Narrative Drive, Plot, Character, “The Witch Elm” & Cathy

I tend to work best -- or, at least it's my comfort zone -- if I can start with concepts. “Just write” is not advice that is all that useful to me. At the same time, it is also true I can get happily bogged down in ideas about writing rather than actually doing it. For me, insisting to myself that I write or edit something virtually every day is a discipline I need to strictly observe.

I have adapted (stolen) from Mary Daniels Brown and Stephen King to wrap my head around these three aspects of any short story or novel – Plot – Narrative – Character. Of course, since having two writers in the room means there are at least three opinions declared loudly and firmly – you could look hard and long to find any agreement on these descriptions. Still, even though this is just me (& Mary and Stephen sort of), I find the following useful – inspiring & eye-opening actually – and it’s what I’m going with for now.

Plot is usually the main character’s actions in pursuit of a goal. Plot may include “whys”, linkages between events, causes and effects, motivation. If you were outlining a plot, you would do so in chronological order. As the author, you may or may not tell the story in plot order. You may not even really know what the plot is until you’ve finished writing (and re-writing) the story.

Narrative is the order in which the author presents the various events that make up the plot. The narrative is structured so that the telling of the story is interesting to read. In the words of Stephen King, how you “keep the ball rolling”.

Characterization is a representation of who the character is. Behaviors, thoughts, dialogue, physical appearance, the response of other characters – lots of stuff – might go into the writer and the reader getting to know a character. One author might produce a detailed character description before starting the story. Another author might begin writing the story and allow the characters to “reveal themselves” in the writing process. Another author will do a little bit of both. Writers could argue all day about this.

Plot + Narrative + Characterization = Story

One of my favourite people, Catherine Dunphy, includes the following in her resume: a National Newspaper Award winner, a writer for The Toronto Star for over 25 years, the author of television screenplays and books (one of which was nominated for the Governor General’s Award) and more. I knew her before she was any of those things. Currently Cathy is a member of Mesdames of Mayhem, an active writers’ group focused on crime fiction.

Cathy recommended I read a number of books, including “The Witch Elm” by Tana French. I am glad I did even after my grumbling about its 500-page length. It really helped me to differentiate between plot (a good solid “B” for a bestselling novel I’d say – meaning a billion times better than most) and narrative (incredibly compelling A+++++). I just kept wanting to read the book. The other thing that impressed me was her command of characterization. (I mean, this is a crime novel right? You know, intricate plot points that are obvious only in retrospect? Standard characters briefly outlined?) Not so here – these characters, while eccentric, are anything but standard and are entirely believable.

My being able to ever perform at this level is unforeseeable. But, having watched someone else do this has improved my modest accomplishments.

Thank you Tana French. And thank you, Cathy.