Episodic Writing?

[Zoolander]

After doing some research for my novel, I've came across "Episodic Writing". From what i gathered about "Episodic Writing" is that its a series of events that don't rely on the event previous to it. Sort of like Episodic TV episodes.

So i got to looking at my story to see if my story events were episodic and I'm having a hard time figuring that out.

Here is an example: (not my story)

Scene 1: It follows a guy as he goes on a date with a girl he really likes. He never kissed a girl before. Nor has she kissed a guy before. So at the end of the night they both share they first kiss. He is happy and so is she. He walks home and thats all he can think about.

Scene 2: If follows the boy next day at the breakfast table as a argument breaks out at the table between his mom and dad, his uncle comes over (whom the argument is about) his father fights him, mom calls the police and his fathers end up in jail. Mother cries the whole morning and the boy is heartbroken because he doesn't know whats going to happen to his father nor what's going to happen to his father and mother relationship.

Here is another Example: (Not my story)

Scene 1: Man wife is in the process of delivering their baby. The wife delivers the baby and the man stays at the hospital with both during the night.

Scene 2: The man goes and have coffee with a childhood friend he hasn't seen in years and they discuss opening a business together and rebuilding back up they friendship like old times.

As you see, Scene 2 in both examples have nothing to do with anything in Scene 1 of the examples.

Is that episodic writing?

And if someone can give me a good example of episodic writing that would be great?

 

[Karn Maeshalanadae]

I've done episodic writing. Heck, it's how I do my Tooninoot stuff. Episodic writing is actually a good way to practice simple short story style without going overboard in length, and I love my Tooninoot stuff.


Nice, simple, and even fun coming up with episode names.



I can't seem to bring up the attachment there, though...my laptop is old and doesn't always like to do what I want it to.

 

[The Judge]

Although in the examples you've shown the two scenes aren't particularly linked, if I were reading a novel I would expect the two story lines to converge at some point, or at least both to be fully integrated into the plot's novel, with various links between them. So to my mind what you're showing there is merely the introduction of an interweaving plot/sub-plot, which is commonplace -- indeed, three of my four WIPs use the same technique in the opening chapters. There is a disadvantage to having two very dissimilar scenes early on, though, which is that it can give a somewhat stuttering start, as if the novel hasn't got properly underway, and that's exacerbated, of course, if there's a third and fourth apparently unrelated scene following.

Having said that, I've not come across the term "episodic writing" before, and can only presume it's more along the lines of the episode chapters you were asking about -- ie where there is no link at all between the various incidents.

 

[Zoolander]

the two examples were just two separate examples. Example 1 was an example of its own and example 2 was an example of its own lol. They not connected or suppose to connect.

I was just wondering if the scenes were episodic writing because Scene 2 (Either Example 1 or 2) doesn't relate or rely on Scene 1.

Here is another example:

Scene 1: Detective Shaw gets a middle of the night phone call about a murder that happen a few weeks ago and want detective Shaw to go and investigate the scene.

Scene 2: The next night Detective Shaw is getting ready to enjoy a night out with his wife for dinner.

Detective Shaw will go investigate the murder scene but by him having other things on his plate, he does it in later scenes.

Would that be considered "Episodic writing" or its fine doing it that way as long as he investigates the murder scene.?

 

[The Judge]

No, I understood the two examples were separate! I was talking of the two scenes in each separate example. That is, I was looking at each example, and in each one if I read the scene one followed by scene two, although the scenes are not obviously linked, I would expect the plotlines contained in each of them to converge, or to complement each other throughout the novel.

To take your detective example, even though scene two has him getting ready to go to dinner, and on the face of it there's no connection with the murder he's asked to investigate in scene one, I would expect that getting-ready scene to have some relevance to what later happens, either in the form of an accompanying sub-plot, or in relation to the murder enquiry as a whole, even though Shaw might not get round to investigating the murder until, say, scene 3.

If you have two interweaving plots, or a main plot and sub-plot, it's fine to have them as eg alternate chapters, and sometimes even alternate scenes, if that's what you're worrying about. But in a novel, I really would expect them to have some connection, even if only thematic.

