The next morning, I wake up and look at the sky. It is still blue, but unlike Andrew’s prediction that it will dissipate, the storm is still heading our way. The worst of It is scheduled to arrive in the middle of the night around 3:00 a.m. (All storms are like that.) I
The Las Vegas 51s at Cashman Field. Never to be seen again, by the way.
Your words will find an audience if you remember that there is more to a story than a plot. As a case in point, I’m going to use the lyrics for the song Africa by Toto. Africa was written by David Paich and Jeff Porcaro. Google’s display of the lyrics can be seen here. Mr. Paich has said that it’s about “a white boy [writing about] Africa, but since he’s never been there, he can only tell what he’s seen on TV or remembers in the past.” (source = Wikipedia) Before I go on, let me state that I’ve always liked the song. It’s in my main playlist on Amazon Prime. I think Toto was a collective genius in recording and releasing it. Weezer has covered it. You know you’ve made it when Weezer covers you, or Weird Al parodies you. In this case, Weird Al helped Weezer cover the song in their video. Check it out here. The Weezer cover was by fan requests. Okay, they’ve made it. The song rocks! But, it ain’t the lyrics, bub!
Take the second verse (please.)
The wild dogs cry out in the night As they grow restless, longing for some solitary company
What? Solitary company? What they hey? Do those dogs need a quiet place to masturbate? Do wild dogs even do that? And it goes on.
I know that I must do what’s right As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
Hey, look at that mountain over there! Looks just like another mountain doesn’t it? You could say “rises like Mount Charleston” and have as good a simile. Oh, my. Meanwhile, back in the first verse we find this:
I stopped an old man along the way
Hoping to find some long forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say, “Hurry boy, it’s waiting there for you”
I’ve never been to Africa either, but I don’t imagine I could read the minds of old African men. (Remember: I like this song.)
Here’s the thing. As a song, there’s more to it than just the basic storyline. In this case that’s a wonderful thing. The basic oh-so-thin plot is backed up by the rest of the song. The central theme, drilled home over and over by the chorus:
It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had
The fade-out, the denouement if you will, takes seemingly forever, repeating that theme, and repeating that theme, and repeating that theme. In the song world, that’s known as “the hook.” I’ve seen memes of it on social media. And there’s the music, which is, frankly, rather haunting. The music is equivalent to the setting, the characterization, the voice, of a story. In this case, the music and the theme together make a hit out of what is probably the most lacking in substance set of lyrics ever penned. Heck, Does Your Chewing Gum Lose It’s Flavor (by Lonnie Donegan) has more meaning. They’re Coming to Take Me Away (By Napoleon XIV) is profound in comparison. but those songs don’t have the music, or central theme, to grab the listener (reader) and keep them listening (reading.)
You can probably think of a book or two in which the plot isn’t much, predictable maybe, ho-hum, except that you just had to finish the thing anyway because of how well it was written, how much you rooted for the characters, how memorable was the theme. Books are just like music. They need more than a good plot to be memorable. In fact, a good plot is sometimes secondary to the other elements that make a book great.
Something to think about while working on your 2019 projects. You’re welcome.
I know, I know, why isn’t this original? For the second week in a row? Well, two things. First, this guy (drat him) has done it again. This link goes to a marvelous article!
Second, when you’re done with his marvelous article, come back here and you’ll find my commentary on the same following below. So, neener neener, it is original after all! Take that, doubters!
I know. I know. Already I feel you pulling away. I sense you tensing up, like a flicked sphincter. You’re mad. I can see you’re mad. I get it, you have ideas, and ideas are the backbone…
See what I mean? Sure, he can be crude, but damitol (a generic mood improving drug, you know) he’s sharp as a tack. And, if you ever sat on a tack in first grade, you know that those things are sharp!
What Chuck writes about (I’ve never met him, but I call him Chuck here, ’cause what’s he gonna do about it? It is his name!) is the fact that our ideas are just ideas. I’ve read that there are only nine plots, really. Or even five. Or even only one plot. You know the drill. Some ordinary person gets thrown into a set of ever wilder circumstances. They try a solution that makes it worse, and again, and again, until, well, you know. What makes you unique is how you relate that plot. The characters, are they compelling? The danger, is it high enough? The stakes, are they worth the trouble? You know all that, so I’m not going to belabor (belabour?) the point. Just pick a plot and run with it. Remember your tropes. Have fun!
What struck me about saying that our ideas are not that interesting is that it is a good reason why you should not worry about somebody stealing your latest story if you happen to show it around, and becoming rich off of it. For one thing, I doubt if you need more than your fingers and a few toes to count the total number of rich authors in the world. For another, it’s mediocre. How do I know? For all the reasons Chuck <grin> lists. And, remember, ideas are not copyrightable, so if you do see something similar, it’s because ideas tend to be “in the air” at various times, and nothing more. There are not a lot of instances of actual plagiarism, or story stealing if you will, in a typical year. The trick, like Chuck says, is to work your particular version of magic on the ideas and make the story wonderful.
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Another fabulous Pete Bernard Drone Photo, featuring none other than the beautiful S/V Sonrisa and her sidekick Grin – This photo won honors with the Sail South East Facebook Group, and shall be rotated into the group’s Facebook banner! Way to go, Pete and Jen!) The morning of New Year’s Eve, &
The next day during our morning weather review, we spot something rather unpleasant in the forecast. “Andrew, have you seen the forecast?” I ask. He nods. Yeah. I start the 7 day rolling display over again and watch as some pink and red areas moosh t
I’m going with a guest poster this week, because this is a good article. He can seem crude, but he is erudite. (These and other words are available from Amazon.com)
There was a bit of a to-do yesterday on the ol’ Twitters about how artists and writers should follow their dreams with reckless abandon because life is short and you don’t have to play …
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The next morning, we are aboard Bobcat Tim’s boat enjoying coffees and a snuggle with sailing cats when the last straw is pulled. “Can we borrow a pie plate?” Andrew asks. Ever since our Thanksgiving Pumpkin Mini Pie Travesty, he’s been searching to remedy the situa
Let’s think back. It’s February 2012, Andrew’s 30th Birthday. We had recently been shopping in a music store, and he had found exactly the thing he wanted to commemorate that moment in time when you can start telling all the kids to get off your lawn.