Movies are a great way to get familiar with the important narrative technique of Plants & Payoffs. This is a storytelling trick that filmmakers are particularly aware of and deft at.
Hi Angela! A seed is a good word for it - that's why I like the term PLANT slightly more than SET UP. But Set Up works better for some examples... as always - whatever works for you.
Thank you for taking the time to list such great examples of your own!
a) Yes, the girl with the red coat is a Set Up and Payoff, and a great example because it carries such tragic resonance. It's the moment that activates Schindler's conscience - makes him realize that he is completely complicit in the slaughter of innocent human beings. (And I hope for our future's sake that a lot of US citizens get their own wake up call sooner rather than later). So the girl is actually much more than a simple Plant/Payoff - she's also a core symbol of the film.
Great example of how a Story Element can have multiple functions, and are more impactful if they do!
For that symbol the word Set up works better for me than Plant because it's not hidden at all. You're not meant to forget that first sighting of the girl - rather it haunts you until the devastating payoff of seeing her body discarded on a pile of corpses.
b) The spinning top in INCEPTION is a good example of how a recurring totem object or image can pack a huge punch as the closing image of the story (used very much in the same way as the wheat fields in GLADIATOR, but with the additional resonance of forcing the audience to ponder whether Cobb is dreaming or awake).
c) There are so many plants in BACK TO THE FUTURE it's hard to keep track, but yes, the You're Fired fax!
Your examples make me Intrigued about what you're writing, yourself! What's your genre?
I love movies and, since I've been reading you, I didn't know they could have such a powerful way of delivering messages or emotions through symbols, it's just like analyzing literature!
I am currently my first book on historical romance! And, without even realizing it, I may have an element that can work as a PLANT.
Well, Angela, you’re in for a treat! Movies are the perfect textbook and shortcut to learn how to write novels. It is about a million times easier and faster to grasp story structure and narrative technique from looking at movies than by using novels.
And we’ve all seen so many of the same movies that it’s easier to talk about examples in movies than trying to find books that everyone has read and remembered. Like with your examples of Plants – I knew instantly what you were talking about in each example. I’m sure about 90% of the other writers here know those movies, too.
Congratulations on discovering your Plant! Historical romance is a great genre – always feel free to ask questions here as you work your way through the book.
In the last two years, I've read dozens of books on writing. This is one of the best instructions I've read! I've subconsciously put my plants in, but as I'm on my third draft of a manuscript, this comes at the perfect time to hone those plants.
Thanks, Ellen! I really feel examples are the best way of teaching and learning anything. Glad it came at just the right time in your MS. Things like that are a sign you're on the right track.
What a wonderful technique!
I would call it a seed that would grow through the story. I wonder if some examples of this could be:
a. the girl with the red coat in Schindler´s list
b. the spinning top at the end of Inception.
c. The "you´re fired" paper at the end of Back to the future trilogy
Thank you for this eye-opener!
Hi Angela! A seed is a good word for it - that's why I like the term PLANT slightly more than SET UP. But Set Up works better for some examples... as always - whatever works for you.
Thank you for taking the time to list such great examples of your own!
a) Yes, the girl with the red coat is a Set Up and Payoff, and a great example because it carries such tragic resonance. It's the moment that activates Schindler's conscience - makes him realize that he is completely complicit in the slaughter of innocent human beings. (And I hope for our future's sake that a lot of US citizens get their own wake up call sooner rather than later). So the girl is actually much more than a simple Plant/Payoff - she's also a core symbol of the film.
Great example of how a Story Element can have multiple functions, and are more impactful if they do!
For that symbol the word Set up works better for me than Plant because it's not hidden at all. You're not meant to forget that first sighting of the girl - rather it haunts you until the devastating payoff of seeing her body discarded on a pile of corpses.
b) The spinning top in INCEPTION is a good example of how a recurring totem object or image can pack a huge punch as the closing image of the story (used very much in the same way as the wheat fields in GLADIATOR, but with the additional resonance of forcing the audience to ponder whether Cobb is dreaming or awake).
c) There are so many plants in BACK TO THE FUTURE it's hard to keep track, but yes, the You're Fired fax!
Your examples make me Intrigued about what you're writing, yourself! What's your genre?
Thank you for your reply, Alexandra!
I love movies and, since I've been reading you, I didn't know they could have such a powerful way of delivering messages or emotions through symbols, it's just like analyzing literature!
I am currently my first book on historical romance! And, without even realizing it, I may have an element that can work as a PLANT.
Well, Angela, you’re in for a treat! Movies are the perfect textbook and shortcut to learn how to write novels. It is about a million times easier and faster to grasp story structure and narrative technique from looking at movies than by using novels.
And we’ve all seen so many of the same movies that it’s easier to talk about examples in movies than trying to find books that everyone has read and remembered. Like with your examples of Plants – I knew instantly what you were talking about in each example. I’m sure about 90% of the other writers here know those movies, too.
Congratulations on discovering your Plant! Historical romance is a great genre – always feel free to ask questions here as you work your way through the book.
In the last two years, I've read dozens of books on writing. This is one of the best instructions I've read! I've subconsciously put my plants in, but as I'm on my third draft of a manuscript, this comes at the perfect time to hone those plants.
Thank you.
Thanks, Ellen! I really feel examples are the best way of teaching and learning anything. Glad it came at just the right time in your MS. Things like that are a sign you're on the right track.