What are some other examples?

[AG31]

We have lots of conversations involving the balance of character, plot, and arousal. Every now and then I jump in to make a case for writing that focuses on arousal without involving character or plot very much, but which is really well written. I liken it to travel writing, a book about, say, what there is to see in the Grand Canyon, or the Amazon jungle. My question here is, are there other examples I could use for compelling writing that is not erotica, but also does not depend on character or plot.

 

[StillStunned]

Interesting topic. I'd be inclined to suggest action stories, but ones that describe just a scene or two. I think Joe Abercrombie has a couple in his "Sharp Ends" collection, which features short stories about characters and events in his main First Law world.

Or, as a subset of the action genre, stories about heists or break-ins. Ones where you don't need to know the target or the thieves, and you just read a description of the actual heist.

And this leads me to things like courtroom dramas. There might be other settings too, like an emergency room or an ambulance crew. Basically anything where you describe a high-pressure moment, and the background is really irrelevant besides what's happening there and then.

 

[AG31]

Interesting topic. I'd be inclined to suggest action stories, but ones that describe just a scene or two. I think Joe Abercrombie has a couple in his "Sharp Ends" collection, which features short stories about characters and events in his main First Law world.

Or, as a subset of the action genre, stories about heists or break-ins. Ones where you don't need to know the target or the thieves, and you just read a description of the actual heist.

And this leads me to things like courtroom dramas. There might be other settings too, like an emergency room or an ambulance crew. Basically anything where you describe a high-pressure moment, and the background is really irrelevant besides what's happening there and then.

Yeah, but don't these stories depend on plot?

 

[StillStunned]

Yeah, but don't these stories depend on plot?

Not really. One of the stories in "Sharp Ends" is "Some Desperado", which is basically about an outlaw escaping from the other members of her band. What plot there is only serves to set the scene, much like in erotica. The story itself is all about the action.

Likewise, a courtroom story might describe how a lawyer presents their arguments to have the biggest impact. The details of the case would be irrelevant: who's right and who's wrong, who the characters are and what they want to achieve. All that matters is a cunningly presented argument. Alan Shore's many closings in "Boston Legal", for example: you could scrap the rest of the show and just have those scenes and it would make for compelling television.

 

[crookedletter]

Blood Meridian

 

[Writer61]

We have lots of conversations involving the balance of character, plot, and arousal. Every now and then I jump in to make a case for writing that focuses on arousal without involving character or plot very much, but which is really well written. I liken it to travel writing, a book about, say, what there is to see in the Grand Canyon, or the Amazon jungle. My question here is, are there other examples I could use for compelling writing that is not erotica, but also does not depend on character or plot.

The Bond novels are very light on character and focus on action, although I guess they have something of a plot.

 

[TheLobster]

character or plot.

So the third possible pillar of a story, other than these two, is what you mentioned in passing: the setting, which is to say the world. Realistic examples are hard to find among contemporary literature, but I think it’s fair to say that any fantasy novel would have a significant aspect of being world-driven in addition to either character- or plot-.

 

[StillStunned]

There are also things like The A-Team, where the plot and characters are wafer-thin, but we kept watching for five (well, four really) years because the action scenes were good.

And 'Allo 'Allo, which by the end of its run was probably little more than the characters' catchphrases put together in a different sequence.

And along those lines, most of the early Jeeves and Wooster stories, which were mostly just set-ups for Bertie to be put-upon and Jeeves to save the day.

 

[crookedletter]

So the third possible pillar of a story, other than these two, is what you mentioned in passing: the setting, which is to say the world. Realistic examples are hard to find among contemporary literature, but I think it’s fair to say that any fantasy novel would have a significant aspect of being world-driven in addition to either character- or plot-.

Add ideas-driven, like Kafka or Borges, among others.

 

[Britva415]

We have lots of conversations involving the balance of character, plot, and arousal. Every now and then I jump in to make a case for writing that focuses on arousal without involving character or plot very much, but which is really well written. I liken it to travel writing, a book about, say, what there is to see in the Grand Canyon, or the Amazon jungle. My question here is, are there other examples I could use for compelling writing that is not erotica, but also does not depend on character or plot.

Food reviews

 

[TheLobster]

And 'Allo 'Allo, which by the end of its run was probably little more than the characters' catchphrases put together in a different sequence.

And yet you would listen carefully, for they would only say them once.

 

[StillStunned]

And yet you would listen carefully, for they would only say them once.

Once per episode.

 

[TheLobster]

Once per episode.

On a completely unrelated note, there doesn't seem to exist a Lit story titled Good Moaning.

 

[Britva415]

A Singin' In the Rain parody, no doubt

 

[Writer61]

A Singin' In the Rain parody, no doubt

For a Brit, it would be one set in a French café during the German occupation.