Plot vs. Narrative
or, The Thing: What it does vs. Why it does
Modern SCP articles are considered more of a short story, rather than monster manual entry. Not just things-that-do-things, not just a sequence of events that document some happenings. They require a narrative of some kind, even the most minimalist shortform entries out there.
Something we hear every now and again from new writers in the official writing spaces, is that they just wanting to write a Series 1 article, meaning they're not looking for a narrative. But here's my theory: a lot of the old SCPs you and I remember, the ones that got real staying power, also weren't just things-that-do-things. They also had stories of there own.
So if you want to write a Series 1 style article, I'm all for it! Love them. But before you do, it might be good to know what makes them memorable. This Writing Club is all about analysing what makes them tick!
A common question most crittees are asked at some point during idea critique in our writing channels, is “what’s your story?” That critter is not asking about the object or even the events happening in your story, aka your plot. They want to know what it's about, the underlying message, the goal, the feeling. In other words: they want to know the narrative.
So, how do you tell the difference?
This is an exercise in seeing what that story is, and by doing that, how we can differentiate between a narrative and a plot.
Writing Clubs are mainly focussing on analysing existing work, and what you can learn from the things done before. However, that's not the only thing we have to offer! There are more essays on this topic and “what to do/what not to do” when you start writing things-that-do-things. If you’re new here and you haven’t read these two essays, I highly recommend you check them out:
An Exercise in Narrative Based SCPs by Leveritas
'Things what do a thing'- An Essay On Anomalies That Are Things That Do A Thing by Uncle Nicolini
Also, if you want to listen to the recording of this Club, you can find it here on Spotify!
Defining
Let's agree what we mean before we start yapping
For ease of this essay, we’re gonna use the following definitions of plot and narrative.
Note: This is not a dictionary definition! Remember, tools to help you dig into the story, not laws of the landwiki.
Plot: the events, action or even scenes of a story. The “what happens”;
Narrative: the emotional core, the character arc, the underlying message or the worldbuilding. The “Why happens”.
How much of each of these two is present in your story, is depending on your own preference and style. There is no right or wrong answer here! There are even cases where there is almost no plot and it’s just an introspective of a character’s inner life, or vice versa almost no narrative: a Wikipedia article.
Before we start, a reminder: this Club is intended as a tool for analysis of your own and other people’s work. It is not set in stone, it is not a manual, it is not a definitive statement to the universe of writing. Never trust anyone in Literary Science to give you an absolute answer! All we’re doing here is illustrating a possible approach to these kinds of stories, and how you could use that for your own benefit!
And lastly: we're going in with the idea of death of the author.1 Whatever the original writer intended is not really relevant to what we can pick up here!
Story type: negative space
What’s that little narrative you hide in the shadow?
The easiest example of this is SCP-173, the butterfly Moto42 stepped on and brought us all here. Let's take a look at the full text.
Item #: SCP-173
Object Class: Euclid
Special Containment Procedures: Item SCP-173 is to be kept in a locked container at all times. When personnel must enter SCP-173's container, no fewer than 3 may enter at any time and the door is to be relocked behind them. At all times, two persons must maintain direct eye contact with SCP-173 until all personnel have vacated and relocked the container.
Description: Moved to Site-19 1993. Origin is as of yet unknown. It is constructed from concrete and rebar with traces of Krylon brand spray paint. SCP-173 is animate and extremely hostile. The object cannot move while within a direct line of sight. Line of sight must not be broken at any time with SCP-173. Personnel assigned to enter container are instructed to alert one another before blinking. Object is reported to attack by snapping the neck at the base of the skull, or by strangulation. In the event of an attack, personnel are to observe Class 4 hazardous object containment procedures.
Personnel report sounds of scraping stone originating from within the container when no one is present inside. This is considered normal, and any change in this behaviour should be reported to the acting HMCL supervisor on duty.
The reddish brown substance on the floor is a combination of feces and blood. Origin of these materials is unknown. The enclosure must be cleaned on a bi-weekly basis.
