Getting Lost in Narrative

Holy cow, I've spent days trying to write a post about narrative in improv and roleplaying. I keep starting, stopping, and starting over. Being me, I also couldn't help picking up a couple of cool books - one by Orson Scott Card and another about screenplay writing (it's Mike Stout's fault).

It was much easier for me to write about character. Character has always been my primary interest in both improv and roleplaying. In both, I learned that I need to know how to play strong characters with well-defined abilities, beliefs, and goals before I can create interesting stories. I can and probably should write more about character (with examples and maybe pictures).

Thinking about narrative is proving a useful exercise for me since I've been pondering definitions of words like 'narrative', 'story', and 'plot' in ways I haven't since high school English classes. I haven't even gotten to 'theme' or 'genre' yet.

I've never thought much about plot in either improv and roleplaying games. I don't think I ever heard the word "plot" mentioned once in improv. You are extemporaneously creating a plot when playing either short form or long form formats in improv. I suppose certain games or genre work may provide a loose structure, e.g., a crime is committed, there's an investigation, there's a confrontation with the bad guy at the end, etc.

I think the main reason I haven't thought about plot is that I'm not interested in thinking ahead and "plotting." I have a hard enough time "not thinking," playing the character, and being in the moment. I really enjoy it most when there's no "wrong" place for the story go to. In the section on long form improv in Acting on Impulse, Carol Hazenfield writes:

There is no preordained "right place" for any story to go... There's no such thing as "The Story" existing in its entirety in advance of the end of the show.

In improv, you focus on one moment and one scene at a time. The audience can very forgiving of broken stories if there are great characters, scenes, and moments. I've watched probably over 200 improv shows, and I can't remember a single "plot." I do remember great characters, scenes, and moments where I said, "Wow."  A couple of memories from years ago:

• In LA theater sports, I remember a scene with a bunch of young single characters in a hot tub. It was funny but the characters also expressed genuine emotion that fit the moment perfectly.
• In Theater Roulette in SF, I remember a criminal gang with the most amazing collection of personalities, particularly a not very smart thief (Theatre Roulette was a short lived group I believe formed out of Carol Hazenfield's classes [EDIT: It was actually a class by Gerri Lawler, one of my favorite improvisors.]).

That's what I'm also looking for in roleplaying. When all is said and done, looking back on the game, a solid "plot" is just nice to have.

It occurs to me that I haven't really enjoyed roleplaying game sessions when I've put an "author" hat on and plotted things out in advance or in lieu of actually playing. I prefer it when there's scene framing and you just "go."
 
I don't think this is at all the last word about plot and its creation:

• I'm most concerned about characters and being in the moment, but it's still the case that we're creating a plot during play.

• In improv you can practice genre work,  which can provide more than "trappings." Directed improv can have a player who isn't playing any characters.

• Roleplaying games can provide a lot of support for structuring stories, e.g., games like Burning Wheel, Grey Ranks, and Leverage. Also, some games with GMs (like Smallville), the GM isn't necessarily playing NPCs who are pivotal to the story.