Well-said! Have you read Aristotle’s “Poetics?” It’s really great on defining the architecture of the two major story forms, Tragedy and Comedy, and what makes a story a story
Very well put; I struggle to put my intuition into words regarding the current state of story novels / movies, etc. I can't help feeling that self-publishing, with its inherent "direct to consumer" model, has cemented genre as the primary criterion for mainstream readers. I have nothing against self-publishing (having self-published several things myself) but I do think the ironclad rigidity of genre is a great shame.
Really agree with this - I’ve always had a slight prejudice against self-publishing in general (probably foolishly, as it’s prevented me from doing things such as starting this Substack, or sharing my work at all). However I do think self-publishing sometimes leads to writers negating story (or opting for more generic story tropes) in favour of genre, where fulfilling the expected conventions becomes a box-ticking exercise rather than being necessary as narrative devices. For example, why include a new teleportation device if it isn’t going to have some narrative implication? Sometimes I think self-published sci-fi has a lot of random sci-fi conventions that don’t lend themselves to narrative or contain symbolic content.
I think self-publishing is a mixed blessing. Certainly, the people who make money doing it do so by becoming slaves to genre, and they make no bones about it. But I don't think that it was the self-publishers who discovered the advantages of genre-based marketing. I think it was the corporate consolidation of the publishing industry and their adoption of data-driven marketing that did that. I think there are other cultural factors as well, but that is a subject for another day.
Another factor in self-publishing is that genre conformity is much easier than telling a good story (see McKee's Story on this), and so, yes, the market has been flooded with poor quality stories that rely on genre conformance for whatever success they have.
On the other hand, given the genreification of mainstream publishing, self-publishing also provides an outlet for good stories that otherwise would not find a home.
Yes, I thought of Aristotle too. He said plot was the most important thing, but Mark I think you are using “story” to mean something more than plot. As is the author of “Story,” the screenplay-writing book.it seems to me that “story” in addition to plot has internal coherence as well as a driving sense of purpose. And then comes form, which is where the preoccupations of literary fiction can make the difference, for better or worse: perfect form certainly enhances story. But form alone without purpose or coherence yields that sense of lack that you are scratching at.
The relationship between the words story and plot is interesting. Today, we tend to use story to mean something more complete than plot. But in Aspects of the Novel, EM Forster used the words the other way round, using story to mean a sequence of events and plot to mean the addition of motivation to the sequence. But I think of story as more even than that. "Internal coherence and driving sense of purpose" is not a bad way of putting it. But I think there may be something more to it still, something I think I might call the cost of living under The Law. And that is perhaps why form alone and language alone does not a story make, for I think the spring of tension that drives story is anchored in The Law.
As in the Law of God? Bc I was going to add that anemia in lit fic corresponds with a general rejection by educated readers of Judeo-Christian notions of good and evil.
As in some standard of conduct acknowledged by reader, writer, and character for the duration of the story at least. Something that demands and justifies particular conduct. From a literary point of view, it doesn't have to be Judeo-Christian. It can be the prime directive or the code of the Woosters. It just needs to anchor the tension.
I'm not sure if you listen to podcasts much, but there is a good one called You Are a Storyteller with Brian McDonald that I think meshes nicely with what you said here. He talks a lot about story as survival. It's good stuff. He also has a book about the same topic, although I haven't read it yet. Really liked your thoughts here!
I don't listen to podcasts much. I'm too impatient. I'd rather have an essay I can read in ten minutes than a podcast I have to listen to for an hour. Perhaps I should look up the book instead. Story as survival sounds like an interesting take. Thanks!
My Mom always said, Stories let us practice being brave before we have to be. Much of what you said reminded me of that. I've always struggled with boxing what I read or write into a particular genre. You've helped me feel like I don't need to box myself up. Thank you.
Well-said! Have you read Aristotle’s “Poetics?” It’s really great on defining the architecture of the two major story forms, Tragedy and Comedy, and what makes a story a story
Not in decades. Time to revisit it, perhaps. Thanks for the comment.