Right now, we have a couple of plot elements here
- Object of unknown origins came into the possession of this organisation;
- It is able to attack people if it isn’t observed;
- People need to keep eye contact to make sure it doesn’t snap anyone’s neck;
- It shits and bleeds all over the place;
- A procedure is designed to clean up without neck snapping.
Now, that’s not the story. The story is what this implies:
- Attacks when not observed. Is it sentient? Sapient?
- Someone designed something to keep this in check;
- There is an organisation that does this, and since this is the first time I hear about it, it must be a secret organisation!
- Due to the numbering, there are at least 172 more possible objects!
- There are “Special Containment Procedures” to keep it in place;
- The procedures and the reference to a “HMCL supervisor” suggests a precise and maybe even bureaucratic process.
In other words: the plot of SCP-173 might be about a shitting statue and how to contain it, but the narrative is about the organisation that actually does the containing! Together, it tells us a story about a world that has anomalous objects like this, and a secret organisation that keeps them in check through bureaucratic procedure. And thus, the Foundation was created!
There are plenty more Series 1 entries that tell their stories in a negative space like this. If you want to analyse more of this, let’s try SCP-028.
Let's summarise the plot
This location will Russian roulette style give someone random but complete knowledge. Over the course of the story, several characters get random knowledge that vary from the mundane and uninteresting (“Location of keys for a Buick LeSabre”) to things so mind-melting a D-class goes catatonic. An Agent accidentally learns a lot about Foundation activities, and decides to kill several of his colleagues as a result. Lastly, one piece of knowledge changes the way a D-class’ body operates, but it cannot be replicated.
And now, the narrative
There are several little narratives at work here. Firstly, there is the obvious price for knowledge. There is a chance you might learn something that changes how you experience the world, let alone the headaches that come with continued exposure. Then there is the little narrative about the Agent, which tells us this: knowing in-depth things about the operations of the Foundation would turn a moral person against it. It gives character to this article’s interpretation of the Foundation and their motivations! Lastly there is the character whose body starts to recycle carbon dioxide, without changing his body and without being able to teach others. Is some knowledge only able to change someone based on belief? Is this the placebo effect? Can it change one person’s reality?
In conclusion, this kind of Series 1 story gives us just enough plot events and implied meaning to conjure up a whole lot of consequences between the lines. The plot is in the text, but the narrative is in the negative space around it, and it lets us wonder.
Now, for the next step. Once you break these two apart, you could argue that you can optimise the plot to better reflect the narrative of a bigger and bigger price for bigger and bigger knowledge. Start with the mundane ones, then go to the D-class who's body changes, the Agent and his response, then the D-class who becomes catatonic.
Other examples: SCP-682, SCP-0022
Story type: character driven
Waiter, there is a character arc in my SCP.
A story where the narrative is actually about a main character and their arc. There are several of those modern-style SCPs to be found in Series 1. Let’s look at a couple.
SCP-096 is mostly known for the “4 fucking pixels” meme, but the story might not just be about our Shy little Guy. There is a character arc for Dr. Dan instead.
Plot time:
SCP-096 destroys anyone who sees its face, after which it returns to a docile state. At the end of the file, Dr. Dan is introduced. There is a reference to an outbreak and Dr. Dan’s insistence that it needs to be terminated. The additional reading (which we treat as an addendum for this bit) is where the “4 fucking pixels” come from: a photograph was planted by Dr. Dan to trigger an outbreak, and the goggles intended to scramble the vision of SCP-096’s face and safeguard the MTFs were always going to fail. It ends with Dr. Dan acknowledging that he will be terminated himself once he figures out how to neutralise SCP-096.
Now, for narrative:
If you look at the plot summary above, you might notice that this is not a story about SCP-096. It’s about Dr. Dan, and specifically his feelings towards the Foundation’s goals:
Dr. Dan: And I thought you would know the meaning of “For the greater good.”
There are a couple of things happening that are simply implied:
- The Foundation wouldn’t just terminate an anomaly, they rather contain it;
- Dr. Dan disagrees, considering this a dangerous anomaly;
- To prove that danger, Dr. Dan orchestrates a massive outbreak with a lot of casualties, Foundation personnel included;
- He accepts that this will lead to his own termination but accepts that price.
