But, as I noted in my first post about visual revision tools and techniques, I was looking for something visual in terms of writing technique, something that might help me really see my structure, pace, character development, and point of view in order to reveal whatever flaws and holes there might be.

Scrivener’s Corkboard

So, I turned to the corkboard interface that Scrivener offers. I know that some writers adore this feature of Scrivener, especially when it comes to plotting and revision. This is what my effort looked like.

See the binder of documents on the left, the corkboard in the middle, and the inspector on the right.

Scene Types in Color

According to James Scott Bell’s breakdown of scene “chords” or types, I’ve used the color of the index cards as follows:

Blue = Action
Grey = Setup
Green = Reaction
Pink = Deepening

I’ve set these up by customizing the first pull-down menu in the General window pane of the inspector. I can change how many index cards are in each row, such that all the index cards show, but not in a linear way, not in the way a plot might progress, beginning to end. I can get a general idea of how many actions scenes I have relative to others, although I can’t really see how the action is rising or falling, again, in a linear or chronological way.

POV in the Stamp

I’ve also used the stamp. Each card is stamped with the POV character for that scene. Again, I’m trying to establish, for the purposes of revision, if it’s lopsided, or if the ebb and flow of the different narrator voices serves a useful purpose in terms of the plot structure. I’ve customized the second pull-down menu, below the first, to accomplish this stamp.

A Wish List

But now that I’ve customized these two menus, I’m done. Unfortunately, for the purposes of analyzing the first draft, I’d also like to look at a few other things as well: I’d like to set the intensity level for a scene (numbered 0 to 10), I’d like to know the setting of the scene, and I’d even like to know where the major plot milestones are falling. Just those few things would mean that I’d need three more pull-down menus that I can customize.

Let’s just say I could have those new pull-down menus. How would they get displayed on the cards? I could possibly have a second stamp or perhaps it’s possible for the card to be colored one way and the pin a different way. Honestly, I haven’t a clue as to how my new scene information might be shown.

So my pursuit of the big picture, being able to see the entire novel at once, continues. In my final post, I find that the spreadsheet is the tool for me.

By the time we were halfway through the middle of the second act, in Part 2, the heroic defense team had committed to an improbable defense:  proving that officers ordered the Code Red and that the defendants were following those orders when the victim accidentally died.

In Part 3, by the end of Act 2, the defense is well along in making its case in court and yet their most important witness has killed himself and one of their defendants has admitted lying on the witness stand.  At this point, Danny does the only thing he can to salvage the situation:  call Col. Jessup to the stand and try to get him to admit ordering the Code Red.

Scenes 43 through 47

Scene 43
1:50:14
Danny’s Apartment, next morning.
The hero and his allies brainstorm about how to approach Jessup. Danny thinks Jessup is dying to say he ordered the Code Red. Danny sees the clothes hanging in his closet while he fetches his bat, has an idea, and rushes out.

(The tension and energy is building again, moving toward the climax of the story. There is a new plan after the disasters of Markinson’s suicide and Downey’s testimony.)

Scene 44
1:52:01
Naval office
Danny prints a list of outgoing calls. He calls Sam and sends him to Andrews AFB, the base where the flights from Cuba land.

(Although we don’t know what this clue means, it seems to mean something important to Danny.)

Scene 45
1:52:42
Courthouse/Courtroom
Sam is on his way with some guys from Andrews AFB. Jo takes Danny aside to tell him not to risk his career if Jessup doesn’t seem like he’ll admit to ordering the Code Red. Jessup goes on the stand. Sam is still not there. Danny stalls for time and Sam finally shows up with two airmen, handing Danny a note. Danny can’t seem to get anywhere with Jessup and has a moment of doubt. Sam wants him to stop and Jo is non-committal. Then Jessup makes a wiseass remark and starts to leave but Danny tells him to get back on the stand.

(The stakes are reiterated one more time, just before the final battle. Doubt is sown in the mind of the hero by his ally before entering the courtroom. During the confrontation, the hero gets conflicting signals from his allies and has one last moment of doubt, right in the middle of the final confrontation–the big battle between the hero and the antagonist. The hero is poised on the brink of defeat.)

Scene 46
2:08
Courtroom
Jessup loses his temper and admits he ordered a Code Red.

(Although that sentence gives short shrift to the phenomenal performance of Jack Nicholson in this scene, it does summarize the climactic action. The antagonist shows himself for what he really is and the hero evolves into the trial lawyer that he was always destined to be. Not only does the hero win the final battle, the antagonist is arrested.)

Scene 47
2:10:19
Courtroom.
The jury returns a verdict of not guilty on the counts of murder and attempted murder but guilty on the charge of behavior unbecoming.  The defendants will be discharged. Downey is incredulous and maintains they did nothing wrong but Dawson says they were supposed to fight for Santiago. Dawson and Downey are lead away but not before Dawson finally acknowledges Danny as officer and someone deserving his respect. Danny admits to Ross that the airmen had no testimony–it was a bluff. The final image is one of Danny in the courtroom alone at the end.

(The denouement of the story ties up all the story lines, but most importantly the hero fulfills his destiny. Even the defendants seem as though they’ll be able to move on, despite the dishonorable discharge. All of the risks and the hard work has paid off in the very place that Danny had never even wanted to see: the courtroom.)

By the time we were halfway through the middle of the second act, in Part 2, the heroic defense team had committed to an improbable defense:  proving that officers ordered the Code Red and that the defendants were following those orders when the victim accidentally died.

In the scenes below, the second half of Act 2 builds toward the final confrontation of the movie and moves our hero, Danny (played by Tom Cruise), into the courtroom to embrace the destiny that he has been denying.

Scenes 25 through 42

Scene 25
59:32
Danny’s Apartment/Jail
They prep the case and the defendants. Danny does a voice over of his father’s philosophy on how to look and act in  a courtroom.

(We have moved into the second half of the movie and part two of the second act. All sides are committed and we see the hero creating a new plan with the help of his allies. Sam, however, has to be convinced to participate since he views the actions of the defendants as reprehensible. Even with the hero committed, there is still conflict–from within the team.)

Scene 26
1:04:20
Court, Next Day
Danny meets the families of the boys. The prosecution and defense make opening statements. The first witness is an NIS investigator who testifies about the fence line shooting–the evidence was inconclusive. Cpl. Hammaker (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), from the unit, testifies that Kendrick met with the unit and ordered that Santiago not be touched. Danny, however, makes sure to note that the corporal was not in Dawson’s room after the meeting.

(We see our hero in action for the first time. All seems to go as planned and the first two prosecution witnesses seem to amount to an inconclusive draw.)

Scene 27
1:12:21
Danny’s Apartment
Danny, Jo, and Sam brainstorm but know they can’t get Jessup to confess that he coerced the bases’s doctor to lie about the cause of death.

Scene 28
1:12:58
Courtroom
Doctor Stone (Christopher Guest) testifies that he believes there was poison on the rag and won’t admit that Santiago may have had a heart condition. Danny casts doubt on his testimony since a heart condition could have led to the same outcome without the benefit of poison. During the prosecution’s re-examination, Jo objects several times, making the judge overrule her and refer to the witness as an expert. At the end of the day, Sam, Danny, and Jo even disagree over the nature of the crime.

(This scene is a setback for the team, internally and externally. We see how Jo, the hero’s ally, is not an asset in court.)

Scene 29
1:20
Danny’s Apartment
Jo stops by and asks Danny to dinner, where she tells him that she thinks they’re going to win, but Danny doesn’t think so.

(In a way, this is a reiteration of some points that we already know–that on the basis of what can be proved in court, the defendants will likely lose. We might also look at the scene in terms of rising stakes since Danny also has Jo’s expectations to deal with.)

Scene 30
1:22
Courtroom
Cpl. Barnes (Noah Wyle) says Dawson wouldn’t permit a Code Red on Santiago.

(This point is a small win for the hero and his allies. The defendant is cast in a good light by a member of his unit, especially with regard to ill treatment of Pfc. Santiago.)

Scene 31
1:26:14
Magazine Stand
Danny stops to buy a magazine from Luther. Markinson is in his car when he gets back. Markinson says it was a Code Red and that Santiago was never going to be transferred off the base. He signed the transfer orders five days after Santiago died.

(This is a big plus for the hero, a huge step forward. This is the evidence, the testimony, that will win the case for the hero, his allies, and the people he’s trying to help. Markinson forged the transfer order for Santiago and the first plane out of Cuba was not at 6 AM the next morning but at 11 PM the previous night. Jessup, Markinson, and Kendrick have all lied and a Code Red was ordered by Jessup.)

Scene 32
1:28:14
Danny’s Apartment
Danny tells Jo and Sam that Markinson is in a hotel room. Jo calls for security to guard him and Danny takes off to tell the prosecutor.

(It seems as though the game is over and that the hero has won.)

Scene 33
1:28:54
Bar
Danny tells Ross about Markinson, but Ross warns him that Markinson won’t hold up, and further, that if he charges officers Kendrick and Jessup without cause, Danny will be subject to a court martial.

(Even in the face of certain victory for the hero, the stakes rise. Even Ross sees that Danny is trying to please his dead father.)

Scene 34
1:31:10
Courtroom
Kendrick is on the stand and admits that Dawson snuck a certain Private Bell some food, against orders, earning him a low rating while also ensuring that he would follow subsequent Code Red orders. Kendrick denies, several times, giving a Code Red order for Santiago.

(Although he has Markinson’s testimony in his back pocket, this is a set back for the defense. The court acknowledges that Kendrick has an exemplary record.)

Scene 35
1:36:20
Danny’s Apartment
Sam arrives with the log book and says that Jessup is telling truth. The first plane out of Guantanamo was 6 AM.

Scene 36
1:36:40
Hotel
Danny races to the hotel to see Markinson. Markinson says that the log books are all doctored and Danny says he’ll be putting him on the stand.

(This is yet another setback for the defense and ultimately it is an attack from the antagonist, who has been pursuing his own plan behind the scenes.)

Scene 37
1:37:46
Danny’s Apartment
Jo wants to find a witness to the 11 PM flight to prove that Jessup is lying, but Danny says the Markinson and Downey testimony should be enough.

(Because we saw that Markinson was not pleased to find out he’d be on the witness stand, we have to wonder how secure his testimony actually is.)

Scene 38
1:38:14
Jail
Jo prepares Downey for testimony. She lies and tells him that he’ll be able to go back to his platoon soon.

(She seems confident that he’s ready and, given her past failures, we have to wonder if Downey really is ready.)

Scene 39
1:38:50
Courthouse
Jo is nervous about Danny questioning Downey as they enter court.

(Our apprehension grows when we see that Jo is not confident about the testimony that is just about to happen.)

Scene 40
1:39:07
Hotel
Markinson writes a letter to the parents of Pfc. Santiago, apologizing that he wasn’t strong enough to save him. Then he shoots himself, in full dress uniform.

(Although the hero and his allies don’t know it yet, this is the worse thing that could have happened to them. It is the beginning of the climax of act two.)

Scene 41
1:39:51
Courtroom
Downey admits under cross examination that Dawson gave him the order for the Code Red, not Kendrick. Downey wasn’t even in the room when it happened.

(Again, this is a huge setback for the hero, another failure from within. Their defendant is caught in a lie of which they had no knowledge. His testimony has hurt their case instead of helping it. This scene is part of the climax of Act 2.)

