Rehashing Old Archetypes and Plots into Fresh Stories

by Sandy Parks

On a recent trip to Thailand and Cambodia, I encountered some unusual things that reminded me that everything “old” could be reworked and made new again. That is exactly what we as writers strive to do…take a well-used, familiar plot (or archetype) and make it something fresh for the readers.

In the Iliad, Homer’s strong male heroes boasted of killing Amazons, brave warrior women capable of defeating the best of men. This archetype or legend of female warriors is portrayed again and again through history in tales told or written by authors of the time. Wonder Woman, created in 1941, is based on the Amazons, this time with a lasso, red bustier and Amazon bracelets capable of deflecting bullets. The same archetype is repeated again today with Princess Leia, perfectly capable of leading men out of trouble in her own rescue. Another unusual twist is the popular television show Vikings, where we step back in history to pick up the story of fierce women fighting and leading battles. In all these stories, Amazons are put into new genres and yet are a fresh twist on an old story.

You might be curious what made me think of old being twisted into something new and novel. Southeast Asia is an area known for its waterways. Canals were a common form of transportation before decent roads became popular in the last fifty years. Any visit to the countries there will likely include sometime on the water. The main mode of transportation for not only tourists, but anyone wanting a quick boat ride is the “long-tail” boat. Why are they called long-tail? Well, now we are getting into taking something old and using it in a new and unexpected way.

Long-tail boat, Thailand

 The boats are long and thin to easily fit into many of the small town canals. For years they were the taxis of Bangkok. Their “long tail” is an engine directly mounted on the driveshaft with a propeller at the end. The canal water can be shallow and often filled with debris or water hyacinth (propeller clogging plants), so innovation was required to develop a boat motor to fit the conditions and offered enough power.

Canal in Bangkok, Thailand

Expense is also a major factor, as few can afford a fancy new boat motor. Thus, used automotive engines are bought and modified to turn the boat propeller. What kind of motors you ask? We saw Isuzu, Mazda, and many more that had no recognizable markings. The quality of the engines also varied as the economic conditions changed, but people were no less innovative.

Cambodia

We also caught sight of these motors used for many more household tasks where a little horsepower could be a time saving device. While at Angkor Wat in Cambodia, I was lucky enough to snap a quick (although a bit blurred) photo of another unique innovation using these engines. These very young monks were out for a ride.

Monks out for a ride at Angkor Wat, Cambodia

My husband and I looked at each other and said, “never thought I’d see that.” That’s exactly the kind of unique surprise a writer wants to give a reader. So, no matter how many times a story has been told, there will always be a perspective you as an author, with your unique life story, can bring to telling a tale. Don’t try to use an archetype or plot the way writers have before you. People change, society changes, and you as an author should change with it and tell an old tale in a new way.

I Didn't See That Coming!

I love writing plot twists. And I hate writing plot twists. That part of my writing process turns my brain into a pretzel. But to me, the temporary (let's hope!) insanity is worth it.

One of my favorite reasons for watching or reading thrillers, mysteries, suspense, and romantic suspense is the potential for surprises. To me, there’s nothing better than an unexpected twist. That's especially true when I'm trying to figure out a puzzle and it zigs where I thought it would zag. After years of watching television and movies and reading books that throw twists at me, it’s really hard to surprise me.

Which makes it that much more delicious when it happens. And it makes me wish I'd thought up that plot.

I have a list of some of the books and movies with the most notable plot twists and surprise endings. I won’t spoil the endings for you—but you can find spoilers on the internet if you must.

BOOKS:

• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

• Atonement by Ian McEwan

• Tell No One by Harlan Coben

MOVIES:

• The Game

• Identity

• The Usual Suspects

• Dead Again

• Psycho

• Primal Fear

• Fight Club

• Se7en

• L.A. Confidential

• The Sixth Sense

• Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

I would love to hear which books or movies have surprised you. I’m always looking to be shocked.

Paraprosdokians – A New Look at an Old Technique

First of all, let’s do the important stuff – Happy Year and A Day, Carina! Toss the confetti and raise a glass of cyber-champagne for just about the best, most innovative – and nicest to work with – publishing operation in the world! Yea, Carina!!

Okay, now down to work.

I’ll admit, I didn’t know what a paraprosdokian was until a friend sent me a list of them. She’s always sending me jokes and funnies and, I’ll admit, I laughed heartily on reading them. Then the writing brain took over (doesn’t it always?) and I read them again, finally realizing that they were a lesson all in themselves.

By definition, a paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect. Here are a few of the best ones :

-- I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn’t work that way, so I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.

-- I want to die peacefully in my sleep, like my grandfather. Not screaming and yelling like the passengers in his car.

-- To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

-- A bus station is where a train stops. A railway station is where a train stops. My desk is a work station.

-- You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive more than once.

-- The voices in my head may not be real, but they have some good ideas.

-- To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

-- Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

You see what I mean? Each starts out with a statement that gives you an idea – then the second part puts an entirely new spin on the idea, usually turning your perception of it 90 degrees in a different direction. In other words, a turning point.

In real life, with real people, I’ll bet that most of us like a smooth stream – learn, meet, love, prosper, happy every after with no catastrophes or dead bodies or evil villains or whatnot. Such a progression is comforting and happy – and boring, at least from a story point of view. In our books, whether mystery or sci-fi or romance or whatever, we love to torture our characters and that is best done by surprise and change.

The character we trust turns out to be the villain. The safe house isn’t. The clue that proves the hero innocent is false. (See where I’m going?) A single incident pops up and suddenly the entire story is careening off in a different direction. Could we call these ‘plot paraprosdokians?’ Sure – if we can remember that tongue twister of a word! (You’re on your own there.)

Sometimes these plot twists can happen in a single sentence. Or paragraph. Or, in some rare cases, a chapter or more. It depends, as so much does, on the style of the writer and on the story itself, But they must happen, or your story becomes a sweet, linear telling of events that have no excitement, no challenge, and very probably no real interest.

For example, Bob comes home from work and finds a dead body lying in his driveway. He calls the police. The police find he has nothing to do with the body. Bob goes on and lives his life. Snoooooooze! Even though, if I were Bob, that’s what I’d want to happen in real life, but it makes for a boring and unsellable story.

By contrast, Bob comes home from work and finds a dead body lying in his driveway. The body is that of a fraternity brother from his college days, one who ostensibly died in a frat house fire. Also, unbeknownst to Bob, the body was Bob’s new wife’s brother.

See? You can go on and on, turning each plot twist in on itself, each time giving your story more depth and complexity, as well as more danger and higher stakes for your protagonist.

Deepen your plotting – become a practicing paraprosdokianist. I think I just broke my spell-check. Whether you can spell it or not, though it works. Give it a try.

by Janis Patterson