SCP-096 isn’t just a story about Dr. Dan, it’s a character driven piece about the meaning of “the greater good”, and how far one man is willing to go for his convictions.
There is another kind of character driven narrative in Series 1, and it’s more like allegory. SCP-035 is a great example of that.
Plot, unmasked:
SCP-035 is a porcelain comedy mask that wants to possess objects or people, which it takes over. The bodies it takes over decay fast, and SCP-035 is able to speak. It is a manipulator. Once it’s decided that having the mask take over bodies is too much of a risk, it starts secreting an acidic substance that contains human blood, the mask changes to portray tragedy, and instead of manipulating observers it starts to inflict physical harm. Affected Foundation personnel is more likely to commit suicide and there are ramblings on the wall of SCP-035’s cell that are translated to threats to Foundation personnel and their loved ones.
Narrative, performed:
You can read this story as an allegory for an abusive relationship. The mask is manipulative and just takes and digests more, after which the Foundation decides to cut it off. When that happens, it becomes aggressive and resorts to violence. The character arc here is one of a typical abuser!
Other examples: SCP-049, SCP-166
Story type: worldbuilding
Not to be confused with planet eating
There is a lot of worldbuilding happening in early Series 1, both in long form and in shortform. For that first version of it, we’re actually gonna grab back to SCP-173 for this. After all, it is the piece that actually built the SCPverse!
Item #: SCP-1733
Object Class: Euclid4
Special Containment Procedures:5 Item SCP-173 is to be kept in a locked container at all times. When personnel must enter SCP-173's container, no fewer than 3 may enter at any time and the door is to be relocked behind them. At all times, two persons must maintain direct eye contact with SCP-173 until all personnel have vacated and relocked the container.
Description: Moved to Site-19 1993. Origin is as of yet unknown.6 It is constructed from concrete and rebar with traces of Krylon brand spray paint.7 SCP-173 is animate and extremely hostile. The object cannot move while within a direct line of sight. Line of sight must not be broken at any time with SCP-173. Personnel assigned to enter container are instructed to alert one another before blinking. Object is reported to attack by snapping the neck at the base of the skull, or by strangulation.8 In the event of an attack, personnel are to observe Class 4 hazardous object containment procedures.
Personnel report sounds of scraping stone originating from within the container when no one is present inside. This is considered normal, and any change in this behaviour should be reported to the acting HMCL supervisor on duty.9
The reddish brown substance on the floor is a combination of feces and blood. Origin of these materials is unknown. The enclosure must be cleaned on a bi-weekly basis.
If we take a less shortform approach, SCP-701 does a lot to worldbuilding in its narrative. It’s plot is fairly simple: a play that has a change of changing during rehearsals, adding references to an unknown place called Alagadda, and resulting in the appearance of an unknown entity. By the end, the actors kill themselves on stage and the audience becomes violent.
The narrative includes something else: the changed story is about a king that was hanged. The figure seems to be acknowledged when the ambassador of Alagadda is mentioned: Gonzalo mentions an appointment with him, and the figure follows. Gonzalo mentions him again, he nods towards the figure. These are plot moments, but they built a narrative connection: the changes in the story are linked to the Ambassador, and it implies that the figure is the ambassador. The story changes to questions whether the tribute to be paid to the ambassador will be enough.
At the end of the play, the violence happens under the phrase “With this, the tribute, in full it is paid.” and the lines that link it to the Hanged King. These, again, are plotpoints, but the narrative creates this story of a kingdom who’s owed something, and the ambassador is here to collect.
So, in conclusion, SCP-701 is not a story about a play that makes you kill yourself, but it’s a story of this unknown kingdom of Alagadda that comes to collect. The only way it is able to connect to our world (as far as we know as of now) is through this specific play, which it is able to manipulate. The negative space in the worldbuilding creates this faraway place, their identity being tied to theatre, and the story of a vengeful foreign nation out for revenge and blood. That conclusion is not in the text: that’s the narrative.
