Just One Thing... Coincidence!
Does it have a place in fiction?
photo by petr sidorov on Unsplash
Coincidence: “a remarkable concurrence of events or circumstances without apparent causal connection,” is the definition that pops up onscreen, and similar words are listed as: accident, chance, serendipity, fate, destiny, providence, a piece of good fortune…
When we talk about plot, we talk cause-effect; beginning, middle, end; motivation/goals, and so on… with all the corners tucked in just so, all neatly accounted for.
But life is not like that. Life is more about packing the entire car to go on a hike, assembling the packs, the maps, the coffees; then realizing there’s one forgotten piece, and in a hurry, the character/s have just locked and slammed the car door on a purse… which has BOTH of the two cars keys inside. Or at least, the character is quite certain they are...
There’s the believable plot. That’s how we’re told to write: ‘Ramp up tension and conflict,’ and all that.
Let’s return to the story: One character ends up arguing with the other about whose fault it all is. Then reaches into a pocket… Voila! there’s one of the keys! How did that happen? Magic? Forgetfulness? Coincidence…? Now the plot all falls out of place; it’s grossly simplified. They can get in the car and go on that hike.
Of course though, in that row over whose fault it was, some ugly said-that-cannot-be-unsaid came out.
It all seems neatly plotted in the end, even with the coincidence of finding the key. But I would not have come up with this, without thinking about, “What is THE coincidental piece?”
Life—real lived life—is full of coincidences, unbelievable moments and turns.
Truth really is stranger than fiction
Remember the exercise in the “Flashback” post?…
Well, try recording “coincidences” for a couple days. Think of multiple sources. Like most things, once you are focused on it, the words and ideas will start to come. Stories people tell you. Pieces in the news or media. Thoughts and memories that come to you… Ask friends and family for their stories of “coincidences.”
Note them in the fiction you are reading. (You’ll probably find more if reading short stories.)
Author convenience
What is the difference between a bit in a story that is “author convenience” or “coincidence?” First off, these can be one experience for the reader and another for the writer.
The “author convenient” in a story will feel like a “cheat” or a piece of “lazy” on the writer’s part. As writer, you’ll know the lazy thing in your gut! It might be an avoidance of writing a tough ending. (Understandable! But push on. Ask yourself: what is the ending that’s coming from somewhere deeper, somewhere maybe I—or my character—is afraid to go?) Or the “convenient” piece might be you choosing to write the first option that popped into your mind. (You might write the first option… but then question it.)
As a reader, the “author convenient” piece may not be apparent at the time of reading, but later. It may just become an unsatisfying read, even if they cannot articulate a “why” to it. They might think it predictable. Or unbelievable. (And this is where it seems to rub shoulders with “coincidence.”)
Ultimately, the true “coincidence” will become believable, and be woven into the plot, even though at the time it happens—when the reader encounters it—it might be shocking, or even a “yeah, right!” moment of disbelief. The true coincidence will make connections within the story and with the reader, and even with the writer.
Oddly, the writer might be the last one on board! We can be so trained to think that plotting is special and different and disconnected with real life. But in “real life” there are moments and objects and surprises of all sorts that throw other parts of life into light, that challenge our notions, that set in motion. We should not be afraid of these in our fictions.
I think of this both consciously and subconsciously as working (and remind myself.) What am I letting in and not letting in? What am I missing? (Always, by its very nature, tough to know what we are missing!)
My way around these questions, and around, “How far can I go before it’s not believable?” has come to this point: per story, I allow myself ONE.
Coincidence
It doesn’t matter if it’s a short story or a lengthy novel—there should not be more than one coincidence. (Ah, the “should not” thing! Feel free to challenge!)
If you record real instances of coincidence, you’ll note that the stories you collect have only one. Each is something that the story revolves around, or it turns the story in another direction. It is pivotal.
In fiction, if you add a second or more, it may well poke holes into the belief you have built, and readers will walk away. It might become about the writer’s convenience. But as a singular part of a story, “coincidence” will bring a pinch of life’s chaotic quality, and a flavour of reality to the whole.
Look at stories you’ve been struggling with—where is this element? Or is it? Can you open a door to it?
When you read, look for it. How has the writer used it?
Then back to your own work… Write. Read. Apply.
In the comments, let’s talk about if you’ve been aware of this in your work. How you’ve used it. Or not. What it’s looked like… ??
Guest posts
This week I have a series of guest posts—Monday through Thursday—in one of my fave Substack newsletters, the wonder-filled and quirky FOREST. Enjoy. Subscribe (it’s a free newsletter).
I've always considered coincidence in my story as a loophole and was ashamed of it, but after reading this post, I realized how, as a reader of someone else's work, I am very generous to "coincidence." It does 'bring a pinch of life's chaotic quality' that I thoroughly enjoy, and I constantly look for this "coincidence" to happen at a pivotal moment in a story. Still, I should also be careful not to have more than one coincidence per story! Thank you so much for your advice!
I was reminded while I read this that Robert McKee was adamant that any reversal or turning point in a script must never rely on a coincidence but needs to be a covergence of everything that came before. That said, as I related in a previous comment, I often add a healthy dose of the (seemingly) random while composing my fiction, usually in the earliest stages.* I find that, in the very least, such interjections lend a certain perspective to the material, even if they quite often lead to dead ends (the series Community had a novel take on this in an episode in which the character who answered the door for a pizza delivery was determined by the role of a dice, a device which, in fact, sent ripples throughout the rest of season 3). Personally, I tend to draw inspiration from the "coincidences" which happen in real life when trying to find a place for them in my fiction and I was well reminded of how the conscious use of a random element can exponentially enhance the creative process while watching the recent doc, The Beatles: Get Back. There's been lots of chatter online about the role keyboardist Billy Preston played in the sessions so I won't belabour the point too much except to say that, had he not been there The Beatles would no doubt have managed to still produce the albums Let It be & Abbey Road, though there's ample indication that they wouldn't have had nearly as much fun while doing so, nor would the viewer have been treated to just how energizing an influence Billy's "chance" involvement with the sessions had on the band. And I place quotation marks around chance because, like all worthwhile coincidences in my mind, Billy Preston showing up and having such a positive influence was grounded in the relationship he'd previously established with John, Paul, George and Ringo from when they'd met years earlier in Hamburg. There was some suggestion in the film that Billy Preston allowed them to tap into the vitality they'd felt as a band in their nascent stages with greater force than their initial strategy of goofing around on their old old songs, and the songs of their major influences, could possibly have had. In that sense, he brought the requisite vitality into the present and made it real, rather than it simply being allowed to languish as an echo of former times. Could be there's a lesson to be learned in there somewhere.
*Musing upon that, it occurs to me that there's a whole other subconversation that could take place around the particular benefit of using random elements when composing one's image system but that's a discussion for another day.