On June 21, 2025 Kasie and Rex took on the “idiot” plot. Rex did the notes, Kasie just copy/pasted them. Here they are:

Theme for the day

The Idiot Plot

Agenda

• Quick catch-up
• What is the Idiot Plot?
• How to know it when you see it
• How to avoid it

Segment 1

The Idiot Plot is less a literary technique and more a narrative hazard—where artificial stupidity drives the story. A clever writer either avoids it by giving characters agency and intelligence, or embraces it intentionally for laughs and absurdity. Monitoring whether your characters could legitimately avoid a trap is a great compass for strong, plausible storytelling.

What makes an idiot plot? (this link) 

An idiot plot hinges entirely on characters behaving foolishly—not once, but repeatedly—to keep the story going. If just one person acted sensibly, the conflict would vanish in minutes.

Damon Knight credited James Blish with the original idea and later coined the term Second‑Order Idiot Plot: “not merely the principals, but everybody in the whole society has to be a grade‑A idiot, or the story couldn’t happen” (this link)

Roger Ebert popularized it in mainstream criticism: “kept in motion solely by virtue of the fact that everybody involved is an idiot” (same link as above).

What are some examples?

Segment 2

What are some traits of an idiot plot?

• Easily avoidable misunderstandings – The plot hinges on characters failing to clarify something simple, like a name, intention, or misunderstanding—when they have every opportunity to do so.
  • Romantic comedies when characters assume their partner is cheating
• Lack of basic communication – No one tells each other what they clearly know, and this silence creates conflict that would vanish if someone simply spoke up.
  • No one tells others what they clearly know, conflict created would be avoided if someone just spoke up
• Intelligent characters make dumb decisions – Competent, experienced characters suddenly act illogically or forget basic information—not because of stress or trauma, but simply to force the plot forward.
  • A seasoned scientist touches the alien glue
• The plot only works because everyone is stupid
  • No police or government investigates the mounting deaths
• The conflict has an obvious solution – the whole thing could be resolved in one scene
  • A character is accused of a crime but never shares their alibi when there’s no reason not to
• Repetitive or escalating idiocy – After the first dumb choice, the characters keep doubling down on irrational behavior rather than adjusting course.
  • The hero knows the villain is dangerous but decide to meet them alone, in the woods, anyway
• Unmotivated secrecy or withholding – A character refuses to share something that would obviously help others—without any believable justification (e.g., secrecy for drama’s sake).
  • “I can’t tell you yet. You have to trust me.”
• No one questions the premise – The entire plot rests on a premise so weak or absurd that characters should naturally resist or question it—but they don’t.
  • “We have to fight to the death on a reality show.”

Segment 3

When is an idiot plot intentional?

Comedy and Farce: In comedies, characters often act foolishly, impulsively, or irrationally on purpose—and the audience is in on the joke.

●  Create escalating absurdity

●  Generate situational irony

●  Explore social conventions through inversion

Examples:

●  Monty Python: Nearly every sketch is built around people taking something ridiculous seriously, or misunderstanding something basic.

●  Wooster & Jeeves (P.G. Wodehouse): Bertie Wooster constantly makes dumb decisions, but it’s endearing because he’s written as charmingly oblivious.

●  Frasier: Many episodes are built on elaborate misunderstandings that smart characters walk into, but the tone signals it’s part of the fun.

When using an Idiot Plot for humor, signal tone early. Exaggeration, timing, and character voice should make it clear that this is intentional buffoonery, not poor plotting.

Satire and Social Critique: Writers sometimes intentionally portray characters as idiots to comment on the failings of institutions, cultures, or ideologies. The plot looks like an Idiot Plot, but the target of ridicule is real-world behavior.

●  Critique bureaucracy, dogma, political systems, or herd mentality

●  Illustrate how easily people accept absurdity when afraid, indoctrinated, or complacent

Examples:

●  Idiocracy (2006): Society has devolved so far that the most average man is now a genius. The plot works because everyone is stupid, and that’s the satire.

●  Dr. Strangelove: Top generals and politicians blunder into nuclear war through egotism and protocol.