Scene 42
1:42:31
Danny’s Apartment
Sam and Jo are waiting and a rain soaked and drunk Danny shows up. He tells them that Markinson’s dead. Jo presses him to put Jessup on the stand but Danny blows his cool, calls her stupid, and Jo leaves. Danny wonders out loud what his father would have wanted. Sam says that Danny is a great lawyer, better than his father.   He puts the question to Danny about what he’ll do. Danny and Sam chase down Jo and Danny says he’ll put Jessup on the stand.

(This is the climax of act 2 and it is doorway 2. It is the first time that we hear the hero acknowledge his father’s legacy. He asks his ally for help in deciding, but the hero must step through that last door alone, which he does. Despite the fact that all is lost, he is going to do the right thing and try to win freedom for his clients. The stage is set for the final battle.)

In essence, the climax of Act 2 is the moment the audience has been waiting for–the setup for the confrontation between the protagonist (the young, inexperienced, but passionate hero) and the antagonist (the corrupt, jaded, and overconfident authority figure).

In the next post of this series, the movie reaches its memorable climax and the battle is joined.

Here in the first part of the second act, we see Danny begin to move away from the premise that has sustained his character in the first act–to arrange a plea bargain for his clients, two Marines accused in the death of another, all of them under the command of Col. Nathan Jessup, the antagonist (played by Jack Nicholson). Below, we begin the second act with their first meeting.

Scenes 15 through 24

Scene 15
36:22
Jessup’s Office
Danny, Sam, and Jo meet Jessup, Markinson, and Kendrick.  The three heroes leave with Kendrick so he can show them around the base.  They’ll all meet for lunch later.

(We learn some of Danny’s backstory when Jessup recounts how Danny’s father was involved with civil rights cases in the south and Markinson notes that Lionel Kaffee spoke at his high school. The stakes are higher for Danny than we might have thought at first glance. He is operating under the shadow of a famous father, now deceased.)

Scene 16
37:52
At Santiago’s Room
Kendrick claims to have had a meeting at 1600 with the unit, saying that there was an informant among them–Santiago–but they were not to touch him.  They visit Santiago’s room, see his closet, the blood stained bed and floor.  Kendrick believes that God killed Santiago because be didn’t obey the code.

(Not only does Danny have to deal with his own internal conflict about trying to acquit defendants in the face of huge odds, and living up to the standards of his famous father, he finds himself in the middle of an external conflict as well, confronting Kendrick’s animosity toward him, as well as the man’s zealotry.)

Scene 17
40:07
Lunch, Outdoors
Our heroes lunch with Jessup, Markinson, and Kendrick.  Jessup says that at their (Kendrick, Markison, Jessup) meeting, they agreed Santiago should be transferred off the base for his own safety, on the first available flight, i.e., six AM the next morning.  Against Danny’s wishes, Jo asks about the Code Red.  Jessup makes sexual comments about women in the military and essentially gives up no information.  Danny asks for a copy of the transfer order for Santiago and Jessup makes him ask for it nicely.

(Again, Danny confronts animosity from the military, this time directly from the antagonist.  Danny also sees that Jessup is taken aback by his request for the transfer order.)

Scene 18
46:11
Danny’s Apartment
Danny has the ball game on television but isn’t watching.  Jo shows up with news that Markinson has gone UA, unauthorized absence, and that she has been appointed Downey’s attorney by aunt Jenny.

(Danny must be conflicted if he can’t watch the ballgame.  The bad news, setbacks for the hero, pile on as Jo becomes co-counsel.  The fact that Markinson disappeared after their visit, however, is a clue that they may be on the right track.  They immediately head to the jail.)

Scene 19
47:42
Jail
Danny and Jo visit Downey and Dawson, who say that Kendrick ordered a Code Red in their room after the platoon meeting where he told the unit not to touch Santiago.

(Dawson confirms what Kendrick had said but also provides the additional information that they were ordered to give the Code Red in private.  It’s a good piece of information for Danny, and a small win.)

Scene 20
49:07
Basketball Court
Danny and Jo find Jack Ross playing basketball.   He offers the defendants two years (but they’ll be home in six months).  He tells Jo that Danny will lose in court and that his clients will do life if they plead not guilty.  He’ll throw the book at them.  Jack also lets them know that Markinson is ex naval counter intelligence and they won’t find him unless he wants to be found.

(The stakes rise for the defendants and the lawyers.  Ross is obviously anxious to keep Jessup out of court, and essentially says so, but reiterates the weakness of Danny’s case and what he has to lose.  Danny also learns that his one possible ally, Markinson, is out of reach.)

Scene 21
51:00
Jail
Danny and Jo take the deal to Dawson and Downey, but Dawson doesn’t’ want the deal.  Dawson obviously doesn’t like Danny and eventually calls him a coward.

(The plot takes a pinch as the hero is thrown a curve ball from his clients.  He/they have been offered an incredible plea bargain but they don’t want it.  The screws are tightening on Danny from both directions.  His co-counsel wants to go to court, his client is hostile and Danny has had enough.)

Scene 22
54:40
Danny’s Office, night
Danny wants off the case, Jo wants him to stay but then tells him he’s a nothing as Sam stands by.

(Danny can see the coming train wreck and wants no part of it.)

Scene 23
56:30
Bar/River
Danny goes to a bar and overhears lawyers talking about plea bargains.  He sits by the river, thinking.

(Here, in the aftermath of the plea bargaining disaster, as things look their most bleak for the defendants, Danny reconsiders, regroups and looks inward for the answer.)

Scene 24
57:15
Courtroom
Danny is the last to arrive in court and pleads not guilty for his clients.  He starts to organize the team.

(Ah, the world-changing midpoint crisis has arrived.  Danny has accepted the call to adventure and has also committed to the destiny that he’s been avoiding–comparing himself to his father.  He has locked himself, and his clients, on a path that will lead to a confrontation with the US military in court.  There is no going back.)

The next post in this series enters the second half of the second act–a section that is very different in tone from this group of scenes.  Then again, it’s not called a world-changing midpoint for nothing.

What the title really ought to say is “A Few Good Men and One Great Writer.”

Per recommendations from writing coaches (and writers) such as Larry Brooks and Alexandra Sokoloff (please see their fantastic blogs for veritable treasure chests of writing information), I’ve decided to deconstruct the plot of a movie instead of a book this time around.

It had been years since I’d seen A Few Good Men but I had the vaguest of memories regarding its plot and what I thought were the major plot points.  Although I didn’t realize it at the time, A Few Good Men was originally a stage play, which I think may have something to do with it sticking in my mind as an example of a particularly strong three act structure.

If you haven’t seen the movie, I’d recommend that you not read this scene-by-scene analysis and watch the movie first. In fact, you really should avoid this analysis if you do think you’ll be watching the movie.

Scenes 1 through 14 (Act 1)

Scene 1
Early morning, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Two marines tie up and gag another marine in his room.

(The opening image immediately establishes the military nature of the story and begins with the crime in question.)

Scene 2
2:12
As the credits for the film roll, we watch a Marine marching band and a drill unit.

(At the very least, we begin to get a sense of military bearing, the unit acting together, and the effort that must go into such exacting performances.)

Scene 3
4:30
Judge Advocate General’s Corp in Washington DC
Lt. Commander JoAnne Galloway (Demi Moore) is rehearsing something she’s going to say as she crossesthe parade field. She is requesting that she be assigned to a certain legal case. She attends a meeting with Capt. West (John M. Jackson) and two other officers and briefs them about Pfc. William Santiago’s death in Cuba, killed by two other marines, Lance Cpl. Harold Dawson and Pfc. Louden Downey. The theory is that Santiago was killed to keep him from naming Dawson in a fence line shooting incident. Galloway, however, thinks that Santiago’s death sounds like a Code Red. She requests that Dawson and Downey be sent up to Washington DC and that she take over their case (she flubs her practiced delivery). When she is asked to step out of the room, we learn that she’s a good investigator but isn’t cut out for litigation. West doesn’t want a mess on his hands and tells her that he’ll bring the defendants up to DC but he wants a plea bargain and she won’t be handling it.

(Although Jo Galloway is not the lead character, she is an ally to the hero. We see her desire is to pursue litigation and that she is thwarted in her pursuit immediately. We also see a demonstration of why she may not be suited to litigation.)

Scene 4
8:00
Baseball Diamond
Lt. Danny Kaffee (Tom Cruise) is practicing with his baseball team. Another lawyer in Navy uniform shows up, angry with Danny’s stalling. They negotiate a case where some soldier bought oregano thinking it was marijuana. Danny spouts the legal jargon like nobody’s business and gets the deal he wants.

(We meet the hero of the story, Danny Kaffee. In that we’ve already heard that West wants a plea bargain and we see the hero quickly plea bargain in an offhanded manner, we can assume that Danny is the lawyer that will be representing the defendants. The tension is set up immediately since we know that Jo suspects that the defendants were given a Code Red order. It would seem that Danny’s outer desire is to play baseball rather than practice law.)

Scene 5
9:40
Conference Room
Danny Kaffee shows up late to his commanding officer’s meeting. We learn that Lt. Sam Weinberg (Kevin Pollak) has a new baby girl and that he is being assigned as Danny’s aide when Danny gets the Cuba case from Division. They are scheduled to meet with Jo Galloway.

(We meet Sam, an ally for our hero, Danny. Sam is obviously versed in military jargon and will at least be able to help Danny with the military aspects of the case.  He also seems like Danny’s opposite–a quiet family man.)

Scene 6
11:44
JAG, Galloway’s office
Sam and Danny show up and Jo is unimpressed. She tells them that Santiago wrote to everybody, including a senator, to get off the base, but finally offered information on a fence line shooting in exchange for a transfer. Danny could care less about the facts and instead plans to offer a 12 year sentence to the prosecution in order to keep security counsel nominee, Col. Nathan Jessup’s (Jack Nicholson) name clean–he is the head of the Guantanamo Bay base. Jo, however, has authority independent of Danny and wants him to do a real investigation.

(In the heroic adventure arc, this scene would be the call to adventure. Jo has begun the process of bringing the real villain, although we don’t know who that is yet, to justice. Neither Danny nor Sam is interested in the answering the call.)

Scene 7
16:34
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Col. Nathan Jessup meets with two officers–Lt. Johnathan Kendrick (Keifer Sutherland) and Lt. Col. Matthew Markinson (J.T. Walsh) to discuss the Santiago problem. Jessup tells Kendrick to take care of it although Markinson disagrees. Jessup dismisses Kendrick, although they will meet later for lunch at the Officer’s club to talk about Santiago. Jessup tells Markinson they’ve known each other a long time, but not to question his authority.

(We meet the antagonist, Col. Jessup, and his ally, Kendrick. Markinson is an unknown at this point. As Jo had suspected, Jessup and Kendrick, although they don’t use the term Code Red, are planning on some type of disciplinary action for Santiago. This scene is a jump backward in time, before Santiago’s death.)

Scene 8
21:31
Washington D.C.
Dawson and Downey arrive in the early morning hours.

(We don’t have a close-up view of the two defendants but apparently neither of them have been to Washington D.C. before and are a bit in awe.)

Scene 9
22:05
Baseball field
Danny is batting and practicing with his team. Jo confronts him about not visiting the two defendants. She blasts him with a spot on characterization of his life (doing the minimum while he serves out his time in the Navy) and asks if he’s ever heard of a Code Red.

(Again we have the call to adventure and again Danny is not answering, although he seems intrigued by the Code Red.)

