I recently perused the stacks for reading material with several writer friends. One of them picked up a book and exclaimed, “Does it have a plot? I’m not reading one more book without a plot!”
When I first started teaching plot to writers more than six years ago and then writing about plot extensively, plot was little talked about. I remember searching for plot in the index of several of the most popular writing books at the time and only one had even a page dedicated to the subject.Â
Now, the taboo has been lifted and plot seems to be the “it” element most discussed in writing circles.Â
And then there is literary fiction….
As much as I appreciate the need for plot and the struggle writers face in creating compelling and multi-layered plots, I love plotless books. I love when the language takes center stage and characters who develop without much dramatic action dominate.Â
Literary fiction is essentially plotless and yet all of my favorite books and the ones I remember the most fall in that category.Â
Sometimes I worry I’ve gone too far in my zeal to support writers in creating well-rounded stories with exciting action that transforms the protagonist and in the end means something.Â
Plot is well and good, but often no plot is sublime….
My first novel, which I’m presently working on revising before I start querying agents, is relatively plotless in the grand scheme of things. The characters and their development over the course of the story are the center of the story itself.
A lot of the Murakami books I’ve really enjoyed have been like this, with little real focus on a plot – and what there is often ends up being rather meandering – and more on the characters and their mental state.
So much of J.D. Salinger’s work amounts to people sitting around and talking, too. Both these authors are pretty big influences on my writing.
I’m glad I found this site. I recently got back to writing and the big thing that is different for me this time around is in the area of Plot. Before, I focused on the plot. I overly plotted and could never seem to finish a book.
Now, I am focusing on the characters and letting their actions, reaction and feelings carry the story. I still get plot anxiety…thinking I need to develop the plot better, but this time around I’m going to go w/o a lot of emphasis on the plot…here’s hoping. 🙂
Thanks for commenting, Benjamin Fennell. Characters and their development center of the story itself = yes! Ends up being rather meandering = worrying… Sitting around and talking = hmmmmm Makes me remember why I got into teaching plot.
Though literary novels feel plotless, they in fact have lots of structure. As long as you as the author isn’t meandering or sitting and talking, I won’t worry…
Hi Ash,
Balance in all things. Or at least the attempt at balance.
For me there’s always been a very small difference between “when the language takes center stage” and “Hey Mom! Look at how good I’m writing!” It leaves me thinking about what kind of job the writer is doing and not what the characters are doing.
Great point, msmith13. It’s more than the language itself. It’s the attention to authentic details. The slowing down the scene so that the reader can slip in and stay awhile. There is a leisurely feel in literary fiction. The page-turnability not from the dramatic action per se, but the attention to character development.