turning Points"? 

The primary principles are required to create the most basic level of plot. You can't have a solid plot without goal, antagonist, conflict, or consequences. You may think you can, but it will probably always feel flimsy or "lesser." 

The secondary principles build directly off the primary principles, strengthening and reinforcing the plot, making it more stable and satisfying. Here is how this works:

Progress relates to goal.

The goal is something the protagonist wants and is therefore taking action to get. Progress is used to measure how close the protagonist is to getting the goal. It's seen as something positive.

Setbacks relate to antagonist.

Setbacks happen when an antagonistic force opposes the protagonist and the goal. The antagonistic force gets in the way and sometimes even "wins" the conflict within a scene, sequence, or act. These create setbacks, which are the opposite of progress. They are seen as something negative.

Costs relate to conflict.

When the protagonist moves forward and comes into conflict, there is often some form of cost. The conflict may cost the protagonist their physical or mental well-being, time, money, or any other sort of resource.

Turning points relate to consequences.

Turning points shift the cause-and-effect trajectory the story is on, which means they change the consequences in some meaningful way.

Since both the primary and secondary principles are merely principles, there are always rare exceptions of likable stories that don't adhere to them exactly. But in order to have a strong plot--as opposed to a story that focuses more exclusively on character arc or theme--this is often what is necessary.

Still, even that argument can be a little iffy--after all, a strong plot can breed a strong character arc and theme. Nonetheless, some types of stories emphasize one or two elements over the other(s).

Show Progress Toward the Goal

In a lecture series on Youtube, #1 New York Times best-selling author Brandon Sanderson talks about how a sense of progress is key to a good plot. Progress keeps the audience invested, particularly through the middle of the story. If there is no progress, then the reader feels as if the plot isn't going anywhere. 

But we can't even begin to have progress until the protagonist has a goal--because we can't measure what progress is without knowing where we are going. So this again shows why a goal is so important. Yet, a goal with no progress feels stagnant. And a sense of progress will naturally reinforce the presence and importance of a goal.

Sometimes in the writing community, we are told to keep our protagonist failing until the end, but this is really a half-truth. If we adhered to this literally, the story would be annoying because there would never be any progress. What people actually mean is, don't fully resolve the primary plotline until the end (there may be some exceptions, but this is the general principle).

In some stories, the protagonist appears to be making progress, but in an ironic twist, it turns out they were heading the wrong direction. These stories still work, because there is perceived progress--there is still a sense of progress. 

Similarly, in some stories, the protagonist may obtain the goal halfway or three-quarters of the way through, only to realize it's not what they actually need, or to have it taken away, or to recognize there is actually a greater goal beyond it (this is why sometimes it's more useful to think of the plot as having act-level goals).

Nonetheless, the feeling of progress still exists--the audience feels as if the protagonist is getting somewhere. 

Recall that we . . . 

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Show Setbacks from Antagonists

Setbacks are the opposite of progress. Just as obtaining smaller goals on the road to the big goal creates progress, the opposite is true. Setbacks happen when the protagonist is obstructed, outsmarted, or overcome by the antagonistic force. Instead of making headway, the protagonist may be pushed further away from the goal. While we don't want a whole story where the protagonist makes no progress, we also don't want a whole story where the protagonist experiences no setbacks. Life just isn't like that, and the story will ring of inauthenticity. Progress without setbacks is bland and boring, and weakens the plot. 

Setbacks will come from antagonistic forces--even if they aren't the primary antagonistic force. Remember, the antagonistic force is something that opposes the goal. It may simply be seen as an obstacle or some form of resistance in the way of the goal. While one may argue that the obstacle itself is a "setback," to keep things clear in this series, I'm defining a "setback" as an outcome (not getting a goal). . . . 

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Make Costs Meaningful

I very much debated whether costs belong in the secondary principles or the tertiary principles, but ultimately decided to stick them here because a plot that doesn't handle costs right can be disappointing. Costs also seem to build off the primary and other secondary principles better than the tertiary. 

Costs are what the protagonist has to "pay" to move forward on the journey. This may be physical and mental well-being, time, money, resources, or what have you. 

Just as random conflict doesn't make a story great (it needs to be conflict related to goals and consequences) random costs aren't very effective either. This is where I sometimes see issues come up when I'm editing manuscripts; bad things happen to the protagonist, but they are random. . . .

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Change Trajectories with Turning Points

I've talked about turning points several times on here before, but now let's talk about them within the context of this series, and in particular, how they relate to consequences.

A turning point works by (you guessed it) turning the direction of the plot.

This can only happen one of two ways (well, or both of them): a revelation, or an action. 

These are the only two ways to turn a story. 

The biggest turning point of a story is the climax, so referring to it will be the best example. THE climactic moment in a story will either be a revelation or an action and often it's both. 

It might be a revelation that leads to an action. Or it might be an action that leads to a revelation.

For example, the protagonist may have an epiphany (a revelation, and often a thematic one) that informs him how to defeat the antagonist, so the protagonist takes that action. Alternatively, the protagonist takes an action to defeat the antagonist, and the result leads to a realization. (Generally speaking.)

Whatever it is, that's a turning point. 

But a plot will have multiple turning points. Each act should have a turning point. Each scene should have a turning point. . . .

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Continue to the tertiary principles of plot -->

Articles in This Series

What Plot is NOT (How NOT to Fix Your Story's Plot!)

The Primary Principles of Plot: Goal, Antagonist, Conflict, Consequences

The Secondary Principles of Plot: Progress, Setbacks, Costs, Turning Points (Sample)

The Tertiary Principles of Plot: Plans, Gaps, Crises (Sample)

The Quaternary Principles of Plot: Setup, Payoffs, Connections (Sample)

The Quinary Principles of Plot: Reveals & Twists (Sample)