What is “Formula Fiction”?

“Formula” is an ambiguous term, and I should define how I mean it. I will give a basic example, found across genres such as jokes and Three Act plays. It has three steps.

Step One: Protagonist does something wrong.
Step Two: Protagonist does something wrong again.
Step Three: Protagonist finally gets it right.

General enough? TOO general to be useful? This definition of formula can be just another word for story structure. All stories have it, with the possible exception of some experimental works that go out of their way not to, in the same way some modern art goes out of the way to eschew beauty. This is not to say that there is no difference between formulaic fiction and quality fiction, however. In formulaic fiction, the formula is all there is to the story, whereas beautiful literature transcends the form. In one case, the formula is all there is in the end, in the other, it is merely the starting point, a vessel to hold something else.

Maybe a stricter use of formula would be helpful. Here’s another example of some formulas, formula as trope, as predictable plot:

The Protagonist is given a chance to re-live some period of his life as if he’d made a major life decision differently.

Step One: Protagonist is wrenched from present life into alternate reality life
Step Two: Protagonist tries repeatedly to re-establish old life
Step Three: Protagonist finally learns to value alternative life.

I trust we all know and abhor the danger of predictable plots and trite tropes. We also know that certain genres require a certain degree of formula, the HEA in Romances, the dead body and list of suspects for Mystery, etc. Though I am curious to see what Scott F. Bailey does to the detective story.

What interests me, however, and the reason I began with such a general definition of a formula, is why we gravitate toward formulas at all. Because I think this scratches at the surface of an even deeper question, which is why do we even write fiction? We human beings are great liars, but it still boggles the rational alien as why we would not just lie to someone we want to sell used cars to but that we would pay money to read long elaborate lies. Why don’t we read only true stories, lists of facts, figures? Why, when we read fiction, does that fiction almost always follow regular rules of production, formulae? And if we try to eschew formula fiction, what are we left with? Are there still rules of good writing, narrative structure and plot arcs that we need to follow?

What is “Formula Fiction”?

I promised to indulge in some Profound Thoughts inspired by The Wild Grass and Other Stories. Maybe it was more a threat than a promise. Either way, you’ve been warned. Deep mojo.

Davin told me he would be curious to know my reaction to his stories since I do not regularly read literary fiction. It’s true; I don’t. I’ve even been known to dismiss literary fiction rather contemptuously as pretension and snobbery. But I’ve come to reconsider that position.

Interestingly, I’m gaining a new appreciation for literary fiction at a time when genre conventions are invading high literature. I think it should be noted that the appearance of a space ship or a vampire in a story doesn’t actually determine what kind of story it is. The formula, or narrative drive, to use a less value-laden term, determines that.

Is literary fiction superior to formula fiction? Or just different? Does it have a formula of its own? (Didn’t Virginia Woolf write a book about A Formula of One’s Own? and if Virginia Woolf said it, it must be true.)

Much modern and post-modern, self-consciously “literary” fiction rejects formulae but I think if you look at the classics, the formula is obvious. Or rather, it would be obvious if the formula were familiar to us; sometimes the alien quality of yesteryear’s cliches blind us to the fact that the writers of those areas dealt in tropes as much as contemporary authors. Indeed, I would argue, even more so. The characters in The Canterbury Tales are very much stock for their time. The brilliant innovation of The Canterbury Tales is not due to its lack of formula.

But what is “formula”? In my opinion, formula is just another word for story structure. All stories have it, with the possible exception of some experimental works that go out of their way not to, in the same way some modern art goes out of the way to eschew beauty. This is not to say that there is no difference between formulaic fiction and quality fiction, however. In formulaic fiction, the formula is all there is to the story, whereas beautiful literature transcends the form. In one case, the formula is all there is in the end, in the other, it is merely the starting point, a vessel to hold something else.

“Formula” is an ambiguous term, and I should define how I mean it. I will give a basic example, found across genres such as jokes and Three Act plays. It has three steps.

One: Protagonist does something wrong.
Two: Protagonist does something wrong again.
Three: Protagonist finally gets it right.

Review: The Wild Grass and Other Stories

I finished The Wild Grass and Other Stories by Davin Malasarn. I went in with VERY high expectations.

And they were all meet and then some.

This is a beautiful collection. Each story is exquisite and breathtaking, yet feels utterly simple and real. As if, you know, the author just happened to be spraying cyanide on a field of red rocks to mine for gold, and also happened to be an old woman waiting to die, and also happened to be a childless woman meeting up with her sister’s family for a photo shoot, or a child under a crocheted tablecloth during an exorcism…

I have a recurring fantasy about what it would be like to possess telepathy, to simply look at another person, say as I pass by them waiting at a bus stop, and for that moment, BECOME that person. Reading this book felt like possessing that power. Many of the stories are told in the first person, with an intimacy and ease that make it vivid and natural.

I’ve read a few of these stories before. Red Man, Blue Man is one of my all time favorite stories. I am so glad to finally have a paid copy of it.

Sadly, this review doesn’t do the stories justice. I am probably going to re-read the whole thing and try to think of something more profound to say. Also, hopefully I can convince Davin to do a guest post.

Reading this anthology left me thirsty for more, and I hope that Davin considers publishing one of his longer works soon. I kinda hope he self-publishes, for purely selfish reasons, because it means I can read it faster, and the kindle version will probably be less expensive. But if he prefers to go the traditional route, all I can say is, any agent or big-time publisher who reads this and doesn’t snap him up is an idiot. Just my personal opinion.

Reading and Revising

This is just a quick update to let you know I am deep in revisions on Sacrifice, which (fingers crossed) will be out next month.

I want it out as soon as possible, but not sooner. By that I mean that I made a pledge to myself not to simply slop out inferior, unfinished work. So I will polish as much as necessary to be sure I publish something I can be proud of.

While I am working on revisions, I am also catching up on reading. I have a long TBR list, including the novels of friends, books I have been looking forward to for a long time. The one I shall be savoring tonight is The Wild Grass and Other Stories by Davin Malasarn. He’s a marvelous writer. I expect I shall be quite jealous of his writing, but that’s okay, since I have already decided that he and his two co-conspirators at The Literary Lab are in a class far above mine. In a way, knowing that is liberating. I don’t have to worry about trying to be as good, I shall simply enjoy.

Laughing

and I can hear laughing behind me
in another room
might as well be
in another world

Are Teachers Allowed To Write Erotica?

In the news:

In the last week of April, a Pennsylvania high school teacher was “outed” for writing romance novels under the pen name Judy Mays. Guess what she teaches? Yep, English – like my grandmother –and so the connections start to be made. Worse yet, according to nay-sayers, these aren’t inspirational romances; Mays delves in the erotic realm. Although Mays does not discuss her writ- ing in the classroom and she’s taken a pseudonym, some parents have called for her to either give up one career or the other.

Since then, Mays’ students, the romance world of readers and writers, and others have bonded together in support of her right to write. At the time of this writing, a support group of readers, writers, and others have bonded together in support of her right to write.

Hat tip: Night Owl Reviews