Interesting to think about this. I think of that movie "Serendipity' with John Cusack. There were many events that you could think would lead to the ultimate coincidence, (the characters coming back together) but you were strung along until the end. Watching the movie, you knew somehow that they would get together, but it's how things unfold that I guess is interesting and the wondering at what point it will happen. (Well I like John Cusack, so I liked this movie!) So maybe it is the same with writing...if it unfolds in an interesting way, that makes some of the predictability seem kind of 'wonder'ful.
oh and the fact that some of the anticipated coincidences failed, left the viewer frustrated and kept them strong along, until the coincidence at the end brought them together...which then satisfied the viewer. (Sounds like a romance novel!)
I just checked my fave "Criterion" movie source. It's not there. But I'll have to find it somewhere (library...?)
"If it unfolds in an interesting way..." yes. It's all in the what-creates-'interesting'?
I watched "In the Soup" with Steve Buscemi ('92) the other night. A quirky piece that zigzagged. Each out-of-left-field piece added a new layer that felt to be incorporated...eventually. But at the moment each was intro'd, it left me wondering...
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.
First, we don't have to leap on board when someone say "absolutely no ____." Anymore than anyone here has to say, "But Alison said only ONE!" (A point I've been wondering about: 'did I fully explain my thinking?' on that.)
In writing such "shoulds" should (!) be questioned.
To throw in a coincidence, and then just let it sit and rot, without becoming part of the whole, is not functioning.
We just watched an older movie that was set in NYC, in the midst of a garbage strike. Garbage bags all over... While it operated as a metaphor (yep, got that!), it did nothing else. Likewise several mentions of the main character's penchant for cheap cologne. It went Nowhere. In the end there were so many pieces hanging, it did not work.
But to take something coincidental, and to run with it, dance with it, is a whole other thing.
Billy Preston. I could watch that documentary all over again and we just finished it last week. SO good. He seemed to bring light to all the band members. Right--a new element. Not chance--I agree. More meant to be. The albums would have been made regardless, I agree. But he brought a new element... just as a random/coincidental piece can. I appreciate that you connected these two pieces here--thank you!
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!
Don't limit yourself to "one" if what you are either reading or writing feels it can carry more than that! Life IS filled with the oddest bits; so instead note how they fit in, how they DO work, if they do.
From what I've read of your work, yes, it is quirky and wonder-filled. And the pieces grow to fit ... whatever you want to call them--coincidences? random bits?--often, this is the result of having established a setting--time, place, and mood, and mental/emotional/intellectual "possibility."
Kick "shame" out of the way--it doesn't have a place in creating! And don't cut any coincidences until AFTER you have a complete draft--you never know what their role is until you do understand!
Mostly, I wrote this piece as a way to think about such pieces. It's not set in stone. When it comes to art/creating, nothing is. There are just guidelines and principles to think about... and possibly toss :)
Very helpful piece, Alison. Thank you!
Interesting to think about this. I think of that movie "Serendipity' with John Cusack. There were many events that you could think would lead to the ultimate coincidence, (the characters coming back together) but you were strung along until the end. Watching the movie, you knew somehow that they would get together, but it's how things unfold that I guess is interesting and the wondering at what point it will happen. (Well I like John Cusack, so I liked this movie!) So maybe it is the same with writing...if it unfolds in an interesting way, that makes some of the predictability seem kind of 'wonder'ful.
oh and the fact that some of the anticipated coincidences failed, left the viewer frustrated and kept them strong along, until the coincidence at the end brought them together...which then satisfied the viewer. (Sounds like a romance novel!)
I just checked my fave "Criterion" movie source. It's not there. But I'll have to find it somewhere (library...?)
"If it unfolds in an interesting way..." yes. It's all in the what-creates-'interesting'?
I watched "In the Soup" with Steve Buscemi ('92) the other night. A quirky piece that zigzagged. Each out-of-left-field piece added a new layer that felt to be incorporated...eventually. But at the moment each was intro'd, it left me wondering...
I will look that one up - love Steve Buscemi!
It was a good role for him. Definitely not another mob movie.
I googled Serendipity and it looks like it's on Netflix.
Thank you--that's easy then.
Another thoughtful piece, Alison!
Jolene, thank you for the read and feedback!
Guest Poets? Posts?
Oh my... YES... "posts." Thank you for pointing that out! Though guest poets would be lovely :) (Please share away...)
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.
John--lots to think about here.
First, we don't have to leap on board when someone say "absolutely no ____." Anymore than anyone here has to say, "But Alison said only ONE!" (A point I've been wondering about: 'did I fully explain my thinking?' on that.)
In writing such "shoulds" should (!) be questioned.
To throw in a coincidence, and then just let it sit and rot, without becoming part of the whole, is not functioning.
We just watched an older movie that was set in NYC, in the midst of a garbage strike. Garbage bags all over... While it operated as a metaphor (yep, got that!), it did nothing else. Likewise several mentions of the main character's penchant for cheap cologne. It went Nowhere. In the end there were so many pieces hanging, it did not work.
But to take something coincidental, and to run with it, dance with it, is a whole other thing.
Billy Preston. I could watch that documentary all over again and we just finished it last week. SO good. He seemed to bring light to all the band members. Right--a new element. Not chance--I agree. More meant to be. The albums would have been made regardless, I agree. But he brought a new element... just as a random/coincidental piece can. I appreciate that you connected these two pieces here--thank you!
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!
Don't limit yourself to "one" if what you are either reading or writing feels it can carry more than that! Life IS filled with the oddest bits; so instead note how they fit in, how they DO work, if they do.
From what I've read of your work, yes, it is quirky and wonder-filled. And the pieces grow to fit ... whatever you want to call them--coincidences? random bits?--often, this is the result of having established a setting--time, place, and mood, and mental/emotional/intellectual "possibility."
Kick "shame" out of the way--it doesn't have a place in creating! And don't cut any coincidences until AFTER you have a complete draft--you never know what their role is until you do understand!
Mostly, I wrote this piece as a way to think about such pieces. It's not set in stone. When it comes to art/creating, nothing is. There are just guidelines and principles to think about... and possibly toss :)
Thank you so much for the advice!