Oh my god thank you- I’ve been trying to get through a script as a self taught writer working a day job in a STEM field and this has clarified so many things that I was frustrated by and struggling with but could not name. So grateful for this!!!
This series is much appreciated and has excellent timing. I’m also someone who spent most of their formal education in pursuit of a science-based career and recently resolved to dig into deeper literary theory to elevate my understanding of craft. Yes, I mostly write commercial fantasy but I want to write good ones.
I am always excited when I start a book and find a clear situation suggested right away. The person lost in the desert could be said to be the basic dilemma for all my favorite Catholic writers, who are great at creating clear situations. We fell out of Eden; what is the path to getting back? We're in the desert now, and it would behoove us to realize it.
I remember being obsessed with Ira Levin novels when I was young because of the deliciousness of his situations.
I just started reading Tilt by Emma Pattee and feel a similar excitement—a very pregnant woman gets caught way from home in the Cascade earthquake. That's a big situation but instructive. I'm so glad you wrote about this and made clear the difference between situation and plot.
I think you and I have this in common. It's all over the Russians, who I believe inherited it from the French novelists. I think it's especially strongly preserved in the Catholic novelists for perhaps obvious reasons, lol, and accounts for why Sartre hated Mauriac.
Tho it's interesting also to think about Evelyn Waugh whose novels seem always to come down to the unbearable tension between the Catholic's situation and the modern's total lack of of one, lol.
Thanks, Brandon. This is tremendously valuable. It will also help me articulate feedback when I have to read other peoples stories. I find it difficult to say why this isn't working.
I got all your references except the last one with invitation from the ex-husband. That's going to keep me up at night. lol.
I like to use the word "unstable" to define a situation in a story. It implies trouble and has a past that made it "unstable" and a future as characters deal with what is unstable.
A question: I recognized the rest of the situations listed, but not "A woman with a boyfriend receives an invitation from her ex-husband." What work is this? Thanks!
I'd bookmarked these to read when I had time and I am so glad I did. I'm in my first year teaching at an MFA program and I've had many of the same issues you describe in your first post. I've really had to dig in to try to figure out just what my students don't know (things that I am pretty sure I did know at that stage). Their scenework in particular can feel aimless and my efforts to nudge them into finding more concrete ways to organize their stories has been hit or miss. I think your framework here will be really helpful for me, and them. I am apparently developing a reputation as a highly analytical, "crafty" teacher--I give them comments on their grammar, for heaven's sake--and I can definitely feel them giving me the side-eye sometimes. But I'm glad I'm not alone! Describing how a story makes you feel is not a critique! Whew, okay.
Anyway, I'm really looking forward to more posts in this series. Thank you!
Thank you! I am *finally* able to articulate my unifying situation--in fiction and in real life LOL Up till now it has been only invisible as the air I breathe. I have made all your questions my own (for personal use only) and will hang them on my bulletin board for constant reference. What a beautiful mind you have and how generous you are to share it in so many ways.
Generous, clear, helpful. I LOVE “do this til the confusion lifts.” We give up asking ourselves questions too easily. Working on something til it’s clear why you were lost is another gift writing gives us. Thank you.
Thank you, thank you Brandon. You've made sense of what I love about Seinfeld. All those situations and subsituations in one episode - everything happens and nothing really happens. Think Festivus - the pole, the bagel strike, and the two faced woman - three plots one show. Also 'The work of a scene is to alter a situation' ❤️
This is a tremendous resource. Thank you for serving us a better-than-MFA mini course.
Fantastic. And you have spurred me to go back to my anecdotal value calculations -- not that everything should be quantified, but my key components --
U: Unexpectedness (1–10): How surprising the anecdote is.
P: Prominence (1–10): Importance or stature of figures in the story.
Pr: Prurience (1–10): Sensational or provocative elements. Higher values dilute credibility.
T: Tellability (1–10): Ease of retelling and engaging listeners.
A: Attractiveness (1–10): Emotional or intellectual appeal.