Very well put; I struggle to put my intuition into words regarding the current state of story novels / movies, etc. I can't help feeling that self-publishing, with its inherent "direct to consumer" model, has cemented genre as the primary criterion for mainstream readers. I have nothing against self-publishing (having self-published several things myself) but I do think the ironclad rigidity of genre is a great shame.
Really agree with this - I’ve always had a slight prejudice against self-publishing in general (probably foolishly, as it’s prevented me from doing things such as starting this Substack, or sharing my work at all). However I do think self-publishing sometimes leads to writers negating story (or opting for more generic story tropes) in favour of genre, where fulfilling the expected conventions becomes a box-ticking exercise rather than being necessary as narrative devices. For example, why include a new teleportation device if it isn’t going to have some narrative implication? Sometimes I think self-published sci-fi has a lot of random sci-fi conventions that don’t lend themselves to narrative or contain symbolic content.
I think self-publishing is a mixed blessing. Certainly, the people who make money doing it do so by becoming slaves to genre, and they make no bones about it. But I don't think that it was the self-publishers who discovered the advantages of genre-based marketing. I think it was the corporate consolidation of the publishing industry and their adoption of data-driven marketing that did that. I think there are other cultural factors as well, but that is a subject for another day.
Another factor in self-publishing is that genre conformity is much easier than telling a good story (see McKee's Story on this), and so, yes, the market has been flooded with poor quality stories that rely on genre conformance for whatever success they have.
On the other hand, given the genreification of mainstream publishing, self-publishing also provides an outlet for good stories that otherwise would not find a home.
Yes, I thought of Aristotle too. He said plot was the most important thing, but Mark I think you are using “story” to mean something more than plot. As is the author of “Story,” the screenplay-writing book.it seems to me that “story” in addition to plot has internal coherence as well as a driving sense of purpose. And then comes form, which is where the preoccupations of literary fiction can make the difference, for better or worse: perfect form certainly enhances story. But form alone without purpose or coherence yields that sense of lack that you are scratching at.
The relationship between the words story and plot is interesting. Today, we tend to use story to mean something more complete than plot. But in Aspects of the Novel, EM Forster used the words the other way round, using story to mean a sequence of events and plot to mean the addition of motivation to the sequence. But I think of story as more even than that. "Internal coherence and driving sense of purpose" is not a bad way of putting it. But I think there may be something more to it still, something I think I might call the cost of living under The Law. And that is perhaps why form alone and language alone does not a story make, for I think the spring of tension that drives story is anchored in The Law.
As in the Law of God? Bc I was going to add that anemia in lit fic corresponds with a general rejection by educated readers of Judeo-Christian notions of good and evil.
As in some standard of conduct acknowledged by reader, writer, and character for the duration of the story at least. Something that demands and justifies particular conduct. From a literary point of view, it doesn't have to be Judeo-Christian. It can be the prime directive or the code of the Woosters. It just needs to anchor the tension.
So now we’re talking about the breakdown of the West….
We're always talking about the breakdown of the West. It is what Substack is for.
Fascinating read, thank you. I wonder how the further breakdown into marketing books by not just genre but by tropes figures into it all.
Thanks for the interesting read
I'm not sure if you listen to podcasts much, but there is a good one called You Are a Storyteller with Brian McDonald that I think meshes nicely with what you said here. He talks a lot about story as survival. It's good stuff. He also has a book about the same topic, although I haven't read it yet. Really liked your thoughts here!
I don't listen to podcasts much. I'm too impatient. I'd rather have an essay I can read in ten minutes than a podcast I have to listen to for an hour. Perhaps I should look up the book instead. Story as survival sounds like an interesting take. Thanks!
My Mom always said, Stories let us practice being brave before we have to be. Much of what you said reminded me of that. I've always struggled with boxing what I read or write into a particular genre. You've helped me feel like I don't need to box myself up. Thank you.