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From the President's Desk: Presidential Plotting

by Jack El-Hai

For years I have kept on my bookshelf a volume titled 20 Master Plots (And How to Build Them) by Ronald B. Tobias. The book contains descriptions of the "fundamental plots that recur through all fiction," with instructions on how to adapt those basic plots for your own purposes. It is not intended for writers of nonfiction, but I occasionally use it for story structure inspiration when I'm working on a narrative article. I can page through it and wonder, "Hmm, can I structure my story as a tale of rivalry, or as a narrative about revenge or temptation?" Usually when I dip in, I come away with some new idea about how to shape my article.

Now that I am at the end of my time as ASJA president -- this is my twenty-second (and final) newsletter column, and I have produced around 15,000 words for patient readers such as yourself -- I have begun to wonder whether my term in office can be characterized in terms of Tobias' twenty master plots. At times I have thought of my two years as president as a kind of epic reminiscent of Don Quixote or Moby Dick, and at other times they seem more akin in stature to The Perils of Pauline. Despite these highs and lows, I have consistently detected a dramatic quality to my experience (something all of my predecessors in office have probably also felt), and I have once again turned to my trusty volume of Tobias for guidance.

The first plot type that Tobias concerns himself with is Quest. It goes like this: The hero searches for something, "tangible or intangible." Much of my time as president has felt to me like a quest -- a search for questions, answers, time, sleep, freedom from too many e-mails, and committee heads. More to the point, though, is the important search ASJA undertook for a new executive director to replace the retiring Brett Harvey. We were very happy to end our quest with Anne Peace, who has admirably taken over the organization's administration.

Other master plots that seem to fit:

• Master Plot No. 7: The Riddle. I have fielded so many questions. Many are unanswerable. Just today I received an e-mail from a college student who is researching the lives of freelance writers. He asked me to enumerate the issues that have challenged freelancers since ASJA's founding nearly 60 years ago, among several other questions. maybe I could do that with a yearlong sabbatical.
  
• Master Plot No. 13: Maturation. I have grayed, but I'm referring to ASJA's rapid growth during recent years to an organization with more than 1,300 members, served by officers, board members, and committee heads scattered all over North America.
  
• Master Plot No. 14: Love. I'm happily married, so I have not found romance as president. But during the past year our Freelance Writer Search service has successfully matched many ASJA members with good assignments. If FWS has inadvertently connected members with publications on our Warning List, then Master Plot No. 15, Forbidden Love, applies.
  
• And finally, let's not forget Master Plot No. 5: Escape. Self-explanatory. Adios.

I am grateful to my fellow officers and board members during the past two years for their smarts and guidance, and to ASJA's many additional volunteers -- including committee chairs, committee members, conference planners and workers, events planners, chapter heads, and countless others who donate their time to the organization. I also thank the paid staff -- Anne Peace, Webmaster Bruce Miller, newsletter editor Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, and Web editor Steve Morrill -- who contribute essential skills to our cause. And I tip my hat to you, too, ASJA members, for your support and shared wisdom, which is what this organization is about.

As I write this, members can still petition for candidacy to succeed me as president or for other offices. So I cannot directly praise the accomplishments of the president who comes next. To that worthy soul, whoever he or she is, I can only recommend a cautionary reading of Ronald Tobias' chapter on one master plot to avoid, Wretched Excess. Follow that with Master Plot No. 2, Adventure, and you're set.

Until June 30, you can reach Jack El-Hai at prez(at)asja.org. After that, try jack(at)el-hai.com.