That being said, focusing on only your A story pressurizes your narrative. So disrupting that dynamic by devoting multiple pages to a single plot line can make a strong statement. TV audiences are typically accustomed to rapidly cutting between A, B and C plots. As you’re sticking with one character’s experience, it often feels more intimate. Sticking with only one narrative (one protagonist), however, can be more effective when you want an emotional pay-off. If your story is made up only of an A arc, it runs the risk of seeming one-note, relentless in its pursuit of one character, one arc, one storyline. It fleshes out the world around them, sharpens their context and, therefore, heightens the themes. Moreover, it gives depth and balance to the protagonist arc.The balance of different plots allows there to be some structure to the storytelling.If you were to write an all-A-story script, the pacing of your show would, in fact, stall. However, by being down the pecking order C plots have some licence to be relatively small additions to the overall narrative. For example, the pranks in The Office are reflective of Jim’s attitude to office life and his antagonistic relationship with Dwight.They should, in some way, reflect on it, even in a minor way. The C stories aren’t totally irrelevant to the A story. In some cases, however, C stories may become important as they develop into B or even A plots in later series. The Office‘s C stories, for example, (like office pranks of jello-covered staplers) alter in form but garner the same kind of laugh. Within half-hour comedies, the C story may literally just be a running joke, as the name suggests. For this reason, it’s also known as a “runner”. The C story is also often lighter and more comedic than A and B plots. It carries the least weight in your episode and is the least critical to the overall narrative. It’s the arc you allocate the fewest beats and the least screen time to. It’s the main driver of the narrative, even if the supporting arcs make the story more interesting as a whole.įinally, out of A, B and C Plots, your C story is the smallest thread. In a detective show like Law and Order, for example, the A story follows the case of the week. The A story is the anchor you always return to as it’s carrying you through the episode. So you’ll usually open with it and then cut to the B and C plots later. The A plot is the main thread of your episode. As such, the A story will have the most screen time. And it requires the most story beats to achieve a compelling character’s journey. This is where the main protagonist seeks their main goal.
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