 

[Zoolander]

No, I understood the two examples were separate! I was talking of the two scenes in each separate example. That is, I was looking at each example, and in each one if I read the scene one followed by scene two, although the scenes are not obviously linked, I would expect the plotlines contained in each of them to converge, or to complement each other throughout the novel.

To take your detective example, even though scene two has him getting ready to go to dinner, and on the face of it there's no connection with the murder he's asked to investigate in scene one, I would expect that getting-ready scene to have some relevance to what later happens, either in the form of an accompanying sub-plot, or in relation to the murder enquiry as a whole, even though Shaw might not get round to investigating the murder until, say, scene 3.

If you have two interweaving plots, or a main plot and sub-plot, it's fine to have them as eg alternate chapters, and sometimes even alternate scenes, if that's what you're worrying about. But in a novel, I really would expect them to have some connection, even if only thematic.

Yeah everything connects.

I Was just worried that by Scene 2 not picking up from whatever happened in scene 1 will be looked at as episodic.

 

[Zoolander]

No, I understood the two examples were separate! I was talking of the two scenes in each separate example. That is, I was looking at each example, and in each one if I read the scene one followed by scene two, although the scenes are not obviously linked, I would expect the plotlines contained in each of them to converge, or to complement each other throughout the novel.

To take your detective example, even though scene two has him getting ready to go to dinner, and on the face of it there's no connection with the murder he's asked to investigate in scene one, I would expect that getting-ready scene to have some relevance to what later happens, either in the form of an accompanying sub-plot, or in relation to the murder enquiry as a whole, even though Shaw might not get round to investigating the murder until, say, scene 3.

If you have two interweaving plots, or a main plot and sub-plot, it's fine to have them as eg alternate chapters, and sometimes even alternate scenes, if that's what you're worrying about. But in a novel, I really would expect them to have some connection, even if only thematic.

Hey, i have a question. I don't know if you watch "Hannibal TV show" but if you do would you consider that episodic or serial?

Because there is a over-arching story unfolding episode to episode. So someone new wouldn't be able to start watching the show at season 2 episode 5 without watching everything before-hand.

But by Will graham investigating a different murder every episode that is probably the only thing a NEW viewer would probably be able to follow.

Was is your take on that kind of story-telling?

 

[tinkerdan]

I had to look around to see what episodic writing is.

It's not all bad; but the problem with some examples is that they tend to look at the bad in something without the good.

For example this definition::which I stole from somewhere::http://www.writing4success.com/Plotting-Problems-Episodic-Writing.html

If someone tells you that your story is 'episodic', they mean that your story is a series of episodes, or events, that are very loosely tied together. The "events" crop up one after the other as a way of entertaining the reader, but there is little character growth between one episode and the next. Nor can we easily see how one event grows out of the one before.

this book::
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007KMDW9M/?tag=brite-21
for me was an example of how that doesn't work well.

In fact if you read the first link further down there is a way to fix the writing; but sometimes people who use buzzwords like this will skip the good examples and criticize something for being episodic because all episodic is bad.

That doesn't mean it won't work if you do it correctly.
It has to move the story forward and that becomes part of the loosely connected in this definition.
http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/glossary/g/Episodic.htm

http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/202
This is an example of someones examination and their own eight point criteria for episodic.
Beware of what you read as in this case I only see 7 in the eight points.

There is also this one::
http://www.project-text.eu/episodic-writing-what-is-it-and-is-it-suitable-for-you/

I think for the most part fiction can have a lot of intersection with episodic writing and works just fine but if you start making loosely fitting stories that have no discernible connection to a larger story then you end up with something that looks like the book I linked to above.Essential-Reading-in-Science-Fiction

 

[Phyrebrat]

We call that 'monster of the week' format, and it's very common in the early seasons of genre TV.

For example, the first few seasons or episodes of shows like X-files, Farscape, Fringe, Grimm, Warehouse 13 and so on have very little content that relates to an overarching mythology. As the series(') progress, more of the backstory/mythology is woven in so that 'monster of the week' episodes become less and less common.