Scene 10
25:08
Jail
Danny and Sam visit Harold Dawson (Wolfgang Bodison) and Lauden Downey (James Marshall) in jail. The defendants say they were ordered to give a Code Red to Santiago, to shave his head, but he died accidentally. Dawson admits that he did fire over the fence line, but only when his mirror engaged.

(Again, we have the call to adventure when the defendants tell their counsel, point blank, that they are innocent of anything except following orders and that Santiago’s death was an accident. Dawson had even called the ambulance, although there were no witnesses. We also see the central question of the movie–can the fact that someone ordered a Code Red be proved.)

Scene 11
29:35
Kaffee’s Office
Prosecutor Capt. Jack Ross (Kevin Bacon) visits Danny in his office. Although they barter for a short time, Jack immediately offers a 12 year deal after hearing the words “Code Red”.  He then tells Danny that Kendrick told Dawson and Downey not to touch Santiago. Danny says he’ll think about the offer and is on his way to Cuba the next day. Outside the building, Jo wants to make peace–because she can’t get him fired. She’ll be on the case, per papers signed by Downey’s next of kin, and she’ll be in Cuba.

(Again, Danny refuses the call to adventure, the call to defend his clients successfully. Although Jo is an ally, her official status as a member of the defense sets up a possible problem for the hero, since we’ve seen that she is not litigation qualified.)

Scene 12
32:14
Magazine Stand
Danny stops for a magazine and trades sayings with Luther.

Scene 13
32:45
Near Sam’s House
While Sam is walking his little girl in a stroller, Danny talks to him about the prosecutor’s offer. He’s bothered by it and by the mention of Kendrick’s name.

(Sam, like Danny, is in favor of the plea bargain. Danny, however, is starting to have his doubts.)

Scene 14
34:52
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Danny, Sam, and Jo arrive at the base.

(The summary of the action is really as simple as that short sentence but this is the end of Act 1, its climax, and Doorway 1. Our hero and his allies have crossed the threshold into the antagonist’s lair. It’s an enormous change of scene. Technically, our hero hasn’t committed to the adventure, although we know he has his doubts about the case. It’s also true that he has not yet committed in such a way that he cannot turn back–even after being in Cuba. Even so, the trip to Cuba marks a definite break from his world of plea bargaining without an investigation and his immersion in the life of military. Also, we’ve just passed the thirty minute mark.)

In the next post:  the first part of Act 2 and our hero’s first encounter with the antagonist.

Dracula, First Edition Cover

In the final installment of my plot analysis of Dracula, by Bram Stoker, we follow our heroes from the end of Act 2 to the exciting climax of this classic Gothic, horror, thriller.

To briefly recap the novel to this point, we learned in the beginning that Dracula and his minions preyed on human blood. At the start of Act 2, Dracula traveled to England, bringing his search for victims to a new shore. At the midpoint of the novel, after the death of young Lucy, we discovered that Dracula could create more undead like himself using his human victims and that killing the undead, although not impossible, was a grisly business. As we begin the scenes below, Mina is in danger of becoming a vampire and Dracula has managed to escape England.

Scenes 101 – 116

Scene: 101
Setting: Varna
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: The entire heroic team has taken the Orient Express eastward in pursuit of Dracula. Under hypnosis, Mina reveals that he is still on his ship. They wait for him to arrive at Varna.
Read on? Will Mina betray them?

(This scene is the end of Act 2 and what James Scott Bell, in his book Plot & Structure, would call Doorway 2. Although the knowledge that Dracula was on a boat headed home was acquired in an earlier scene, and is certainly the information that permits our heroes to pursue him, this scene cements their journey. Our heroes crash through the end of Act 2 in pursuit of their enemy and would find it very difficult to turn back at this point, even if that’s what they wanted. The hunt for Dracula in England has turned into a chase, as well as a race, as they make their way east to confront him.)

Scene: 102
Setting: Varna
POV: Seward
Scene type: Action
Summary: The team continues waiting and Mina seems lethargic but reports the same ship sounds.
Read on? Will Mina betray them?

Scene: 103
Setting: Varna
POV: Seward
Scene type: Action
Summary: They receive word that the ship will not land at Varna, but at Galatz instead. They will take the train to Galatz, first thing in the morning.
Read on? Will they get to Dracula before he gets out of his box at sunset?

Scene: 104
Setting: Train
POV: Seward
Scene type: Action
Summary: Via hypnosis Mina reveals he is close to land but is not yet on shore. They near Galatz.
Read on? Will they get to Dracula before he gets out of his box at sunset?

Scene: 105
Setting: Galatz
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: They discover that Dracula is being ported over, but don’t know where.
Read on? Are they too late?

(This is yet another setback for our team. They had hoped to get him on the ship.)

Scene: 106
Setting: Galatz
POV: Mina
Scene type: Action
Summary: Mina composes a memorandum trying to deduce the location of the Count, possibly traveling via the Pruth river and perhaps another further on that loops close to his castle. The men are overjoyed at her work. They decide to pursue by river, carriage, and horseback along the banks. Van Helsing is with Mina at the hotel.
Read on? Can they catch up with him?

Scene: 107
Setting: Steam Launch on River
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: Jonathan is on the river with Arthur. Mina and Van Helsing are traveling by carriage. Seward and Morris go by horseback.
Read on? Can they catch up with him?

Scene: 108
Setting: On the Road
POV: Seward
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Seward and Quincey have heard that a river launch has had an accident but has continued on. They don’t know if it’s Arthur’s launch or Dracula’s.
Read on? Can they catch up with him?

(I should note that, in terms of deepening types of scenes, quite a bit of deepening goes on in this novel as the characters continually make flowery and emotional speeches to each other.)

Scene: 109
Setting: Veresti
POV: Mina
Scene type: Action
Summary: Mina and Van Helsing have arrived at an intermediate destination. They stop for dinner and also stock up on food. He says they may not get other food for a week. They’ll be leaving after dinner.
Read on? Can they catch up with him?

Scene: 110
Setting: Carriage
POV: Mina
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Mina sees, through hypnosis, that the Count is still on the river. They travel for days, during which time the sound of the water that the Count hears becomes louder, meaning he is further upstream.
Read on? Can they catch up with him?

Scene: 111
Setting: Carriage
POV: Van Helsing
Scene type: Action
Summary: At night, the three women from the castle come for Mina but Van Helsing keeps himself and Mina safe by sprinkling communion wafer crumbs in a ring around them. The three call to their “sister.” The horses all die.
Read on? Is Mina one of them now?

(Another setback.)

Scene: 112
Setting: On the Road
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Setup
Summary: It was Jonathan’s launch that had the accident. They are behind now and setting off with horses.
Read on? Can they catch up with the others?

(Another setback for the team.)

Scene: 113
Setting: On the Road
POV: Seward
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Seward and Quincey are drawing closer on horseback.
Read on? Can they catch up with Dracula?

Scene: 114
Setting: The Castle
POV: Van Helsing
Scene type: Action
Summary: Van Helsing leaves Mina and kills the three women in their tombs.
Read on? Can they catch up with Dracula?

(Finally, we have an outright success for Van Helsing and our team of heroes.)

Scene: 115
Setting: On the Road
POV: Mina
Scene type: Action
Summary: Mina and Van Helsing see the cart with Dracula in the distance, racing against the sunset, with Quincey and Seward in pursuit, and also Arthur and Jonathan. They all assault the cart, routing the gypsy drivers. With the sun setting, they open the box, but Dracula seems to be waking up. Jonathan and Quincey quickly knife him and he crumbles into dust. The castle of Dracula stands in silhouette against the red sky. Although they have triumphed, and Mina is able to step out of the holy circle that Van Helsing made for her, Quincey dies of a wound he has just suffered in the struggle.
Read on? Are there any more vampires out there?

(The climax of the novel couldn’t be more fitting. In a sense, we return to the opening of the book as Dracula and the team race toward his castle. The location is thematic as Dracula returns to his turf and his castle looms above them, darkly silhouetted against the red sunset. It is the last place that our heroes wanted to be and yet they will risk everything in order to eliminate him. Although they prevail in the final battle, a melee between our heroes and Dracula’s protectors, and Mina experiences a final evolution back to a human, the victory is tempered by the loss of Quincey.)

Scene: 116
Setting: England
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Reaction
Summary: Seven years on, Jonathan and Mina have a son named Quincey and have visited Transylvania, which showed no traces of the horrors that had unfolded there.
Read on? The End. Hope, I guess that’s the end of the vampires.

(A brief denouement shows us that Jonathan and Mina have returned to a normal life and that the world has been made safe.)

The Major Plot Milestones

The Hook – Scene 2: The old woman at the inn is obviously terrified for Jonathan’s well being on learning that he is going to see Dracula. She gives him a rosary.

The Catalyst – Scene 8: Dracula tells Jonathan he will be staying for a month and not to fall asleep anywhere but his bedroom. Jonathan sees him crawl down the outside of the castle wall, head first.

Ticking Clock – Scene 13: The count asks Jonathan to write three letters saying that he’s left the castle and journeying home, and future date them. Jonathan now knows he won’t be leaving and how long he has to live.

Doorway 1 – Scene 20: Dracula is taken away in his box and Jonathan decides to escape through his window, rather than be left with the three women.

Midpoint Crisis – Scene 74: Seward and Van Helsing confirm that Lucy’s coffin is empty.

Pinch – Scene 82: Seward takes Mina for an amiable visit with Renfield because she is curious after listening to Seward’s diaries. Eventually, Van Helsing arrives to complete the team (Arthur, Quincey, Mina, Jonathan, Seward, and Van Helsing) and uses the word vampire for the first time in the book. As they hold their meeting, a bat hovers outside the window and Quincey tries to shoot it from outside, but misses, shattering the window. They decide to go to Dracula’s house in Carfax immediately, but leave Mina behind.

Doorway 2 – Scene 101: The entire heroic team has taken the Orient Express eastward in pursuit of Dracula. Under hypnosis, Mina reveals that he is still on his ship. They wait for him to arrive at Varna.

Climax – Scene 115: Mina and Van Helsing see the cart with Dracula in the distance, racing against the sunset, with Quincey and Seward in pursuit, and also Arthur and Jonathan. They all assault the cart, routing the gypsy drivers. With the sun setting, they open the box, but Dracula seems to be waking up. Jonathan and Quincey quickly knife him and he crumbles into dust. The castle of Dracula stands in silhouette against the red sky. Although they have triumphed, and Mina is able to step out of the holy circle that Van Helsing made for her, Quincey dies of a wound he has just suffered in the struggle.

Denouement – Scene 116: Seven years on, Jonathan and Mina have a son named Quincey and have visited Transylvania, which showed no traces of the horrors that had unfolded there.

For Uber-Plotters

I’ve split the 116 scenes of the novel into equal “parts” of twenty scenes each, except for Part 6, which had 16 scenes.

Compared to James Rollins (80% action scenes) or Dan Brown (51% action scenes), Bram Stoker uses action scenes 48% of the time. Often, though, the setup scene in Dracula serves to build tension and suspense, as we might expect for a novel that is also a gothic horror tale.

In terms of major milestones, we have the following:

As we might expect, the three act structure holds: Act 1 is 17% of the book, Act 2 is 70% of the book, and Act 3 is 13% of book, by weight. Many setbacks fill the lives the heroes in Act 2 and even the climax is not free from death.

