pridie Idus Novembris

Beware the Ides, my friends! Indeed, it is my birthday tomorrow, on the Ides of November. I will have XLVIII candles on the cake. Speaking of numbers, how many plots are there? According to Bill Griffith's Zippy the Pinhead, there are 8 ("The Eightest Stories Ever Told!!"). That strip is from 28 Feb 93, and I have it on my wall. Georges Polti says there are 36 (The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations). He wrote that in 1917. I found a 1973 reprint in a library book sale for a dollar. (Some folks on the net updated it to 37 plots here.) Finally, there is a website called Hatch's Plot Bank, which is at 2,382 and counting. The outfit is called TCR Press, and seems to be the creation of a writer named Laurence C. Hatch. I'll have to dive in and try a few some time. So, how about the answer to my question--how many plots? Well, I reckon some fellers are lumpers and some fellers are splitters. Which one are you?


prid. Id. Nov.