From Snoring to Soaring

Katya: Errr … what’s a challenge plot?
Kivi: The challenge plot is your basic, three–act structure that practically every Hollywood movie is based on. These are your classic underdog, against-all-odds stories. You start out by introducing the character and his situation and goals. Then in Act 2, he faces obstacles, and the tension mounts. Things might start to work out, but then it usually gets worse. Then in Act 3, the action peaks, and the character finally triumphs over the obstacles.

Katya: Who’s the underdog? The nonprofit?
Kivi: No! Many nonprofits throw themselves into the middle of the story, but that’s not where they really belong. The nonprofit doesn’t come in until Act 3 and then just as a supporting actor in helping the main character overcome the obstacles. Many nonprofits want to make the story all about them or their staff, but with a few exceptions, the main character really needs to be a client, volunteer, donor or someone else involved in or affected by your work. You want the reader to relate to the story, and that’s easier to do if it is about someone who is not on your staff.

Katya: OK, got it. And the creativity plot? That sounds juicy.
Kivi: Creativity stories are those with the “aha!” moments and those “what if we … ” stories that work out in the end. For a good creativity plot, you need a well-understood problem and a standard response that just doesn’t work. Again, use the people around you — clients, volunteers, donors — to explain the problem and inadequate solution. Then you talk about the new approach that your nonprofit or someone affiliated with your nonprofit is trying — and test runs and theories are OK here. It doesn’t need to be a completely well-thought-out and fully tested solution. Then you close with a vision of a new reality and how the original problem would be solved.