Lost the plot.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun, 14 Aug 2005 4:45 am

I had a thought I would like your ideas on.
It's about writing.

It just came to me and made me curious.

Life has no plot.

Thats all. Life has no plot, it just unfolds.
Is plot always such an important part of a good story ?

Wind In My Hair · Post by **Wind In My Hair** » Sun, 14 Aug 2005 4:04 pm

i'm not a writer, at least not of fiction. but i heard stephen king, arguably one of the best, or best-selling, authors around speak on plot. he says he lets the plot unfold as the story goes. sometimes even he does not expect the ending.

of course there are those who use ready-made plots, and write book after book with essentially the same plot, romance novels etc probably fall into this category, and lots of people still read them.

just my two cents.

sved · Post by **sved** » Mon, 15 Aug 2005 5:06 pm

In some stories, you know the end from the first chapter, and then will discover what has happen to that point.

Life is the same.

dot dot dot · Post by **dot dot dot** » Mon, 15 Aug 2005 5:14 pm

In Holland we would say: 'Dat is de waarheid als een koe'.

It is the truth like a cow...

Life has no plot indeed.

Eric

Vaucluse · Post by **Vaucluse** » Mon, 15 Aug 2005 10:53 pm

Eric from the Netherlands wrote:In Holland we would say: 'Dat is de waarheid als een koe'.

It is the truth like a cow...

Life has no plot indeed.

Eric

Inderdaad, Eric, maar is de koe vanuit Friesland?

Baron Greenback · Post by **Baron Greenback** » Tue, 16 Aug 2005 12:54 pm

Interesting point. The problem is not that life does not have a plot but that we are so used to story telling & movies we think that our lives should somehow emulate that & we need a plot.

Another example, I have had my ipod for a couple of years now & I tell people it is great because my life now has a sound track - again wanting reality to be more like what we read & watch on tv/film.

The truth is your life does have a plot, the plot is your life - born live & die, the interesting part of the plot is the middle bit; what you do, who you meet. In actual fact the plot that is your life you would find fascinating, can you imagine watching a film about your life - no one else may be interested but I would love to see a recap, my first kiss & other firsts, moments of true brilliance & absolute stupidity. Maybe have Tim from the office playing the part of me.

riversandlakes · Post by **riversandlakes** » Tue, 16 Aug 2005 2:44 pm

life has plots, but we don't see it as clearly as the movie. it doesn't serve the producers of the movies to confuse the audience by making it really life-like.

dot dot dot · Post by **dot dot dot** » Tue, 16 Aug 2005 5:48 pm

Vaucluse wrote:
Eric from the Netherlands wrote:In Holland we would say: 'Dat is de waarheid als een koe'.

It is the truth like a cow...

Life has no plot indeed.

Eric

Inderdaad, Eric, maar is de koe vanuit Friesland?

well vaucluse,

I am pleasantly surprised here. you are one of the few French I know, that speak our language (or at least 'write' our language...).

Your time in Amsterdam seems to have made you a local back then?

inderdaad geen Friese koeien, kan van alles zijn, zolang het maar de waarheid als een koe is!

Eric

Vaucluse · Post by **Vaucluse** » Wed, 17 Aug 2005 11:17 am

Dankje well, Eric - maar ik ben slechts half Frans, de andere helft is dichter aan Nederland . . . (Nee, ik ben geen Belgier)

I am lucky to have a knack for languages, except for asian ones sadly, and in Holland it was difficult to learn Dutch as everyone speaks or wants to speak English with you - irrespective if it's the cashier at Albert Heijn or Hans, the fritjes-seller down the road from me on the Warmoesstraat (In Haarlem, not Amsterdam - I always had to emphasise Warmoesstraat in Haarlem).

Now, talking about Life having no plot . . . this is as eternal a question as Descartes statement, or whether one works to live, or lives to work . . .

Hmm, life has no plot and we are mere organisms that die from the moment we are born - the in between is so insignificant, in terms of impact.

dot dot dot · Post by **dot dot dot** » Wed, 17 Aug 2005 12:05 pm

Ah, you lived in Haarlem, not in Amsterdam. Good choice, far better place, close to the beach and much more cosy.

Wonder where this other half of yours is originating from? Australia then?

Eric

Vaucluse · Post by **Vaucluse** » Wed, 17 Aug 2005 12:34 pm

Well, the office was in Hoofddorp - miserable little place.

Yes, Haarlem is much more attarctive than Amsterdam, though I never went to Zandvoort, except for in winter for walks on the beach.

Well, which is the closest neighbour to Holland - and it's not Belgium - ?

Go south, then Turn left out of Haarlem and keep going for a few hours and you can drive as fast as you want (for a few km's)

dot dot dot · Post by **dot dot dot** » Wed, 17 Aug 2005 1:51 pm

Ach so...

Are you seriously half German?

wow, that's a nice combination, French/German.

I happen to have German ancestors too, but only to the extent of 1/32 or so. Not popular in Holland to promote this... 8)

Eric

local lass · Post by **local lass** » Wed, 17 Aug 2005 2:43 pm

How interesting. Ich spreche Deutsch auch. And today, I realised that there are much similarities in Dutch and I actually understand a little what is going on

You know, we often think that life is often turns out the way we planned it. If we don't make plans, of course we don't get what we want. But I've also come to realise that life often throws surprises at you. So really, we have to leave our options open and see what it brings you. Sometimes it might just be more than what you've hope for

dot dot dot · Post by **dot dot dot** » Wed, 17 Aug 2005 2:55 pm

prima gezegd local lass!

Eric

local lass · Post by **local lass** » Wed, 17 Aug 2005 2:59 pm

Vielen Dank Eric

Sprechen Sie Deutsch?

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Lost the plot.

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