The Well-Tempered Plot Device by Nick Lowe

[PenDragon]

The Well-Tempered Plot Device by Nick Lowe is a cutting article about plotting in SF/F genre fiction (mainly Fantasy).

It is a very interesting article and well worth disscusion. Be warned though it is very aggressive in it's attitudes, and attacks some acknowledged masters of the genre.

I think the author does have some very valid points - despite his harsh treatment of my favourite Sci-Fi Author and Children's Fantasy Author - What do the rest of you think?

here is the link http://www.ansible.co.uk/Ansible/plotdev.html

 

[Brian G Turner]

I seem to recall encountering something alongthese lines before - the title is very familiar - but he has problems making succint points and I don't currently have time to read the entire essay. Any bullet points?

 

[jenna]

LMAO that was awesome!

 

[chopper]

loving it.


"You know you've read too much Donaldson when...."

offers?

but i did like Mirror Of Her Dreams/Mordant's Need - it was only two books long.
as far as "collecting the plot coupons" goes, for my money one of the biggest culprits was a series by Weis & Hickman about elements and artificial worlds on different planes of existence (series title long forgotten i'm afraid). Across seven books the protagonists had to visit six different planes to collect six different thingummies. No idea what the seventh book was about - exasperated, i gave up after book 3.

I guess Lazy Writing is our major villain. Always looking over our shoulder, willing us to cut a few imaginitive corners here or there...

 

[Estelthea]

I really enjoyed that essay, I think he has a point and makes it very well. I've heard of plot coupons before but I think that the writer was the first person to use it so I'm glad I've seen the essay.

I tried to read Stephen Donaldson a few years ago but I ddi not get very far with it and I think this essay give me a good reason why I did not like it as much as I thought I would. I even had a go at Clench Racing last night and that amused me but I'm now worried that I might be overusing some words so I'll have to check that out. I often write critiques for other writers and I think I will point them to this essay whenever I feel the need!

Some of the quoted passages are amony the worst things I have ever read, although I do have some fond memories of reading Susan Cooper as a child but I don't really rememeber much about her books and I think I've managed to confuse her with Alan Garner! I'm glad he lets up a bit on Tolkien because I don't think the ring is quite the same things as he describes, but I really like it when later in the essay he says 'One thinks irresistibly of Gandalf's famous words to Frodo when explaining the logic of The Lord of the Plot Devices: "I can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, and not by its maker." Frodo, unfortunately, fails to respond with the obvious question, to which the answer is "by the author".' and the idea that 'the Force' can be replaced with 'the Plot' because that all seems very true and puts me in mind of another thing I can suggest to other writers.

I've not read anything like this for a while but I think I will have to because I'm interested in fantasy criticism - I'm thinking of writing some essays myself. I'm glad to be reminded fo some of the ideas floating around, although I often find that I believe I've thought of something first only to find someone else has beaten me to it!

I was wondering if anyone has come across a writer who does not use this style of plotting, I'm trying to move away from it in my own stories so I would like to see how someone else would approach it.