Other examples: SCP-093, SCP-140
Story type: not really
When the narrative is missing
There are some Series 1 that are mostly used as gimmicks, if at all. And that’s because they don’t really have (that much) narrative on their own.
SCP-500 is such an example, it just tells us a series of events of these pills that can cure anything. It’s a long list of instances of it being used, but it stops just short of really doing something with it. There is a “what happens”, sure, but not a “why”. The implication of an ever dwindling supply is barely touched upon. There is no real story in the negative space, no message, as a result. I'd say that this piece is an example of mostly plot, very little narrative, and that's not odd; plenty of Series 1 entries had the narrative happening outside the article. If the balance was a little more towards the implication of this ever dwindling supply, this could work as more than just an anomalous object.
The same goes for SCP-005. All we get is a description. There isn’t even a plot here, it’s just a description of a key and what it does. There isn’t a “what happens” just as there is no “why happens”.
The above two entries can still work in a story, but they need to feature in one. And these days, they would fit really well on the Log of Anomalous Items. There is no real reason they’d need to be contained in another way than “keep them locked up well”, which implies we don’t really need anything special, do we?
How to tell an SCP and an anomalous item apart? The first entry in the Lost of Anomalous Items gives us a hint there:
Notes: This was one of the first items categorized as "Anomalous" and denied full SCP classification, due to lack of value in further research and little need for special containment.
Story type: messy
There are so many puzzle pieces here and they don’t fit together
This is more of an addendum to this essay and a way to get your minds thinking. Sometimes there is a plot, there is a narrative, but it doesn’t really seem to work together. It can be really fun to figure out how to make sense of it!
SCP-116 has a lot of plotpoints that could tie together to an interesting story, but it doesn’t seem to succeed in that in the article. On top of that, it has a lot of dated language, but for the nature of this Club we’ll be setting that aside for now.
SCP-116’s containment cell is ridiculously over the top and unneeded: Kevlar walls, massive space, all for a boy that can’t move on his own. Odd linguistical stuff that appears to be a red herring, mental effects of his speech on those around him, and then the final note of wishing to terminate his own life. There is a lot here, there is a narrative progression, but the plot of the story doesn’t really feel in sync with any of it.
A recent tale, Audit SCP-116 by phinnsy of the SCP Foundation Database podcast, ties this together in an interesting way. So consider this your homework on narrative: read (or listen! Which I highly recommend) and see how the narrative gets tied together based on the messy plot and narrative points from the SCP-116 file. And then, maybe, possibly, consider trying your hand at this on your own.
There are a lot of articles on the wiki available for rewrite, tagged "rewritable". If you want to know more about the rewrite process, check the Rewrite Guide!
Conclusion
Plotting a narrative to this Club
Series 1 SCPs (especially the ones we remember) still had stories. And not just shortform, but character driven narratives and interesting worldbuilding. This style still works on the modern wiki too! SCP-4999 and SCP-7271 are great examples of this style. So, you can definitely make this style work on the modern wiki. The trick is figuring out how to do it.
Additionally, this essay's goal was to show a little bit of difference between what is happening in your story, and what it's about. Try some of the additional examples provided, and see if you can figure out that difference yourself. Once you start seeing it in other stories, it'll be easier to see it in your own writing too.
Afterword
The things that made this happen
Writing Club is a staff initiative from the Seminars team, which we prepare and host live in the official SCP discord. So don't hesitate to join us sometime! We announce every month's Seminar schedule in the Site News.
This essay is based on the script of Writing Club: Plot vs. Narrative. You can find the recordings on our spotify or listed on our overview page managed by UnIVCubed. We cover the same ground, but with some additional discussion.
Wanna read more in this series? Check also:
Writing Club: Dialogue
Articles discussed:
An Exercise in Narrative Based SCPs by Leveritas
'Things what do a thing'- An Essay On Anomalies That Are Things That Do A Thing by Uncle Nicolini
Other suggestions:
SCP-049 by djkaktus,
Gabriel Jade
SCP-166 by Ross Fisher-Davis, DrClef,
Cerastes
SCP-093 by Unknown Author,
NekoChris