S: Simplicity (1–10): How easy it is to understand.
are helpful for reminding authors that ingredients matter.
This makes my Quant brain happy, haha.
Oh my god thank you- I’ve been trying to get through a script as a self taught writer working a day job in a STEM field and this has clarified so many things that I was frustrated by and struggling with but could not name. So grateful for this!!!
This series is much appreciated and has excellent timing. I’m also someone who spent most of their formal education in pursuit of a science-based career and recently resolved to dig into deeper literary theory to elevate my understanding of craft. Yes, I mostly write commercial fantasy but I want to write good ones.
Love this so much.
I am always excited when I start a book and find a clear situation suggested right away. The person lost in the desert could be said to be the basic dilemma for all my favorite Catholic writers, who are great at creating clear situations. We fell out of Eden; what is the path to getting back? We're in the desert now, and it would behoove us to realize it.
I remember being obsessed with Ira Levin novels when I was young because of the deliciousness of his situations.
I just started reading Tilt by Emma Pattee and feel a similar excitement—a very pregnant woman gets caught way from home in the Cascade earthquake. That's a big situation but instructive. I'm so glad you wrote about this and made clear the difference between situation and plot.
I think you and I have this in common. It's all over the Russians, who I believe inherited it from the French novelists. I think it's especially strongly preserved in the Catholic novelists for perhaps obvious reasons, lol, and accounts for why Sartre hated Mauriac.
Tho it's interesting also to think about Evelyn Waugh whose novels seem always to come down to the unbearable tension between the Catholic's situation and the modern's total lack of of one, lol.
Thanks, Brandon. This is tremendously valuable. It will also help me articulate feedback when I have to read other peoples stories. I find it difficult to say why this isn't working.
I got all your references except the last one with invitation from the ex-husband. That's going to keep me up at night. lol.
Chef’s House!
I like to use the word "unstable" to define a situation in a story. It implies trouble and has a past that made it "unstable" and a future as characters deal with what is unstable.
Thank you for this useful and interesting lesson!
A question: I recognized the rest of the situations listed, but not "A woman with a boyfriend receives an invitation from her ex-husband." What work is this? Thanks!
"Chef's House"!
Thank you.
this finding me while im been blocked with one of my wips for over a month. thank u
Incredible. You answered some of my lingering questions, thank you!
I'd bookmarked these to read when I had time and I am so glad I did. I'm in my first year teaching at an MFA program and I've had many of the same issues you describe in your first post. I've really had to dig in to try to figure out just what my students don't know (things that I am pretty sure I did know at that stage). Their scenework in particular can feel aimless and my efforts to nudge them into finding more concrete ways to organize their stories has been hit or miss. I think your framework here will be really helpful for me, and them. I am apparently developing a reputation as a highly analytical, "crafty" teacher--I give them comments on their grammar, for heaven's sake--and I can definitely feel them giving me the side-eye sometimes. But I'm glad I'm not alone! Describing how a story makes you feel is not a critique! Whew, okay.
Anyway, I'm really looking forward to more posts in this series. Thank you!
Thank you! I am *finally* able to articulate my unifying situation--in fiction and in real life LOL Up till now it has been only invisible as the air I breathe. I have made all your questions my own (for personal use only) and will hang them on my bulletin board for constant reference. What a beautiful mind you have and how generous you are to share it in so many ways.
These are EXCEPTIONAL posts, please keep them coming!
This is such a wonderful lecture. Thank you for sharing, Brandon.
Generous, clear, helpful. I LOVE “do this til the confusion lifts.” We give up asking ourselves questions too easily. Working on something til it’s clear why you were lost is another gift writing gives us. Thank you.
Thank you, thank you Brandon. You've made sense of what I love about Seinfeld. All those situations and subsituations in one episode - everything happens and nothing really happens. Think Festivus - the pole, the bagel strike, and the two faced woman - three plots one show. Also 'The work of a scene is to alter a situation' ❤️