Take Away

Although I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from a novel written over one hundred years ago, I was pleasantly surprised to learn a few different things as a result of this analysis. Although not part of the scene-by-scene breakdown, I was encouraged by the fact that Bram Stoker wrote Dracula while he worked a day job. I also found it interesting that this classic didn’t spring full-blown from his forehead and that he changed his mind about the characters in the book, at least a couple of times.

Most of all, though, I found that the plot structure of the thriller shone through. Because Dracula isn’t strictly a thriller and also because audience expectations may have been very different, the story seemed too slow at times. The orations that the characters seem to create off the cuff, although they may have provided deepening to readers of the time (and to us), today they serve more to create an evocation of the time, an ambiance of gentlemen and ladies who never seem to forget who they are, even as they chase a vampire. Likewise, the dated letters and journal entries achieve the same end, while also emphasizing the pace of the proceedings, not to mention providing interesting glimpses into the different character points of view.

Although Dracula is a classic for many reasons that I haven’t touched upon here (character, theme, the enduring popularity of vampires), its solid plot provides a fabulous foundation.  If you’ve never read the book then treat yourself.  I can recommend it highly!

For your convenience, here are links to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5 of this plot analysis.

Stoker’s Character List

Count Dracula
Dracula Historiae Personae

○ Doctor of madhouse Seward
Girl engaged to him Lucy Westenra Schoolfellow of Mrs Murray
○ Mad Patient (theory of getting life – instrumental goes for Count follows up idea with mad cunning)
○ Lawer (sic) Arthur Abbott John Peter Hawkins Exeter
○ His clerk —– Jonathan Harker
○ Fiancée of above —– Wilhelmina Murrary (called Mina)
○ Lawyer Wm. Young
○ His sister
○ Auctioneer
Friend + schoolfellow of above —– Kate Reed.
The Count —— Count Wampyr Dracula
A Deaf Mute woman
A Silent Man
English servants of the Count
○ A Detective —– Cotford
○ A Psychical Research Agent —– Alfred Singleton
○ An American Inventor from Texas
○ A German Professor —– Max Windshoeffel
○ A Painter —– Francis Aytonn
○ A Texan —– Brutus M. Marix

Mem.
makes dinner of 13

(The following in pencil.)
Mem.
secret room — coloured like blood

Bram Stoker's Notes About Characters in Dracula

Who’s Who

For those readers who have seen the previous parts of this plot analysis–and, of course, also readers of the novel–many of the names are familiar as are many of the characters, though not all.

In the above list, Lucy is engaged to Seward and not Arthur, as in the final version of the novel.

Although the American inventor from Texas didn’t make the final cut–apparently Stoker liked Americans–another Texan does, called here Brutus Marix, although finally named Quincey Morris in the novel.

We might speculate that the German Professor, Max Windshoeffel, ended up as the Dutch professor, Van Helsing.

Strikingly, the count himself has gone through a name change and was previously known as Wampyr.

Detective Cotford seems to have fallen by the wayside, as has the painter Francis Aytown. Perhaps their purposes in the story were taken over by other characters. It’s interesting to speculate that the investigative authority of the detective might have been given to the combination of Arthur (Lord Godalming) and Jonathan as they try to track down Dracula’s secret lair.

Kate Reed, a third female character, never made an appearance in the novel, possibly because she was a friend to a character listed just above her that was nixed (either the auctioneer, the sister, or the lawyer).

Likewise, the mute servants of Count Dracula do not appear in the novel, while Dracula seems to take up many of the castle housekeeping duties himself.

Perhaps of most interest, though, is the character Alfred Singleton. Who and/or what was the “psychical research agent”? Possibly this role was taken on by Mina–which we haven’t seen yet in this analysis–when Van Helsing hypnotizes her.

Although the bottom of the list has a memo that notes “makes dinner of 13”, there was never a dinner scene in the book at which all of these characters were present. Finally, there is a very provocative reference to a secret room colored like blood, although there is no such room in the novel.

Recap

To recap our analysis of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, looking at its structure with an eye toward the plot milestones in a thriller, we have just passed the midpoint of the novel, where we saw that Dracula can potentially turn any of his victims into one of the undead. The team of heroes is assembled and we have seen Dracula’s confederates as well.

Scene: 81
Setting: Whitby
POV: Mina
Scene type: Setup
Summary: She has finished the manuscript (of all Dracula related exploits) and shares it with various of the heroes, at the hotel where they are all staying.
Read on? Ho hum.

Scene: 82
Setting: Whitby
POV: Seward
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Seward takes Mina for an amiable visit with Renfield because she is curious after listening to Seward’s diaries. Eventually, Van Helsing arrives to complete the team (Arthur, Quincey, Mina, Jonathan, Seward, and Van Helsing) and uses the word vampire for the first time in the book. As they hold their meeting, a bat hovers outside the window and Quincey tries to shoot it from outside, but misses, shattering the window. They decide to go to Dracula’s house in Carfax immediately, but leave Mina behind.
Read on? So, the two sides of the battle know about each other.

(This scene has the makings of a pinch point. Between the big action of the novel’s midpoint, which we saw in Part 4, and upcoming end of Act 2, we have a quieter moment where we are reminded of the powerful capabilities of Dracula and what it will mean if the heroes do not succeed.)

Scene: 83
Setting: Whitby
POV: Seward
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Before they leave for Carfax, they visit Renfield who has sent an urgent message. Appearing as the model of sanity, he begs them all for his immediate release, but they refuse and leave.
Read on? Ho hum.

(The Renfield character doesn’t work for me, although I like that he’s unpredictable.)

Scene: 84
Setting: Carfax
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: They go to Carfax and start opening the crates of dirt. Jonathan thinks he sees Dracula’s face in the shadows, but then it disappears. The place is swarmed by rats, but they have dogs ready to chase the rats. When Jonathan gets to his room, Mina is asleep but seems pale. She has trouble waking up the next morning as well.
Read on? Why do the men all keep making the same mistake, just as with Lucy?

(They haven’t found Dracula but he’s been to visit Mina. This is a defeat for the team, although they don’t yet realize it.)

Scene: 85
Setting: Carfax
POV: Seward
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Van Helsing pays a visit to Renfield but doesn’t learn much.
Read on? Ho hum.

Scene: 86
Setting: Carfax
POV: Mina
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Mina writes in her journal of a strange fog that seemed to come into her room the previous night while she waited for Jonathan. Also, a pair of red eyes appeared, such as Lucy had described.
Read on? Ho hum.

(Again, the enemy seems to be able to have his way with our heroine, right under the noses of the heroes.)

Scene: 87
Setting: Carfax
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Jonathan is out interrogating people, still trying to get information about Dracula and the missing boxes.
Read on? Ho hum.

Scene: 88
Setting: Carfax
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: Jonathan tracks down a probable location for one of Dracular’s lairs. Mina is looking more pale and tired–yet nobody seems worried.
Read on? Ho hum.

Scene: 89
Setting: Carfax
POV: Seward
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Seward meets with Renfield and realizes that Dracula has been in touch with him. Seward informs Van Helsing and they decide to watch him that night.
Read on? Ho hum.

Scene: 90
Setting: Carfax
POV: Seward
Scene type: Action
Summary: Preparations are in progress for a visit to Dracula’s house. Seward receives word that Renfield has been found in his cell, covered in blood.
Read on? Ho hum.

Scene: 91
Setting: Whitby
POV: Seward
Scene type: Reaction
Summary: It looks like Renfield has been attacked and his back might be broken. Seward summons Van Helsing who performs a trepanation. When Renfield wakes, he tells them that Dracula visited in a fog and that Mina is in danger.
Read on? Oh, Mina? No, really?

Scene: 92
Setting: Carfax
POV: Seward
Scene type: Action
Summary: They return to the hotel and enter the Harker’s room. Jonathan is lying on the floor in a stupor while Mina drinks the Count’s blood from a wound in his chest. Dracula escapes.
Read on? Has Mina now turned into a vampire?

(Although we had never witnessed Lucy doing the same thing, we must assume that the same fate lies in store for Mina. At the very least she is on the slippery slope, although her husband and most of the other men don’t seem to realize it.)

Scene: 93
Setting: Carfax
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: The team plans their visit to the Count’s house. Van Helsing prepares Mina’s room with anti-vampire stuff and discovers that a communion wafer burns a scar into her forehead. They leave her alone to go to the Count’s house.
Read on? Oh, Mina alone? Really?

(Mina is confirmed as unholy, a further worsening of her condition and a setback for the team.)

Scene: 94
Setting: Picadilly
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: The team enters Dracula’s house and thereby discovers the whereabout of his other houses. Arthur and Quincey head off to those houses, while Jonathan, Van Helsing, and Seward wait for the Count.
Read on? Can they thwart the Count at his various lairs?

Scene: 95
Setting: Picadilly
POV: Seward
Scene type: Action
Summary: They receive a courier note from Mina that the Count might be on his way. They are joined by Arthur and Quincey, but the Count eludes their capture. They return to the hotel and Mina.
Read on? Can they thwart the count at his various lairs?

(Dracula was essentially in their clutches and yet he seems to escape anyway–another failure for the team.)

Scene: 96
Setting: Carfax
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: They know that Dracula still has one hidden box of dirt but they don’t know where it is. Mina has an idea to be hypnotized by Van Helsing so that she might locate the box. From her description, they realize it’s on a ship.
Read on? Can they find the ship and kill him?

Scene: 97
Setting: Carfax
POV: Van Helsing
Scene type: Action
Summary: The team leaves the Harkers and goes in search of the ship.
Read on? Can they find the ship and kill him?

Scene: 98
Setting: Carfax
POV: Mina
Scene type: Action
Summary: They have discovered that Dracula’s ship has left for Transylvania and is heading for the mouth of the Danube. Van Helsing proposes to go overland and get to his destination before him.
Read on? Can they arrive before the ship and then kill Dracula?

(Dracula has eluded them yet again, despite not being able to move about in the day–another failure for the team.)

Scene: 99
Setting: Carfax
POV: Seward
Scene type: Action
Summary: Van Helsing tells Seward that Mina is becoming a vampire. The men meet and make a plan without Mina. Jonathan is supposed to remain behind with Mina and then Van Helsing indicates to Seward that it’s OK for Jonathan to tell Mina about their plans.
Read on? Will Mina betray them?

Scene: 100
Setting: Carfax
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: Mina sleeps during the day and wakes in the evening, making Jonathan promise not to tell her of their plans. The next day, she insists on going with them because she can be hypnotized and act as a guide. She’s most herself at sunrise and sunset, but makes the others promise to kill her if she becomes a vampire.
Read on? Will Mina betray them?

We must wait for the final post in this analysis of Bram Stoker’s Dracula to see the end of the second act. By making sure that the team has failed at virtually every turn, Stoker is driving them to a final confrontation with the enemy that seems as though it will take place on his turf. Although we don’t know if it’s the case, we also hope that Mina can still somehow be saved, unlike Lucy.

Scene: 41
Setting: Budapest
POV: Mina
Scene type: Action
Summary: Mina has traveled to Budapest and is with Jonathan and they have been married.
Read on? Then what will happen to Lucy and the people in Whitby?

(We finally see, or rather hear, that our hero has been united with his love interest.  Their subplot now takes a back seat to the main theme in Act 2–the danger follows Dracula, and he’s in Whitby.)

Scene: 42
Setting: Whitby
POV: Lucy
Scene type: Reaction
Summary: Writes to Mina that she and Arthur are doing wonderfully and will be married the next month.
Read on? Is she lying?

