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What the LOCK Elements is All About

Simply put, a great story has a great plot, and a great plot is the bedrock of every successful story. But what makes a good plot that works? You might ask, and here comes the LOCK system with a practical answer. The LOCK system is a principle popularized by James Scott Bell that underlines the principal element of a good plot as the Lead, the Objective, the Confrontation and the Knockout. Let me explain further: 

First, for a plot to work, it needs a character — the Lead — that captivates readers. There should be something out of the ordinary about your protagonist that makes him unique and compelling, and without such, your story is dead on arrival. Even a fictional narrative with poorly written prose and inadequate description can still soar high on the wings of a compelling main character. 

Citing An American Tragedy as an example, Scott concludes that:

"Something makes [An American Tragedy] a great book, even though the Lead character, Clyde Griffiths, is not a nice guy. We first meet Clyde, the son of fundamentalist evangelists, at sixteen, and then watch as he descends to the point that he lets his pregnant lover drown. Why does it work? Because Clyde is compelling, though negative. Because Dreiser gets us into his head, there is a “car wreck” dynamic at work here. Just as people slow down to look at the wreckage, we can’t resist seeing what happens to fully drawn human beings who make an unalterable mess of their lives." 

Then, more than just a character with an attractive personality, the protagonist also needs to be on the move. He needs to have a purpose so dear to him; there needs to be something — the Objective — which the main character is running from or running toward. Usually, it involves a life-threatening situation where the protagonist is fighting to stay alive. But sometimes, it isn't life-threatening but works all the same. 

In Scott's words: 

"Solid plots have one and only one dominant objective for the Lead character. This forms the “story question” — will the Lead realize her objective?" And essentially, "you want readers to worry about the story question, so the objective has to be essential to the well-being of the Lead. If the Lead doesn’t get it (or get away from it), her life will take a tremendous hit for the worse." 

Next. After we have a compelling protagonist with an objective that has him on the move, to make his story more interesting, we need to give him some obstacles. There have to be roadblocks in his way that make our readers anxious and curious to see how or if he makes it through. 

Scotts called it the Confrontation and, according to him: 

"Opposition from characters and outside forces brings your story fully to life. If your Lead moves toward his objective without anything in his way, we deprive readers of what they secretly want: worry. Readers want to fret about the Lead, keeping an intense emotional involvement all the way through the novel."

Last, so, we have a compelling lead with a significant objective facing severe opposition. What we need now is the Knockout. Readers' interest has been piqued to find out how it all ends for the protagonist, and they deserve an ending that doesn't disappoint. 

As Scott puts it:

 "A great ending can leave the reader satisfied, even if the rest of the book is somewhat weak (assuming the reader decides to stick around until the end). But a weak ending will leave the reader with a feeling of disappointment, even if the book up to that point is strong."

In summary, James Scott Bell wants writers to understand from the LOCK element that a plot that works involves an interesting character on a crucial mission with massive opposition and a worthy ending.

Written by Readers’ Favorite Reviewer Frank Stephen