●  Catch‑22 (Joseph Heller): Soldiers follow contradictory, absurd rules that reveal the insanity of war and bureaucracy.

Use absurd logic consistently. The story world must run on its own dumb logic, and the author must treat it seriously to let the satire land.

Tragedy of the Fool: Sometimes a story features a protagonist whose foolishness is tragic rather than funny—a conscious character flaw that drives the drama.

●  Explore human fallibility

●  Build tragic irony

●  Emphasize how small misjudgments snowball into disaster

Examples:

●  King Lear: Lear makes foolish, pride-driven choices and refuses to listen to reason. His idiocy causes a kingdom’s downfall—but it’s character-based, not bad writing.

●  Breaking Bad: Walt continually makes selfish, irrational choices that escalate his problems—but his pride and denial make those choices believable.

●  Requiem for a Dream: Characters are blind to their own delusions and make obviously destructive decisions, but the film uses that blindness to explore addiction and decline.

Foolishness becomes dramatically powerful when grounded in deep flaws: pride, fear, naivety, obsession. Let the audience see what the character can’t.

Experimental or Absurdist Literature: Some writers embrace idiot logic to destabilize realism and explore surrealism, metaphysics, or postmodern ideas.

●  Break conventional cause and effect

●  Create dream logic

●  Subvert reader expectations

Examples:

●  The Trial (Franz Kafka): Bureaucratic absurdity traps a man in a meaningless judicial system. Everyone’s behavior is insane—but it’s not a critique of people; it’s existential.

●  Waiting for Godot (Beckett): The characters behave absurdly, repeat the same conversations, and never take action—but the point is inertia, futility, and absurdity.

●  The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams): Characters regularly misunderstand the universe in hilarious, cosmic ways.

Anchor the idiocy to theme and tone. It should feel like the story’s philosophy, not a narrative accident.

Segment 4

Why Writers Fall Into the Trap

Plot-before-Character (Reverse Engineering the Ending): Many writers outline the ending first, then build backwards—forcing characters to behave unnaturally just to hit that destination.

As Martin Stellinga explains (link):
“Writers usually work backward from an ending … This makes it easy … even if it doesn’t make sense for that character at that point.” 

Lazy Plotting: Skipping the Logical Steps: It’s quicker to have characters fail to communicate or act stupidly than to craft logical solutions or obstacles.

●  Elayne Law warns (link):
“An Idiot Plot takes common sense… and throws it out the window… This only serves to infuriate readers”

Tunnel Vision on Story Beats: Writers deeply invested in a specific story moment may ignore the fact that everyday intelligence would derail the entire setup.

Avoiding Complexity: Creating plausible reasons why characters don’t do the obvious (like calling for backup or checking a device) takes effort—so sometimes it’s easier to just not write them doing it.

High Stakes, Low Setup

As David Brin points out from Wikipedia (link):

“Storytellers feel compelled to separate their characters from meaningful help… hence … institutions and your neighbors are portrayed as sheep.” 

When you want your hero to face off alone, it’s simpler to dumb down secondary characters.

Plot Vomit: Multiple Idiotic Decisions: Sometimes it’s not just one lapse—it’s a domino of subconscious stupidity.

●  A blog post summarizes (link):
“A true idiot plot consists of a string of stupid decisions… from almost every principal character”

How to Avoid It

1. Set goals naturally—don’t start with fixed endpoints.
2. Ask “what would a smart person do?” for every major obstacle.
3. Create realistic barriers to logical actions—emotional stakes, resource constraints, power dynamics.
4. Beta readers are key—they’ll catch those glaring oversights.
5. Justify stupidity—if a character doesn’t act rationally, explain why (fear, trauma, ideology).

Further Exploration

●  Martin Stellinga’s “Writing smell: the idiot plot” — breakdown of plug-and-play forced stupidity

●  Elayne Law’s Medium article — why common-sense failure frustrates readers

●  TCK Publishing’s blog — analysis of how idiotic plots form and unravel

●  Wikipedia entry on Idiot Plots — including Brin’s institutional commentary