The problem is, TV is a different medium and does not require the same engagement that a novel does. Look at it this way; a TV show typically requires an hour of commitment from the viewer. It's also not easily portable, and watching movies on an iPad or laptop requires the audience to be sitting in one place for that hour, to be any real fun.

A book requires a far longer commitment, however, and can be taken anywhere, snapping up 5 minutes here and there, or 2 hours on a long trip. A book is more like a serial than an episode. (But it doesn't necessarily follow that chapters are episodes.)

I doubt many would watch Breaking Bad, for example, with the intent to watch only one episode here and there; you're in it for the long haul. With a book, if it's written in episodes, you run the risk of the audience (i.e. reader) becoming disengaged and leaving the book. After all, why should they finish a book if there is just a collection of unrelated stories?

One of the pay-offs for us as readers (and perhaps more so in certain genres) is when the various strands start to pull together towards the 2/3 point of the book. There is a palpable increase in tension and speed and the urge to turn the page and find out what happens grows. When this happens with a TV show, it's not a case of you thinking 'Oh, I can't wait to see the next unrelated episode!' but 'I have to know what happens to Walter now!' because there is an overarching story.

Hope I'm making sense here...

pH

 

[ralphkern]

I suspect you might be getting into the realms of paralysis by analysis here.

Why don't you write an episode and put it up for criting or in the writers group much like a TV show would produce a pilot.

 

[The Judge]

Hey, i have a question. I don't know if you watch "Hannibal TV show" but if you do would you consider that episodic or serial?

I've never seen Hannibal, so I can't help you there, but as Phyrebrat says, it's common for shows like the original Star Trek series to be very episodic and to have no links, apart from continuity of characters, from one week to the next. But also as he says, a TV show isn't the same as a novel. If you want to use a visual medium by way of comparison, then think of a novel as a film -- you don't have an episodic structure in a film, you have one major plot that carries you through from beginning to end, albeit there might be scenes in it, especially at the beginning, which don't appear to be linked.

As I said before, having apparently unrelated scenes one after the other is not of itself episodic to my mind -- it's just introducing the subplot etc.

I do wonder though, whether you are rather putting the cart before the horse in asking questions of this kind. I don't know how experienced you are in writing, but if in fact you're only just starting out, you might not be helping the process by worrying about episodic writing and all the rest of it. I know there are a lot of How-to-Write books out there, and I've no doubt they can be very helpful, but for myself I think it's far better to leave the concepts of structure etc until such time as you've got several tens of thousands of words under your belt. Once you've got something written, then start to look at it with a more expert eye for the technical issues.

As for Ralph's comment about critting, once you hit 30 posts you can put a small extract of your work up in Critiques, limited to 1500 words max. That's unlikely to help you with your concerns over episodic writing, though, since it isn't enough to see how the scenes and chapters relate to each other. What will help you is to have beta readers who can see the entire novel. But there's no point even asking for any beta readers unless and until you have written the whole book and revised and edited to make it the best you can. (There is a Writing Group as Ralph confirms, but that's only open to members with over 100 posts, and is designed for those who are very advanced in writing skills, and who have a completed, revised and honed m/s which is ready to eg be submitted to agents.)

 

[Toby Frost]

I agree with Ralph Kern. While I can see the importance of understanding what you're doing, you're effective analysing a book that you haven't written yet. It may well be that the finished product will turn out to have an entirely different structure to what you're planning. I would work out a rough plot and try to write the thing, then look at the draft and decide what it's going to be.

 

[Toby Frost]

But also as he says, a TV show isn't the same as a novel

Sorry to double post, but this is absolutely correct. The two aren't directly comparable because the readers/viewers are looking for different things and will be affected in different ways. Likewise films, computer games and anything else.

 

[jastius]

Comic books are episodic.. I used to buy the oldest ones I could get my hands on so there was more back story to work through.

Tolkien's writing and C.S.Lewis both did action transfer between character groups in short scene bursts.

It is actually an old school method of change of p.o.v.

I think it would depend upon what you were looking to achieve in your writing as to whether it works or not.

There is always the big and the little story in any story.
Too much emphasis on the wrong thing at the wrong time..
And your story is unbalanced.

But it does work with a light hand...