Scene: 43
Setting: Whitby
POV: Seward
Scene type: Action
Summary: Renfield escapes at night again, fights like a madman until he sees a bat flying, and then is recaptured.
Read on? He’s trying to reach Dracula.

(It would appear that Dracula has an ally in England.)

Scene: 44
Setting: Albemarle Hotel
POV: Lucy, Diary
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Neither she or her mother are feeling well.
Read on? What’s wrong with Lucy?

Scene: 45
Setting: Albemarle Hotel
POV: Arthur
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Arthur writes to friend Dr. Jack Seward, worried about Lucy and knowing the her mother is terminally ill with heart disease. Has arranged for Seward to meet with Lucy.
Read on? What’s wrong with Lucy?

Scene: 46
Setting: Albemarle Hotel
POV: Arthur
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Telegrams Seward that he has been called to his father, who has taken a turn for the worse.
Read on? Ho hum.

Scene: 47
Setting: Whitby
POV: Seward
Scene type: Setup
Summary: He found Lucy anemic and recommends his old professor, Van Helsing, to Arthur for further scientific help.
Read on? Ho hum.

Scene: 48
Setting: Unknown Location
POV: Van Helsing, MD, PhD, and even more degrees.
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Is on his way to see Seward.
Read on? Ho hum.

(We meet the mentor and vampire expert, Van Helsing.  His knowledge will act as the catalyst for many key scenes to follow.)

Scene: 49
Setting: Hillingham
POV: Seward
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Seward sends word to Arthur that Van Helsing has come and gone, needs to think about a couple of things, and will get back to him.
Read on? Ho hum.

Scene: 50
Setting: Hillingham
POV: Seward
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Renfield is eating flies and feeling abandoned.
Read on? Ho hum.

Scene: 51
Setting: Hillingham
POV: Seward
Scene type: Action
Summary: Lucy takes a sudden turn for the worse and Seward sends for Van Helsing. They decide to transfuse her. Arthur arrives and donates his blood. Van Helsing sees the puncture marks on her neck and leaves Seward to watch over her. The next day she is better and Van Helsing wires that he will be returning.
Read on? Has Van Helsing figured out that it’s Dracula?

(Two final allies, Arthur and Van Helsing, finally arrive in the flesh.)

Scene: 52
Setting: Hillingham
POV: Lucy
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Feeling much better.
Read on? Ho hum.

Scene: 53
Setting: Hillingham
POV: Seward
Scene type: Action
Summary: Van Helsing returns to find Lucy nearly dead. They transfuse some of Seward’s blood and she improves.
Read on? Ho hum.

(I usually reserve “ho hum” for a setup or reaction scene, but this action is repetitive.  Although Stoker is building some tension as Dracula manages to outwit the heroic allies, this scene isn’t really advancing the plot.)

Scene: 54
Setting: Hillingham
POV: Seward
Scene type: Action
Summary: Van Helsing receives a box of garlic and askes Lucy to wear it around her neck.
Read on? He must suspect Dracula.

Scene: 55
Setting: Hillingham
POV: Lucy
Scene type: Reaction
Summary: She’s gratefully using the garlic.
Read on? Ho hum.

Scene: 56
Setting: Hillingham
POV: Seward
Scene type: Action
Summary: Seward and Van Helsing return to Hillingham. Her mother had removed the garlic in the night. Another transfusion, this time from Van Helsing, who then stays with her.
Read on? Ho hum.

Scene: 57
Setting: Hillingham
POV: Lucy
Scene type: Reaction
Summary: Van Helsing has been watching over her for four days and she’s feeling great and an angry bat keeps flapping outside the window.
Read on? Ho hum.

Scene: 58
Setting: Zoological Gardens
POV: Pall Mall Gazette Reporter
Scene type: Setup
Summary: The wolf was very agitated and then escaped through bars that had been bent. As the reporter watched, though, the wolf returned to the keeper like a stray puppy, and the keeper put it away.
Read on? More of Dracula’s doings?

(This will turn out to be the work of Dracula, creating allies.)

Scene: 59
Setting: Whitby
POV: Seward
Scene type: Action
Summary: Seward is attacked by Renfield with a dinner knife, cuts his wrist, and laps his blood off the floor. He is summoned by Van Helsing to Hillingham.
Read on? What is happening with Lucy?

(The attack by Renfield is really an attack by Dracula, using him as a pawn and a surrogate.)

Scene: 60
Setting: Hillingham
POV: Lucy
Scene type: Action
Summary: As Lucy and her mother spend some time in Lucy’s room, the bat flaps outside then the window breaks and a wolf pokes it head in. Her mother dies of a heart attack and Lucy faints. The wolf leaves but is howling outside and maids arrive. Lucy leaves the garlic on her mother’s body, the maids drink wine laced with a narcotic and fall asleep. Lucy writes the above in a note and then waits.
Read on? Will she survive the night?

(This is an attack by Dracula, using the wolf. It’s quite the cliffhanger too!)

Although scenes 41 through 60 haven’t advanced the plot much, Stoker is creating a near claustrophobic atmosphere by placing most of the action in Lucy’s room or Renfield’s cell. We see that danger is drawing very close and that people who are desperate to help Lucy can’t seem to manage it for any length of time. In the next set of scenes, the tension will continue to build, and we will look for it to snap, with the approach of the midpoint of the novel.  We will not be disappointed.

Scenes 21 – 40

Scene: 21
Setting: London
POV: Mina
Scene type: Setup
Summary: The story regresses in time and Mina writes to her friend Lucy, speculating positively on her future with Jonathan.
Read on? Is he still alive? Will she get a letter from him and understand it?

(We meet the love interest of the hero, who is a heroine in her own right and an ally of our hero, Jonathan.)

Scene: 22
Setting: London
POV: Lucy
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Lucy writes to Mina of the new man in her life, Arthur.
Read on? Ho Hum.

(So often, my reaction to the setup scene is “ho hum”.  This type of scene has to happen–mostly–and it doesn’t stop me from reading on–mostly–but it’s my least favorite type of scene.)

Scene: 23
Setting: London
POV: Lucy
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Lucy writes to Mina about three proposals of marriage that she has had in one day.
Read on? Ho Hum.

(We have our first encounter with Quincey Morris, her American suitor. He will later turn out to be an ally and hero. Dr. Seward was the other suitor and Arthur was the third, who she has decided to marry.)

Scene: 24
Setting: London
POV: Dr. Seward
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Seward writes in his diary about a patient he has seen, a Mr. Renfield. Seward seems like a psychiatrist, although I’m not sure the writers of the late 1800s really differentiated between medical doctors and psychiatrists in the way that we do now.
Read on? Ho Hum.

Scene: 25
Setting: London
POV: Quincey Morris
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Quincey writes a letter to Arthur Holmwood, inviting him to meet a friend of theirs, Jack Seward, to reminisce.
Read on? Ho Hum.

(In essence, the team is coming together, and these three men make up about half of the people who will eventually do battle with Dracula.)

Scene: 26
Setting: London
POV: Arthur
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Arthur telegrams Quincy to say he’ll be there.
Read on? Ho Hum.

Scene: 27
Setting: Whitby
POV: Mina
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Mina writes in her journal that she is walking around Whitby, near the sea, simply looking at whatever strikes her fancy. Lucy and her mother are absent.
Read on? Ho Hum.

Scene: 28
Setting: Whitby
POV: Mina
Scene type: Deepening
Summary: She and Lucy have a strange conversation with an old sailor about the gravestones.  Mina is missing Jonathan since she hasn’t had a letter from him in a month.
Read on? Ho Hum.

Scene: 29
Setting: London
POV: Dr. Seward
Scene type: Deepening
Summary: Seward discusses his patient, Renfield, a homicidal maniac, who may have eaten his own bird collection, raw.
Read on? Ho Hum.

Scene: 30
Setting: Whitby
POV: Mina
Scene type: Deepening
Summary: Lucy has started walking in her sleep again and Mina has received a cryptic letter from Jonathan, which doesn’t seem like him. The old sailor says they’re in for a storm. There’s a Russian ship steering around strangely in the harbor.
Read on? Ho Hum.

Scene: 31
Setting: Whitby
POV: Newspaper
Scene type: Action
Summary: After the storm, a boat has been found in which a dead man was tied to the wheel, holding a crucifix. In his pocket was a bottle with an addendum to the ship’s log. The hold had empty wooden crates. Reading between the lines of the log, it seems that Dracula has arrived.
Read on? About time.

Scene: 32
Setting: Whitby
POV: Mina
Scene type: Setup
Summary: She and Lucy see the aftermath of the storm and also the captain’s funeral.
Read on? Ho hum.

Scene: 33
Setting: Whitby
POV: Mina
Scene type: Action
Summary: Lucy had been sleepwalking and was apparently found and bitten by Dracula. Mina can’t quite make out in the darkness what has happened. Lucy sleeps late the next morning and Mina assumes her safety pin must have punctured Lucy’s throat. Otherwise, Lucy appears better than she has.
Read on? What will happen to Lucy now that she’s been bitten?

(We may not, as readers in the late 1800s, know what will happen to Lucy once she’s bitten, but we’ve seen the three women at his castle.)

Scene: 34
Setting: Whitby
POV: Mina
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Lucy keeps trying to escape at night. She points out the window and Mina sees a giant bat flying around.
Read on? Is the bat Dracula?

Scene: 35
Setting: Whitby
POV: Mina
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Mina goes out for a walk at night and returns to see Lucy at the windowsill with what appears to be a large bird. Once inside, Lucy is already going to bed.
Read on? Has Dracula been visiting?

Scene: 36
Setting: Whitby
POV: Mina
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Lucy is not feeling well and is in decline. Mina cannot understand why Lucy is doing so poorly.
Read on? Has Dracula been visiting?

Scene: 37
Setting: Whitby
POV: Billingston and Son, Solicitors letter to Carter, Paterson, & Co.
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Arranging delivery of fifty boxes for their client. Carter, Paterson reply that all has been done.
Read on? Is this Dracula’s stuff?

Scene: 38
Setting: Whitby
POV: Mina
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Lucy is feeling much better.
Read on? Why?

Scene: 39
Setting: Whitby
POV: Mina
Scene type: Action
Summary: She receives news that Jonathan had been unwell but is now improving. A caretaker’s letter, from Budapest, says he’s been through some sort of ordeal with wolves and poison and ghosts. He’ll convalesce another few weeks.
Read on? So, he’s survived. Will he make it back in time to help Mina and Lucy?

Scene: 40
Setting: Whitby
POV: Seward
Scene type: Action
Summary: Renfield says that the Master is at hand and escapes, but then is recaptured.
Read on? Is Dracula the master?

Tension is continuing to build as we primarily watch Lucy and Mina interact, mostly through Mina’s point of view.  Although we have yet to hear his name mentioned or see a clear description of him, we know that Dracula has arrived in England.  Essentially, the plight of our hero and heroine have reversed and we hope that Jonathan makes it back from Budapest in time to help Lucy (and Mina, although she will shortly leave to join Jonathan).

In the next post, we’ll see Act 2 continue with more setup, as the team of heroes is completed.

So, yes, Dracula is horror.  It’s also Gothic, part travelogue, an invasion tale, and even a romance.  More to the point of this blog, though, it’s also a thriller.  Despite the archaic speech patterns, not to mention speeches (conveyed via journal entries, letters, and news clippings), the structure of the thriller shines through.

