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The Importance of Plot/Setting/Theme?

ions

New Member
Well how important is it to you? Do you need a specific setting to enjoy a book? Must there be dragons and elves? Gore? Or do you just let a great writer take you where their story goes and enjoy the beauty of that not relying on gimmicks or standards of a genre?
 
Boy, you're full of good topics this week!

I don't think plot, setting or theme is really that important. I suppose there are a few themes and plot elements I prefer to avoid; elves, gnomes and interstellar travel are among them. Even still, I've read some fantastic stories in the SF/F genres. As long as a story is developed well enough to capture my attention I'm willing to read it.
 
I'm also not into gnomes and elves. Especially not in a Civil War setting. I just don't get that particular fetish. But if you want to sell a million copies of a bad book, setting it in the Civil War is a good idea. Add a few gnomes and a serial killer, and you've got a cult classic.
 
I don't really have any preferences, but there are certain elements that draw me to a book over another. I think that the only thing that I am a bit wary of reading is time travel. I tend to find them silly and contrived. I wouldn't say no to reading a time travel novel, but it has to sound really great for me to want to read it. Although one of my fave books The Anubis Gate by Tim Powers has some time travel in it.
 
I've don't think there are any that I plot points or themes or settings that I prefer, but there are certainly some that make me avoid books (vampires, serial killers, the occult etc).
 
Whim is all for me..Sometimes I want to explore certain cultures, and will look for settings or plots that allow that. Other times, it's a certain theme I need to think about, and I'll look for that. Sometimes I just want a totally different world than my own..and elves and fairies are about as far-flung as it gets.
 
Doug Johnson said:
Dave Barry: "What I've learned about plot is that you need one."

I'll see your Dave Barry and raise you Stephen King:

What I've learned about plots is that you don't need one.
 
ions said:
Well how important is it to you? Do you need a specific setting to enjoy a book? Must there be dragons and elves? Gore? Or do you just let a great writer take you where their story goes and enjoy the beauty of that not relying on gimmicks or standards of a genre?

Plot is very important to me since it is the story of the novel that I enjoy most. I don't need a particular setting to enjoy a book. Although I love fantasy because it is pure escapism, I don't need fantasy elements to be present in order for me to choose to read a book. I let the author take me where they want to go. I do like books that have well developed characters I can relate to in some way, but over-all it is the plot that is most important to me. I like a good story. :)
 
Doug Johnson said:
Has Stephen King ever written a book that had no plot?

What he says about plot is that writers are better off not writing books according to a predetermined plotline, and that plot naturally arises from a good story.

What he says--and I thoroughly agree with him--is that if a writer puts the characters in an interesting enough opening situation from which they have to extricate themselves, the story unfolds naturally from that. I think that's wonderful advice.
 
novella said:
What he says about plot is that writers are better off not writing books according to a predetermined plotline, and that plot naturally arises from a good story.

What he says--and I thoroughly agree with him--is that if a writer puts the characters in an interesting enough opening situation from which they have to extricate themselves, the story unfolds naturally from that. I think that's wonderful advice.

Chili Palmer takes the same approach. “I wait for characters to show up, ones I can use.” Then, wait to see what they do. “You have to be patient. You have to let it happen. Not making anybody do anything they don't want to."

I think what Dave Barry found out, is that you eventually need to answer the question, "What does this character do next?" and that's your plot. Plot and character are as closely related as time and space. You can't change one with affecting the other. And when the character does something unexpected, it can really mess up your theme too.
 
Doug Johnson said:
I think what Dave Barry found out, is that you eventually need to answer the question, "What does this character do next?" and that's your plot. Plot and character are as closely related as time and space. You can't change one with affecting the other. And when the character does something unexpected, it can really mess up your theme too.


Rather than call that plot, I would call it story. To me, plot is a plan that you have to follow, whereas story can take you anywhere. Maybe it's just semantics at the level of debate, but I think in the practice of writing fiction, there's a process difference.

Did you know King and Barry play in a band together sometimes?
 
novella said:
Rather than call that plot, I would call it story

My dictionary says they are the same thing:

Plot: the story or sequence of events in a narrated or presented work such as a novel, play, or movie

Story: the plot of a novel, play, motion picture, or other fictional narrative work
 
Dave Barry also performed a song about Tupperware, in a band whose only instruments were Tupperware. Reportedly, the audience gave him a standing ovation.
 
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