Wonderful article. In fact they same can be said of films, a lot of highbrow filmmakers speak of plot as some kind of swear word. It's highly fashionable to say that a film is 'deconstructing the notion of plot itself'. In truth it's often a posture and a lazy way to avoid doing serious writing work. Whip something complicated together, some folks are bound to find meaning in it. To me that's the opposite of complexity.
I love your advice to most new writers’ problems: “use simple language well.” And then, shit has to happen. This is something I’ve been working on, and noticing that a lot of literary fiction is lacking. So great to see your take on this!
What a serendipitous find this is! I’ve been watching lots of films lately (as in a seriously indecent amount) and paying extra attention to how they unfolded and why I liked them. More often than not a winning film was one where I loved the storytelling. And because I’ve also been looking at older commercial films from the late 90s/early 00s I have noticed as well that the journey of the characters is often more substantial than in similar modern commercial films but I hadn’t realised it was, as you say, because often these movies were meant to fit like a glove around the main actor/actress, which is a really clever way of building the story. This week I’ve watched Poor Things a second time and I completely agree with all your points about it. I was fascinated by the film the first time, went to buy the novel (halfway through it, absolutely love it), and went back to watch the film this time to pay attention to how the novel translated into the screen and how differently the story was told, which was an interesting exercise as most of the travelling is explained through letters in the novel as opposed to us being witness to Bella and Duncan’s adventures. I have also seen All of Us Strangers (based on another book) and while less flamboyant and potentially the movie equivalent to literary fiction, there is a clear change in the characters through what they experience and the things that have happened to them, which perhaps is why such an intimate movie is so incredibly intense and very satisfying to watch.
Love this! Whenever I’m plotting I always want to start with the inciting incident right away, even though Save The Cat and other structures suggest you have a few other bits first.
Ah I loved this! How many times I have finished a novel, and when someone asked me how it was, said, oh yeah, quite good, nothing much happened though.
I also absolutely loved Poor Things, then listened to the audiobook over a few days where often I would find myself just sitting doing nothing else and listening.
Yesss! Check out one my writing teachers Joan Scheckel… she’d appreciate this essay immensely. And yet even though plot is a necessary layer in the lasagna - the hero’s journey is but one of a billion structures available to us lest we forget.
Wonderful article. In fact they same can be said of films, a lot of highbrow filmmakers speak of plot as some kind of swear word. It's highly fashionable to say that a film is 'deconstructing the notion of plot itself'. In truth it's often a posture and a lazy way to avoid doing serious writing work. Whip something complicated together, some folks are bound to find meaning in it. To me that's the opposite of complexity.
Totally agree!
Brilliant article (Aspiring writer/ Just duped the first 100 pages)
I love your advice to most new writers’ problems: “use simple language well.” And then, shit has to happen. This is something I’ve been working on, and noticing that a lot of literary fiction is lacking. So great to see your take on this!
Thank you!
What a serendipitous find this is! I’ve been watching lots of films lately (as in a seriously indecent amount) and paying extra attention to how they unfolded and why I liked them. More often than not a winning film was one where I loved the storytelling. And because I’ve also been looking at older commercial films from the late 90s/early 00s I have noticed as well that the journey of the characters is often more substantial than in similar modern commercial films but I hadn’t realised it was, as you say, because often these movies were meant to fit like a glove around the main actor/actress, which is a really clever way of building the story. This week I’ve watched Poor Things a second time and I completely agree with all your points about it. I was fascinated by the film the first time, went to buy the novel (halfway through it, absolutely love it), and went back to watch the film this time to pay attention to how the novel translated into the screen and how differently the story was told, which was an interesting exercise as most of the travelling is explained through letters in the novel as opposed to us being witness to Bella and Duncan’s adventures. I have also seen All of Us Strangers (based on another book) and while less flamboyant and potentially the movie equivalent to literary fiction, there is a clear change in the characters through what they experience and the things that have happened to them, which perhaps is why such an intimate movie is so incredibly intense and very satisfying to watch.
Love this! Whenever I’m plotting I always want to start with the inciting incident right away, even though Save The Cat and other structures suggest you have a few other bits first.
Ah I loved this! How many times I have finished a novel, and when someone asked me how it was, said, oh yeah, quite good, nothing much happened though.
I also absolutely loved Poor Things, then listened to the audiobook over a few days where often I would find myself just sitting doing nothing else and listening.
This is precisely what I needed to read today. Thank you Heather.
Love this, thanks for giving shape to my thoughts!
This has rearranged my brain.
But I like your brain!
As the writer of a near-enough plotless novel, I nevertheless enjoyed this a lot. Thanks Heather!
Haha! We can break the rules once we know them I reckon!
This was a hilariously good read Heather. It’s also a great checklist for fiction writers. I know I’ll be coming back to it often.
Thank you my friend!
Yesss! Check out one my writing teachers Joan Scheckel… she’d appreciate this essay immensely. And yet even though plot is a necessary layer in the lasagna - the hero’s journey is but one of a billion structures available to us lest we forget.
Love this - would you be happy for me to share with students, Heather?
Of course! What an honour
Loved this. Also reading Wolf Hall, are you reading it as part of the readalong on here?
No I didn't know there was one! I'm just on holiday and wanted a great read
Yeah, it's ran by Simon at Footnotes and Tangents on here 👍🏻