Martha Alderson, MA, has been exploring and writing about plot and creativity for more than thirty years, and helping writers develop plot and structure, character transformation and change. Author of The Plot Whisperer, along with several other plot books, Alderson’s latest work is Boundless Creativity: A Spiritual Workbook for Overcoming Self-Doubt, Emotional Traps, and Other Creative Blocks.
A new edition of her novel Parallel Lives (A Love Story), a historical novel set in 1960s San Francisco Bay Area, releases this summer.
On May 24 at 2 pm, she’ll be presenting ‘Plan a Plot with the Help of the Universal Story.’ RSVP and we’ll send you the zoom link.
I spoke with her by phone in April.
What is the Universal Story?
It is similar to the Hero’s Journey of Joseph Campbell, but it is broader, more all-encompassing. It has to do with the seasons of the year, the lunar cycle, plant and animal cycles, the universal pathways that travel through everything.
You can analyze it for yourself, in your own life. When you’re writing a story, it’s where the energy rises and falls. It is so universal, that if you’re a reader and you don’t experience it in a book, it’s disconcerting. Readers expect certain things at certain times.
And you want to satisfy them without being formulaic.
But isn’t a formula of sorts?
Not really, because you can do anything you want within these guidelines. It depends only on your imagination. Hollywood is very formulaic, it will hit these markers without fail, on the dime.
There’s more latitude with literary fiction.
I would call this universal story an awareness. Once you become aware of these pathways, you don’t have to think about them anymore.
But is that really true? I mean, I’ve read your book and a number of other plot books, and I still have to think about structure and flow every time I sit down to write.
What I mean is that you begin to anticipate when things have to start happening. You know when the tension has to build. Because you’re aware that it’s needed.
How did you come to be “the plot whisperer”?
I started writing fiction late. I was a speech pathologist and learning disability therapist. I had a clinic. Then I changed course. I sold the clinic and decided I wanted to write this novel. As I was writing, I struggled with plot and the craft books that were around at that time didn’t devote much attention to plot. The thinking was that anything that was formulaic would conflict with the creative process. I thought I was the only one who didn’t get it, get how to structure a story, but then I realized I was not alone.
I’ve worked more with women than men. For men, plot may be easier to grasp because men tend to be more linear. For a lot of women, it’s counterintuitive to think in terms of plot. I became passionate about plotting. I started doing plot consultations with writers.
To debrief my experiences, I started a blog called, “The Plot Whisperer,” and a publisher reached out to me and that’s where the book happened.
Can you distill the wisdom of The Plot Whisperer into a sentence or two?
It’s really taking writers through the universal story. The pathways, what’s expected within the parts. To show the journey from the protagonist’s point of view. And also — and this is important — the writer’s journey is part of it, and it parallels the protagonist’s.
What do you mean?
So many writers struggle to write their story. Writing a book is a universal story itself. Understanding emotional traps. The negative talk. Wondering if we count. Telling ourselves that we can’t figure it out. Or we can. I’ve worked with a lot of talented writers, mostly women, who are challenged because of their own internal demons.
The creative process is meant to be a challenge. We grow from it.
We’re not all happy well-adjusted people. We come with baggage, which gets in the way of accessing our muse, our spirit. Too often, there are so many layers of expectations on top of the muse. We need to clear them to unleash our spirit. To believe in our talent.
So you work not just on plot, but on breaking through barriers?
I think if you get a hit of inspiration, that’s great, but we have millions of ways to discount that. The inspiration is a gift, but so is the negativity. By confronting it, you become a transformed person. Characters go through challenges like that. So do writers.
I recall you giving a talk about how you can read a novel and see, at the 25 percent mark, when the protagonist’s life changes forever. I remember afterward paying attention to those turning points when I read books and I was amazed at how close to the 25 percent mark they came. Why do you think that is? Is that all deliberate, or is it somehow in the subconscious?
I’ve analyzed so many books. Lots of them were classic. I’m sure Steinbeck never counted the pages, but he still hit those markers on target. It’s this universal pathway that is within all of us.
If your beginning goes on too long, you lose your reader because nothing is happening. If it’s too short, your reader isn’t ready. You have to give you the right amount of story before you turn that corner.
It probably goes back to cave times. The storytellers who kept their listeners’ rapt got the best cuts of meat. It’s almost imprinted on us now.
When you read, or watch movies, are you always looking at the structure and formula behind the story? Does that enhance the experience, or does it sometimes get in the way?
Well, I’ve stopped paying as much attention to plot as I used to. Now plot is something most every writer is attuned of. You can find lots of plot books now.
What my true passion is to empower people through creativity. The germs of that were in The Plot Whisperer, but I’m digging deeper now.
We are creators. We are creating right now. It’s part of who we are. Where does inspiration come from? If it’s this universal thing, the only way that anything can be manifested is through us, because we are the creators. We have to be open. To be free, to go the distance.
Whether you’re baking a pie or writing a book. We have moments of brilliance, but so many of us also get knocked down. You’re in a critique group and you get panned for the art you do. It hits hard. For the more emotional of us, it can stop us in our tracks.
This is your new book? Can you give me the elevator pitch?
The idea that when you embark on a creative project, you experience these moments of joy. You get feedback that makes you keep going.
But then you run into self-doubt. You may feel like giving up, but that’s where you have to persevere. Deal with the obstacles.
Is the process of writing the gift? When you get feedback, and it triggers you, you might stop. It’s not because you lack creativity. It’s because of the issues that get in the way. Do you need praise to keep going? When you hear something negative, how can you grow from that? The more the muse gets that we will go the distance, the more likely we will.
What do you do when you’re not writing?
I have a garden that is a riot of color. I spend a lot of time beachcombing and boogie boarding in the bay. I love being in nature.
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See more at marthaalderson.com.