Why Dracula

One of the reasons that I selected Dracula was its price:  free!  You can get it from Project Gutenberg, and there are also free ebooks out there, including the iTunes store.  I read a free ebook  that came with Adobe Digital Editions on my Mac laptop.

Another reason that I chose Dracula is my belief that many people may not actually know the novel, or even the full story, for that matter.  I know I didn’t and I had even read it as a teenager.

Finally, though, it’s a thoroughly enjoyable classic–for good reason.

Plot Analysis

For my analysis, I’m using a method advocated by James Scott Bell in his oh-so useful book on novel writing called Plot & Structure.  I don’t care how many fiction writing books you own, you should not miss out on this one.  I’ve read several but Plot & Structure really made a few key things click for me.

At approximately 161,000 words, Dracula is a lengthy work.  In this exercise, I’ll be breaking it down, scene by scene (116 in all) and noting the following for each scene:  the setting, the POV character, the scene type (setup, action, reaction, deepening), a two or three sentence summary of what happened in the scene, and my assessment of whether I should read on or not (typically phrased as a question).  Along the way, I’ll be noting down the milestones of the plot as they go by–the real point to the exercise.

Without further ado, let us begin Dracula!

Scenes 1 – 20

Scene: 1
Setting: Transylvania
POV: Jonathan (journal entry)
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Jonathan Harker has traveled to Transylvania from London and receives a letter from Dracula making arrangements for transportation to meet Dracula.
Read on? It’s only the most famous setting in all of horror-dom. I guess I’ll read on!

(We meet the protagonist, our hero, and our opening image is one of a strange and foreboding landscape.)

Scene: 2
Setting: The Inn
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Setup
Summary: The old woman at the inn is obviously terrified for Jonathan’s well being on learning that he is going to see Dracula. She gives him a rosary.
Read on? What does she fear?

(This scene works as a disturbance, our first substantive hint that something is very wrong with this trip. The woman at the inn, and just about everybody else in the story, is uneasy or downright fearful when they hear about Dracula and that our protagonist is on his way to the castle.)

Scene: 3
Setting: Two coaches through the countryside
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Jonathan’s coach is met by Dracula’s coach, which conveys him through the creepy countryside to the castle.
Read on? What will he find in the castle?

Scene: 4
Setting: Dracula’s castle
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Setup
Summary: He is visiting as a solicitor to explain the purchase of a London estate. He meets the Count and he eats dinner–Dracula does not. The Count is strong but cold to the touch, making Jonathan nauseous when he’s too close.
Read on? What is wrong with the Count?

(We meet the antagonist and the namesake of the novel.  It had been titled “The Un-Dead” while Stoker was working on it but the title changed shortly before it was published.)

Scene: 5
Setting: Dracula’s castle
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Setup
Summary: He has a late breakfast by himself, spends the latter part of the day talking with Dracula, mostly about the estate he’s purchased. Again he dines solo and Dracula keeps him up until the first light of morning.
Read on? What is wrong with the Count?

Scene: 6
Setting: Dracula’s castle
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Dracula doesn’t have a reflection in a mirror, is excited by the sight of Jonathan’s blood, but is then put off by the rosary. Jonathan has breakfast alone again and explores the castle to find many locked doors.
Read on? Is he a prisoner?

Scene: 7
Setting: Dracula’s castle
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: Jonathan is convinced he is a prisoner. He spies Dracula doing all the servant’s work. He needs to draw information out of Dracula without raising suspicion that he knows something is going on.
Read on? Can he escape?

Scene: 8
Setting: Dracula’s castle
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: Dracula says Jonathan will be staying for a month and tells him not to fall asleep anywhere but his bedroom. Jonathan sees him crawl down the outside of the castle wall, head first.
Read on? What kind of creature is Dracula?

(This scene could be characterized as a Call to Adventure or an Inciting Incident. Jonathan knows he’s up against something non-human and that, if he’s going to survive, he must take matters into his own hands, conquer his fear, and escape.)

Scene: 9
Setting: Dracula’s castle
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Reaction
Summary: Jonathan sees Dracula scaling the wall again and confirms that virtually all doors in the castle are locked. He finds one unlocked.  It was apparently once occupied by ladies in the castle.
Read on? What kind of creature is Dracula?

Scene: 10
Setting: Dracula’s castle
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: Jonathan is found by three women who want to suck the blood from him but Dracula intervenes, saying that Jonathan is his. He tosses them a small child in a bag to quiet them and they leave. Jonathan faints.
Read on? What kind of creatures suck blood? What do they want with the child?

(We meet the allies of the Count, aside from the local people he employs, who fear him. Our hero suffers his first defeat after deciding that he must try to escape.)

Scene: 11
Setting: Dracula’s castle
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Reaction
Summary: Jonathan awakes in his room and finds that his diary is still safe in his jacket pocket. Were Dracula to read it, he would know that Jonathan will try to escape.
Read on? Will he escape before they kill him?

Scene: 12
Setting: Dracula’s castle
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: Jonathan tries to enter the ladies room again, but finds it has been locked, from the inside.
Read on? Will he escape before they kill him?

Scene: 13
Setting: Dracula’s castle
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: The count asks Jonathan to write three letters saying that he’s left the castle, journeying home, and future date them. Jonathan now knows he won’t be leaving.
Read on? Will he escape before they kill him?

(A ticking clock begins, building suspense.)

Scene: 14
Setting: Dracula’s castle
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: A band of gypsies camps below his window. He writes a letter to Mina, his fiancé, and his employer and throws them down with money. The gypsy seems to understand, but the count intercepts the letters and gives them back to Jonathan.
Read on? Will he escape before they kill him?

(Although we haven’t met them, we know that Jonathan’s allies are Mina and Mr. Hawkins, but they are in England.  We hold out the remote hope that they may yet be able to help.)

Scene: 15
Setting: Dracula’s castle
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: All of his personal effects have been taken from his room.
Read on? Will he escape before they kill him?

Scene: 16
Setting: Dracula’s castle
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: Jonathan sees workmen delivering large empty crates below in the courtyard. He tries to leave his room but the door is locked. He calls down to the men, but they ignore him.
Read on? Will he escape before they kill him?

Scene: 17
Setting: Dracula’s castle
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: Jonathan sees Dracula leaving in his own (Jonathan’s) clothes, probably to fake his leaving. The three women accost Jonathan in the form of sparkling dust that almost hypnotizes him. The count returns and Jonathan hears a scream from the count’s room. A woman shows up in the courtyard below, screaming for her child. Dracula calls the wolves and they kill her.
Read on? Will he escape before they kill him?

(We had suspected that Dracula was linked with the “children of the night” but now we see his web of allies includes animals.)

Scene: 18
Setting: Dracula’s castle
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: Jonathan climbs down in daylight to the count’s window, enters, and eventually finds him sleeping in one of the boxes.
Read on? Will he escape before they kill him?

Scene: 19
Setting: Dracula’s castle
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: Dracula assures Jonathan that he’ll be leaving the next day. He hears Dracula beyond his door telling the three women that Jonathan is his now, but theirs the next day.
Read on? Will he escape before they kill him?

Scene: 20
Setting: Dracula’s castle
POV: Jonathan
Scene type: Action
Summary: Dracula is taken away in his box and Jonathan decides to brave leaving through his window, rather than be left with the three women.
Read on? Will he escape before they kill him?

(Not only is this Bell’s Doorway 1 and the end of Act 1, it is also the climax of the first sequence. Jonathan is committed now to escaping, wouldn’t go back if he could, and would likely die if he went back anyway. We are propelled into the middle part of the novel and wonder where Dracula has gone and if Jonathan will make good his escape.)

In the next part of this plot analysis of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, we look at scenes 21 through 40 and meet our hero’s love interest.

Analyzing for Plot

In James Scott Bell’s wonderful Plot & Structure, he asks his readers to do an exercise and break down several books of their choice, scene by scene, and identify several things for each scene: the POV character, the setting, the type of scene (action, reaction, setup, deepening), a two-line summary of the scene, and a note about why you’re reading on (or not).

In general, my note about why I’m reading on is phrased as a question–the one the scene has made me ask, so I have to read on to discover the answer.

Excavation

As an archaeologist and a thriller writer, how could I not analyze this book?

By the way, it should be obvious but let me say it anyway–spoiler alert. Don’t read this exercise if you haven’t read the book. Also, if you haven’t read the book, my two sentence summaries may not mean much. That said, I will not be posting the entire book.  Instead, I’ll show my analysis up to Doorway 1 (the end of Act 1).

The Milestones

As we go through the scenes, we’ll be looking for the major milestones of plot: the disturbance (aka the hook), inciting incident (aka catalyst), and doorway 1 (aka the first plot point, aka the climax of Act 1).  Were we to go further, we’d also be looking for pinch point 1, the world-changing midpoint, pinch point 2, doorway 2 (aka the second plot point, aka the climax of Act 2), and the climax of the novel.  Even though I’m not going to show the scene-by-scene breakdown after Act 1, I will show where the major milestones fall at the end of this post.

Scenes 1 through 9

Scene: 1
Setting: Peru, 1538 AD
POV: Friar
Scene type: Action
Summary: A young Dominican friar is being hunted in the jungle. He is scheduled to be executed, the bloodletting already done, and he’s also had chicha (fermented corn beer).  He crosses a rope bridge, cuts it behind him, climbs to a mountain top, on top of an altar, and kisses his cross. He has to make sure his captors don’t get it, so he slits his own throat.
Read on?  Why does he have to kill himself?

(Bell would call this scene the “disturbance” and it’s also been called the “Oh No! moment” or “the hook“. I liked the disturbance in the first scene, just as Dan Brown had done in Deception Point. I’m not a fan of prologues but I’m willing to go with it here, since it’s several centuries in the past and this is archaeology after all.)

Scene: 2
Setting: Johns Hopkins
POV: Henry
Scene type: Action
Summary: Professor Henry Conklin unwraps a mummy from Peru, with a reporter and scientists looking on.  Joan estimates the age of the mummy.  They find the cross and reason that this non-Incan was mummified–because he died at a sacred site, which is also why the Inca didn’t take his cross.  They do a medical scan and the mummy explodes, spewing gold.
Read on?  What’s up with the mummy?

(Now we know why the friar killed himself–so he’d be mummified with the cross.  In a way, this is a second disturbance of sorts, one for the modern timeline–the only timeline from this point on.)

Scene: 3
Setting: Peru
POV: Sam
Scene type: Action
Summary: Sam Conklin and Norman Fields are in the jungle at a newly discovered site in the mountains.  Sam is Henry’s nephew.  As night approaches, they worry about looters.  Gil is the security guard for the site.  Ralph, a fellow grad student, has found a sealed door underground.  They go down.  Maggie is cleaning the door.  Denal, a 13 year old Quechan translator is there.  Also we meet Philip, the grad student in charge.  As they clean the door, they find the image of a crucifix.
Read on?  Why is there a crucifix on an Incan door?

Scene: 4
Setting: Peru
POV: Gil
Scene type: Action
Summary: Gill is outside with his rifle.  He is conferring with fellow looters.  They’ll wait for night to do their looting.
Read on?  The site and the crew are in peril.

(Notice that I put the site first. That’s an archaeologist for you.)

