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| of the story - that is, the Plot. But perhaps
before he has thought of the plot he may think of the characters.
If he thinks of the characters first, he has to have in his mind
a picture of what they are like, how they behave, what sort of
people they are. Then he has to think of the kind of things they
are likely to do and the sort of things he wants to happen to
them - which brings him on to the Plot. If he thinks of the Plot first, he has to think of characters to fit the events. Quite possibly many writers think of the characters and plot together. A writer may first have in his mind some ideas he wants to illustrate with a novel. You will notice I have said "may" and "probably" and "possibly" above. That is because it is difficult to know how writers work as they don't always talk about their methods. It is not easy to find out how writers work. Some literary magazines and radio stations may interview writers and talk to them about how they work. You may sometimes hear interviews with writers on the BBC World Service. If a writer wants to illustrate ideas he may start by setting up a situation, such as a family which is about to break up through divorce - a common theme in western fiction, and, unfortunately, in western life as well. A novel may be written to illustrate the theme of jealousy, or revenge, or any other emotion. Sometimes we may only have a writer's own word for the theme. The reader may well think the theme is different, because of course every reader is different. As he (or she) thinks about the characters he tries to imagine them as real people and to imagine their thoughts, feelings and desires. He tries to imagine what they want and whether they are likely to get what they want (most people want things they will never get). Some novelists claim that when they are writing their characters seem to grow independently of the writer so that the writer cannot predict what will happen next. He or his unconscious mind (see Poetry section) is making it up as he goes along. Setting Where do the characters live and where do the events take place? The place and time together are called the Setting. The writer has to make the reader see the places of the novel. Many modern novelists spend a lot of time researching the setting to make sure their books are authentic - that is, true to life. |
If a novelist wants to describe a certain kind
of work he may even take up that kind of work for a while to
find out how it is done and how people talk when they are doing
it. For example some modern novelists have written about the
airline industry. They like to make their writing realistic by
including the special sort of language used by pilots and cabin
staff. It has been said that Frederick Forsyth, in researching his novel The Dogs of War - which is about an attempt to overthrow the dictator of an African country - actually went as far as buying weapons and hiring mercenaries in order to find out how it was done and to make his novel sound authentic. Novels which have been researched in this way tend to make good films because they concentrate on those things which can be filmed - the outside - rather than on the inner life, the thoughts and feelings of the characters. They are thus not usually considered literature and tend to be for reading once only. (But if the research is good they may be of use for learning special language.) Plot The plot is the outline of the events in a novel, play or film. Example: In the early 19th century a moderately well-off man, Mr. Bennett, and his wife have four daughters but no son. The law says that when the man dies his house and land will go to his nephew, an unpleasant clergyman. Therefore his daughters must marry rich men. His wife tries to persuade Elizabeth to marry the clergyman but she finds him repulsive. Several men come visiting, some suitable and others not. One of the daughters runs off with a soldier - a great shame to the family; Elizabeth and her sister attract two rich men but Elizabeth doesn't like them and the men go away. However, when Elizabeth sees the great house and land of one of them she finds she likes him much better. If you have read Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice - or seen a film version - you will know that this is not the novel. It is only a summary of some of the main events of the story. There is far more in the novel and it is the other things which make it interesting. For example, this plot could be a Mills and Boone novel (see Genres) What makes it Literature is the detail of how it is written and the description of the motivations of the different characters. |
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