1. fjm3eyes

    fjm3eyes Member

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    Plot Development

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by fjm3eyes, Jun 7, 2018.

    I prefer writing short stories. My question is can a story be written with no plot? I suppose what I'm talking about it nonlinear writing----no discernible plot, a beginning, middle and end, but not necessarily in that order. A followup question-----when might you choose to write a story no plot?
     
  2. WaffleWhale

    WaffleWhale Active Member

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    I feel like a story needs a plot. Are you talking about writing out of order for some kind of dramatic irony affect, or just writing a series of events that lead to nothing?

    Another question, why do you want to write a plot-less story?
     
  3. fjm3eyes

    fjm3eyes Member

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    Because standard plots may not be everything. I'm referrering to no discernaable plot. A search of the net tells me writing out of order, or writing from the middle, is a viable narrative technique. Ulysses and Finnigan's Wake are examples of linear writing. Yes, perhaps dramatic effect can be good use of liner writing.
     
  4. ChickenFreak

    ChickenFreak Contributor Contributor

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    You seem to be equating "writing out of order" and "no plot". I don't think they're the same thing at all.

    Random example: The movie Memento was very much out of order, but it certainly had a plot.
     
  5. Kerbouchard

    Kerbouchard Member

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    Plot (however you want to sequence it) = reason for someone wanting to read your story. No premise, no interest.
     
  6. irite

    irite Member

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    Like a single fictional diary entry, it doesn't rely on explaining anything previous of after, it doesn't need a setting or plot, it just is.

    Creating a piece of written work that is not a story. Without a begining or end as such, more of a self contained middle that makes sense within itself. A conceptual form as opposed to a known pre-set form... Try it, post it, await reactions and then find out at the same time as the rest of us.
     
  7. Simpson17866

    Simpson17866 Contributor Contributor

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    Story is "the king died, and then the queen died." Plot is "the king died, and then the queen died of grief." – EM Forster

    Plot is the chain of cause-and-effect that ties together why everything in the story is happening.
     
    Kerbouchard likes this.
  8. fjm3eyes

    fjm3eyes Member

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    From what I understand, non linear writing refers to disruptive or disjointed narrative, where the author jumps around in time, not following chronological order. It may be used when the story calls for it. Where plot is concerned, it is (maybe) when that plot is not so easily defined. I'm interested in knowing how many here make use of non linear narrative, and why if you do.
     

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