Scene: 5
Setting: Peru
POV: Maggie
Scene type: Action
Summary: Maggie, who is Irish, reads a latin inscription with a magnifying glass.  The students discuss how the etchings got there and what they mean.  They realize it’s a message to ward people off and are excited the door could be intact.  They video conference with Henry.  He tells them to open the door in the morning.  He then tells Sam privately that they’re actually at the tip of a Moche pyramid.
Read on?  Can they get inside the pyramid?

(The underground pyramid and the presence of the cross are the catalyst for the book, the point of the story, and the point around which the various sub-plots revolve.)

Scene: 6
Setting: Peru
POV: Gil
Scene type: Action
Summary: Gil and fellow looters open the sealed door and find tons of gold, but it’s all booby-trapped.
Read on?  Will the traps kill them?

(Well, it smacks a bit of Raiders, but at least it’s a movie I like.)

Scene: 7
Setting: Peru
POV: Sam
Scene type: Action
Summary: Maggie wakes Sam up to talk about the etchings in the door.  She wants him to use some special technique of his to clean the door.  The birds in the jungle all take flight and it’s too quiet. They join the rest of the students at the entrance, head in, and hear screaming.
Read on?  Will they survive the traps?

Scene: 8
Setting: Peru
POV: Gil
Scene type: Action
Summary: Gil figures out the booby-trap, steals a couple of things, and then decides to blow it up in order to seal it until he can bring a crew back.  He barely escapes with a gold goblet.
Read on?  Will the crew die?

Scene: 9
Setting: Peru
POV: Maggie
Scene type: Action
Summary: Maggie hears Gil running toward them, so they hide.  He runs by and she sees the grenade he’s carrying and tells the crew they need to get out.  She feels as though she’s going to have a seizure. Gil drops the grenade.  Maggie pushes everyone into a side chamber to escape the blast.  The explosion traps them and Maggie has a seizure.
Read on?  Can they escape?  What’s wrong with Maggie?

(It’s come up quickly, but there you have it, the end of Act 1.  This scene is what Bell might call Doorway 1, that milestone in the plot of the book that sends the reader through into Act 2.  It’s a plot doorway that the characters must go through and it’s a one-way-only door. I’d say this scene meets those criteria.)

The Major Plot Milestones

The Hook - Scene 1; a friar kills himself on an Incan altar.

The Catalyst - Scene 5; they are excavating a buried Moche pyramid.

Doorway 1 - Scene 9; they are trapped inside the mountain.

Pinch 1 – Scene 18; the looters kill runners sent for help (in Peru).

Mid-point Crisis – Scene 26; the cross, in the US, is made of an unknown substance; Henry and Joan are kidnapped and taken to Peru.  We eventually find out who is behind their kidnapping and why, changing the arc of the story and bringing the sub-plots together.

Pinch 2 – Scene 38; the students who have survived, escape the caverns of the mountain, only to find themselves in an ancient Inca village.

Doorway 2 – Scene 51; Henry and Joan are brought by their kidnappers to the village where the students are.

Climax – Scene 57; the cataclysmic battle.

Denouement 1 – Scene 58; survivors leave from the airport in Cuzco.

Epilogue – Scene 61; the miraculous substance has survived in the US.

For the Uber-Plotters

I cannot resist!

I’ve split the 61 scenes of the novel into equal “parts” of twenty scenes each, except for Part 3, which had 21 scenes.

Wow, this book essentially started with a bang and never let up.  A full 80% of the scenes are action scenes. Where character and emotion might be deepened, there was also reaction, such that no scene seemed dedicated to deepening.  Likewise, Rollins does little to set up the non-stop action in the book. The conclusion of one scene virtually always leads into more action for the next scene.

In terms of major plot milestones, we have the following:

This fast-paced story launches into the middle of the book early, only 15% of the way through. Although it might seem like a short book, because it has 61 scenes compared to Deception Point‘s 137, Amazon lists it at 438 pages long in a mass market paperback format (I read the e-book).  At that length, it is (very) roughly equivalent in word count to Deception Point–about 120,000 words. Deception Point developed much more slowly (Doorway 1 at 36%), had no mid-point crisis, and peaked late (Climax at 97%).  In many ways, Excavation seems to break down, plot-wise, into something more expected.  Both, however, were successful in building tension and both used extraordinary, if not implausible, physical circumstances to generate the excitement.

Take Away

As James Scott Bell had promised, the results of doing this exercise have been fabulous, especially for a plotter. Although I haven’t presented the tallies for the POV data–how the scenes divide up between the different characters–the lack of deepening and setup scenes in Excavation (as interpreted by me) lead me to believe that the two authors might have had very different goals. Even so, as widely disparate as Excavation and Deception Point are at first glance, their underlying plot milestones are not that different.  I would guess that most fiction, likely most commercial fiction at any rate, adheres to the basics of plot and structure, as explicated by writing mentors. Otherwise, it would not only violate reader expectations but also the basic three act structure that’s been around since the Greeks invented it.

I’ve enjoyed reading and analyzing both books, but I think the real benefit of the exercise doesn’t come from my geeky number crunching.  Instead, I have more of a sense of the timing of a thriller, and what works for me as a reader.  As I accrue my analyses, I’m steeping myself in the mechanics of books in a genre I enjoy, hopefully to the point where I can manage the same thing in my own writing, without the calculations.

The Major Plot Milestones

The Hook – Scene 1; a scientist is thrown out the back of a helicopter.

Ticking Clock – Scene 12; the president has a press conference scheduled.

The Catalyst – Scene 23; a meteorite with fossil life has been found.

Doorway 1 – Scene 50; the shooting starts and some scientists die.

Pinch 1 – Scene 67; a reminder that the clock is still ticking

Mid-point Crisis – N/A.

Pinch 2 – Scene 97; loss of an ally.

Doorway 2 – Scene 123; a big reveal and dire physical threats.

Climax – Scene 133; the cataclysmic battle.

Denouement 1 – Scene 135; for the Washington, D.C., sub-plot

Denouement 2 – Scene 136; for the main storyline.

Epilogue – Scene 137

One of the interesting ways DB deviated from some of the plot outlines discussed for novels, particularly thrillers, was the lack of a big midpoint crisis.  As a reader, I never missed it.  The action was really thick at that point and the pages were turning mighty fast.  As a writer, I wonder what might have happened to the plot or sub-plot had something gone incredibly awry at the midpoint.

I also think the “pinches” I’ve identified could very well be my own inventions.  As a reader, I never looked for moments where there was a breather from the action and a chance for the heroes to reflect on the seriousness of their task.  I simply wanted more action and for some of the big questions to get answered.  As a writer, I can see the pinch working to increase tension, although there’s plenty of that in this novel.

For the Uber-Plotters

You know you want this.

I’ve split the 137 scenes of the novel into equal “parts” of twenty scenes each, except for Part 7, which had 17 scenes.

A couple of interesting things pop out from the chart above.  As you’d expect for a thriller, the action scenes outnumber all the other scenes put together.  Go, DB, go!  Also, the setup and deepening scenes are heaviest at the outset.  Reaction scenes jump up in Parts 4 and 5, after there’s something to react to, like Doorway 1 (in Part 3).

In terms of major plot milestones, we have the following:

Again, there are just a few things to note.  Doorway 1 happened 36% of the way through the book (as calculated with scenes, not pages or words, unfortunately).  I’ve often read a good place might be the one-quarter mark, or 25%, but this is more like the 1/3 mark–a little more, in fact.  Likewise, Doorway 2 (as I interpreted it) seems to have been pushed back as well, with the climax following not too long after.  Then again, once Doorway 2 begins to loom, it is non-stop action.

Take Away

As James Scott Bell had promised, the results of doing this exercise have been fabulous–especially for a plotter.  Slipping into mentat mode right at the end, I even got to have a couple of small charts!  Would I do this again?  You bet.  In fact, I already have.  Although each novel was a thriller (Koontz, King, Rollins, Preston and Child), I found they were completely different when analyzed in this way.

It’s been interesting to see how successful novels can deviate from expected plotting milestones and still work. Although it’s said over and over the milestones are guidelines and not rules, doing the homework drives it home.  I recommend the exercise highly and, if there’s anybody out there who has done something similar, I’d sure like to know about it.

I’m using James Scott Bell’s Plot & Structure exercise of analyzing a novel, scene-by-scene, keeping track of several things in each scene: the setting, the POV character, a two-line summary of the scene, what type of scene it is, and what, if anything, makes you want to read on.

We’ve had hints something is wrong and one of the characters has even died at this point. So, the next plot milestone we’re looking for is Doorway 1, also known as the end of Act 1, and the scene that will propel us into the middle of the novel.

Scenes 41 through 60

Scene: 41
Setting: White House
POV: Gabrielle
Scene type: Action
Summary: Gabrielle meets her informant–Marjorie Tench.
Read on? Why has Marjorie been feeding her information?

Scene: 42
Setting: Arctic, NASA structure
POV: Mike
Scene type: Action
Summary: The scientists are puzzled by the salt water and plankton but Rachel sees the explanation.
Read on? The science is starting to break down for me.

Scene: 43
Setting: Arctic, NASA structure
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Action
Summary: Rachel contends the plankton was frozen in the glacier but glaciologist Norah rejects her theory and proposes a test where she, Rachel, Mike, and Corky, have to tether together and go out on the ice.
Read on? What will they find outside?

Scene: 44
Setting: White House, Marjorie’s office
POV: Gabrielle
Scene type: Action
Summary: Marjorie has financial data on Sexton showing he’s accepting bribes from aerospace corporations so that, once he’s president, he can privatize NASA.
Read on? What will Gabrielle do?

Scene: 45
Setting: Arctic, NASA structure
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Everybody suits up to go outside.
Read on? Will Delta Force kill them too?

Scene: 46
Setting: Marjorie’s office
POV: Gabrielle
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Marjorie shows Gabrielle photos of secret meetings in the van, the old man, who is from the Space Frontier Foundation. Tench wants Gabrielle to admit she had affair with Sexton (has photos also).
Read on? Will Gabrielle do what Marjorie wants?

Scene: 47
Setting: Arctic, on the ice
POV: Mike
Scene type: Setup
Summary: They head out in a certain direction, leaving behind breadcrumbs so they can find their way back.
Read on? What will they find?

Scene: 48
Setting: Marjorie’s office
POV: Gabrielle
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Gabrielle makes for the exit. Marjorie wants a signed confession so they can pressure Sexton for a withdrawal.

Read on? Is Sexton finished?
Scene: 49
Setting: Arctic, on the ice
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Action
Summary: Rachel, Norah, Mike, and Corky see Ming’s body in the shaft by using their equipment. Norah yells about the data and Delta Force is listening.
Read on? Will Delta Force kill them?

Scene: 50
Setting: Arctic, on the ice
POV: Mike
Scene type: Action
Summary: Data shows someone has drilled up under the ice shelf to insert the meteorite, i.e., the setup is faked. Norah is shot in the head, Corky in the shoulder, by assailants in the distance.
Read on? Will they all die?

(This is what Bell would call Doorway 1–the one-way door through which the characters are propelled, and they can’t go back even if they wanted. You could also call it the end of Act 1, the scene that spins us off into a new direction for the book, and launches us into the middle.)

Moving Along

Now we’re moving! Go, DB, go! We’ve crashed through Doorway 1 (the end of Act 1) and are now hurtling into the middle of the book. The subplot in Washington, D.C., has heated up nicely as well.  In the next and last post, I’ll summarize the entire novel, without spilling the beans about the story.

I’m using an exercise from James Scott Bell’s Plot & Structure to analyze a novel, scene-by-scene, keeping track of several things in each scene:  the setting, the POV character, a two-line summary of the scene, what type of scene it is, and what, if anything, makes the reader want to read on.

Scenes 21 through 40

Scene: 21
Setting: CNN
POV: Sexton
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Sexton is gleeful about facing Marjorie in debate but Gabrielle cautions him about going overboard.
Read on? Will Sexton be his own worst enemy?

Scene: 22
Setting: Arctic, NASA structure
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Rachel meets celebrity scientist Mike Tolland and also astrophysicist Corky.
Read on? Why are all the big scientists here?

Scene: 23
Setting: Arctic, NASA structure
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Action
Summary: We get a meteorite tutorial from Corky and learn the meteorite they’ve discovered has a fossil bug in it.
Read on? Is this extraterrestrial life?

(Ah, finally the catalyst, according to the beat sheet, and also know as the inciting incident. Yes, life that didn’t come from earth is pretty exciting.)

Scene: 24
Setting: CNN
POV: Sexton
Scene type: Action
Summary: Marjorie Tench gets Sexton to say he’d close NASA and there’s no point to looking for extraterrestrial life.
Read on? When will the trap be sprung?

Scene: 25
Setting: Arctic, NASA structure
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Paleontologist Ming joins Rachel and the others. There are even more bugs in the meteorite and the theory is that earth was seeded with life.
Read on? Is it true earth was seeded?

Scene: 26
Setting: Arctic, NASA structure
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Rachel learns a glaciologist is helping to raise the meteorite. Mike has put together a mini-documentary for the president to use.
Read on? The press conference is coming up.

Scene: 27
Setting: Limousine
POV: Gabrielle
Scene type: Reaction
Summary: She’s worried about Marjorie’s smug look and hears Sexton arrange a private meeting at his apartment.
Read on? Gabrielle suspects something’s up.

Scene: 28
Setting: Arctic, NASA structure
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Rachel meets sassy glaciologist Norah. Learns how a laser helps to raise the meteorite.
Read on? Ho hum.

Scene: 29
Setting: Arctic, NASA structure
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Setup
Summary: They raise the meteorite and put her in touch with the president.
Read on? What will she tell the president?

Scene: 30
Setting: Senator Sexton’s Office
POV: Gabrielle
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Gabrielle gets a message from her secret informant to meet somewhere.
Read on? Who is the informant and to what end?

Scene: 31
Setting: Arctic, NASA structure
POV: Ekstrom
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Everybody else is in high spirits, getting ready for the broadcast. He’s dreading something.
Read on? What is he worried about?

Scene: 32
Setting: Arctic
POV: Delta Force
Scene type: Action
Summary: They observe something strange happening to the water in the meteorite extraction pit.
Read on? What do they see?

Scene: 33
Setting: Arctic, NASA structure
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Setup
Summary: The president puts Rachel on a com link with his staff so that she can convince them.
Read on? What will Rachel say?

Scene: 34
Setting: Arctic, NASA structure
POV: Ming
Scene type: Action
Summary: Paleontologist Ming sees something strange in the water now that the lights are out.  He wants a water sample.
Read on? What does he see?

Scene: 35
Setting: Arctic, NASA structure
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Rachel discusses the findings and leads up to the big news.
Read on? What will she report?

Scene: 36
Setting: Arctic
POV: Delta Force
Scene type: Setup
Summary: They see Ming trying to get a water sample and decide to stop him.
Read on? How will they stop him?

Scene: 37
Setting: Arctic, NASA structure
POV: Ming
Scene type: Action
Summary: The microbot swats Ming in the eye. He falls in the water and drowns.
Read on? Why did he have to die?

Scene: 38
Setting: White House, gate
POV: Gabrielle
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Gabrielle goes to meet her informant but then is invited into the White House.
Read on? Who is the informant?

Scene: 39
Setting: Arctic, NASA structure
POV: Mike
Scene type: Deepening
Summary: Mike reflects on his wife’s lymphoma. He sees the water in the pit glowing.  He’s joined by Corky and Rachel.
Read on? What happened to Ming’s body?

Scene: 40
Setting: Arctic, NASA structure
POV: Mike
Scene type: Action
Summary: Mike explains how luminous plankton might mean that sea water has leaked into the glacial sheet through a crack. He wants to see if water tastes salty.
Read on? What does salty water mean?

Moving Along

Well, the second twenty scenes didn’t have a huge amount of action, but we did get the catalyst, the point to the whole story–extraterrestrial life may have been found in an arctic glacier.

Now we’re ready to move on to the first doorway, aka the end of Act 1, which will happen in the next post in this series.

Analyzing for Plot

But, I find that many books and blogs about book writing analyze movies, and not books. Ergo, vis-a-vis, concordantly–this is a book analysis, done as an exercise while reading James Scott Bell’s wonderful Plot & Structure. He asks his readers to do an index card exercise and break down several books of their choice, scene by scene, and identify several things for each scene, on one index card: the POV character, the setting, the type of scene (action, reaction, setup, deepening), a two-line summary of the scene, and a note about why you’re reading on (or not).  In general, my note about why I’m reading on is phrased as a question–the one the scene has made me ask, so I have to read on to discover the answer.

Deception Point

The first book I read for the index card exercise was Dan Brown’s Deception Point probably the third or fourth DB novel I’ve read. It came out in 2001.

By the way, it should be obvious but let me say it anyway–spoiler alert. Don’t read this exercise if you haven’t read the book. Also, if you haven’t read the book, my two sentence summaries may not mean much.

That said, I will not be posting the entire book.  Instead, I’ll show my analysis up to Doorway 1 (the end of Act 1). It’s not a tease and it’s not my way of trying not to get sued–well, yeah it kinda is.  Mostly, it’s what I would want if it were my book.

With 137 scenes and approximately 116,000 words (an estimate based on number of pages), even getting to Doorway 1 is too much for one blog post–even for me.  In Part 2, we’ll see the catalyst for the novel, in Part 3 we’ll see Doorway 1, and in the final post, I’ll summarize the entire book, in pure plotter fashion.

The Milestones

As we go through the scenes, we’ll be looking for the major milestones of plot: the disturbance (aka the hook), inciting incident (aka catalyst), and doorway 1 (aka the first plot point, aka the climax of Act 1).  Were we to go further, we’d also be looking for pinch point 1, the world-changing midpoint, pinch point 2, doorway 2 (aka the second plot point, aka the climax of Act 2), and the climax of the novel.  Even though I’m not going to show the scene-by-scene breakdown after Act 1, I will show where the major milestones fall in my last post.

Scenes 1 through 20

Scene: 1
Setting: Arctic
POV: Brophy
Scene type: Action
Summary: Geologist Brophy with sled dogs picked up by helicopter. Transmits radio message, then is tossed out the back with dogs and sled.
Read on? What the hell is going on?

(Bell would call this scene the “disturbance” and it’s also been called the “Oh No! moment” or “the hook“. I liked the hook in the first scene. In hindsight, I wish it had somehow involved one of the main characters–without them dying.)

Scene: 2
Setting: Washington, D.C.
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Attractive 34 year old Rachel has breakfast with Senator Sexton, her father, who is running for president. She’s an intelligence analyst. They’re not on the best of terms. He’s a sleaze.
Read on? Ho hum.

Scene: 3
Setting: Arctic
POV: Delta Force Team
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Three military men watching a structure in the distance. Using a robot for flybys.
Read on? Who are they and what do they want?

Scene: 4
Setting: National Reconnaissance Office (NRO)
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Arrives at work and is paged by the director.
Read on? Ho hum.

Scene: 5
Setting: NRO
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Setup
Summary: In the director’s office. President has sent a helicopter to pick her up for an immediate meeting. Director suspects politics but recommends she go.
Read on? What does the president want?

Scene: 6
Setting: Arctic facility
POV: Delta Force Team
Scene type: Setup
Summary: The flying microbot is inside the structure. They listen to scientists in awe of something happening. The Delta Team concludes everything is proceeding as expected.
Read on? What are the scientists doing?

Scene: 7
Setting: NASA Base
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Helicopter delivers her to nearby NASA Base where Air Force One is waiting.
Read on? What does the president want?

Scene: 8
Setting: Limousine
POV: Sexton
Scene type: Setup
Summary:   Sexton is with young, attractive assistant, Gabrielle, who had previously recommended Sexton attack NASA to good PR effect. She says the president has been sidetracked ever since a meeting with NASA one week ago.
Read on? Will Sexton, the sleaze, win the race?

Scene: 9
Setting: Air Force One
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Action
Summary: Rachel meets the president, who is very amiable.
Read on? What does he want?

Scene: 10
Setting: Limousine and Garage
POV: Gabrielle
Scene type: Setup
Summary: She’s beginning to doubt Sexton.
Read on? Will she abandon the sleaze?

Scene: 11
Setting: Air Force One
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Rachel and the president talk about NASA. He says they’ve made a great discovery.
Read on? What has NASA found?

Scene: 12
Setting: NASA Base
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Setup
Summary: The president takes her to a hanger, takes her cell phone, says he’ll talk to her later. He’s used private scientists to confirm findings, but wants her analysis, and will have a press conference tonight.
Read on? Time pressure and what does NASA have? (I like that a ticking clock has begun.)

Scene: 13
Setting: F-14
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Action
Summary: An F-14 takes Rachel north.
Read on? What is going on in the Arctic?

Scene: 14
Setting: Parking Basement
POV: Sexton
Scene type: Setup
Summary: Sexton meets an anonymous old man in a white van. He instructs Sexton to meet with corporate moguls at his house. Suggests that victory only begins with the White House.
Read on? Who is helping Sexton and why?

Scene: 15
Setting: White House
POV: President
Scene type: Setup (I know that an international thriller takes some time to set up, but I would really like the story to take off sooner.)
Summary:  The president arrives and wants to meet with the entire staff at 4 pm in the oval office to make an announcement.
Read on? Still waiting for the big announcement.

Scene: 16
Setting: Arctic
POV: Delta Force
Scene type: Reaction
Summary: Delta Force is contacted by their controller, who tells them a new player is about to arrive and must be watched closely. The big news will go public in eight hours and their current assignment will end.
Read on? The time table is short, even if the setup isn’t.

Scene: 17
Setting: F-14
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Deepening
Summary: Rachel recalls her mother, her death in a car accident at Thanksgiving. The plane lands in the Arctic and a big NASA vehicle drives out to welcome her.
Read on? What’s going on in the Arctic?

Scene: 18
Setting: White House
POV: President
Scene type: Action
Summary: Analyst Marjorie tells the president she will debate Sexton at 1 pm on CNN to make the president’s team look desperate.
Read on? Will her tactic work? Somehow they want to appear down, before their big announcement later on.

Scene: 19
Setting: Arctic, Milne Glacier
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Setup
Summary: The NASA director (Ekstrom) is waiting for her in the domed structure.
Read on? Get there already!

Scene: 20
Setting: Arctic, NASA structure
POV: Rachel
Scene type: Action
Summary: The NASA director tells her they’ve found a 300 year old meteorite.
Read on? So, it’s a meteor. So what?

Moving Along

In the next post, we’ll analyze the next twenty scenes and, in terms of the story, we’ll actually get some of the information for which we’ve been patiently waiting. In terms of plot analysis, we’ll also get the catalyst–how interesting those two go together.