Saturday, January 21, 2012

COINCIDENCE

When I planned to take my elderly aunt to an event on the riverfront, I wanted to drop her off close to the entrance before I parked my car, but the entrance wasn’t set up for that. I was put in touch with a woman in charge, who told me a place to drop my aunt, and offered to meet us there, with a wheelchair if necessary. She said she’d sit with my aunt while I found a parking space. I recognized this nice woman’s name, though my married name was unfamiliar to her. We went to kindergarten together—and I hadn’t seen her since.

Coincidence.

Years ago, my parents visited my uncle on an army base in D.C. Uncle was an Air Force Colonel. He had tasks to finish before he could give them a tour of the base, so he assigned a young corporal to take them for a snack while they waited. The corporal turned out to be a neighbor, who had grown up down the street from us.

Coincidence.

More recently, my brother took a trip and ran into a cousin of ours in the airport—in Germany!

More coincidence.

Coincidence. Happenstance. Serendipity. Whatever word you use, we see it all the time. But when we write a fictional story with coincidence, we are told it doesn’t seem realistic.

I asked a workshop instructor about this, and he said, “While coincidence does happen in real life, when we see it in fiction, it feels contrived.”

If I write about Wesley, a young Pennsylvanian, who visits relatives in the South when the Civil War breaks out, and I have Wesley join the Confederate Army with his Southern relations, can I write that Wesley is killed during the Battle of Gettysburg only a stone’s throw from his northern home?

Too contrived?

I can write this story as non-fiction because Wesley Culp’s story is true. He died on Culp’s Hill, land named for his family. Yes, history is full of coincidence, but fiction isn’t allowed to be.

What are your feelings on coincidence in fiction? Too contrived for your taste?

Kathy Cannon Wiechman

27 comments:

  1. Personally I would be okay with that coincidence since so many soldiers fought at Gettysburg. At least that's my opinion.

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  2. We're so hard on coincidence in novels, but like you said, it happens everyday in real life. I think for a novel, you're allowed one or two coincidences. After that, your reader thinks "that could never happen," even if it totally could have.

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    1. One or two sounds like a good way to go. Moderation in all things.

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  3. That's a tough one. It does feel like a cheat when I see it in a novel, but I know those things happen. There's no easy answer for that one. :)

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    1. I guess it depends on how good the book is. If we're emotionally caught up in the lives of the characters, we might be more inclined to overlook a coincidence or two.

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  4. I have no problem with coincidence in novels. WAR HORSE wouldn't have been such a satisfying read if **spoiler alert** the boy hadn't eventually met up with his horse during the war. Or what if Rhett Butler hadn't shown up so opportunely in GONE WITH THE WIND when they needed to get out of Atlanta? Plenty of books use coincidences (even classics)--too bad people riff on them so badly. As writers, we have to manipulate plot to a certain extent to tie up loose ends, so I don't feel guilty if I occasionally do it.

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    1. Those are great examples. Hope the editors realize how "real" coincidence is.

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  5. This is something that I struggle with a lot. I have had an editor say that if I wrote my life story as a novel that no one would ever publish it because of all the coincidences.

    I just got back a novel and was accused of having situations that were to contrived.

    But I agree that some great books have huge coincidences. I really feel like it's one of those things that is very subjective to an editor's taste.

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  6. I think it depends on how well it's done. John Irving was a master at coincidence!

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    1. Just another example of a great writer who can get away with things others can't. Thanks for your comment.

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  7. I read several of your posts. What a nice group you are. Do you critique together too? We are a group of four (this is Susan) who critique and blog together. Like you, our interests and personalities are diverse.
    Well I don't mind coincidence in fiction. I see so much of it in real life.
    to wit: I have been looking for one of my old students, back form the sixties when I used to teach acting at Honolulu Comunity Theatre. The last I'd heard of Bill, he was in San Jose CA. I tried looking in the white pages and on Facebook. No luck. There are a lot of Bill Hardys out there.
    My brother in is hospice in Kailua, HI and my sister and I have been here for two months on deathwatch. Tuesday an very nice man came to entertain and play guitar for the patients. He had a free hour between appointments and called Hospice to ask if he could do it.
    He and my sister got to talking and... you guessed it. It was Bill Hardy. He teaches in Los Angeles at CSUN and I live twenty minutes form there. When I go home again we'll get to gether.
    I believe the real world is far stranger than most fiction and I don't mind coincidence a bit.

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  8. Hi, Susan,
    We have done group critiques at our workshops, but outside of that, some of us have done it on a one-to-one basis. And my fellow Swaggers are great at critique.
    Love your Bill hardy story. Another wonderful serendipitous meeting! Enjoy your reunion in CA.

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  9. Good points about how convincingly it is done. There are certainly abundant coincidences in the real world!

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    1. Thanks for commenting. May your coincidences all be good ones.

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  10. I agree that many great books have coincidences in the story. I think the key is how well it is done. If the coincidence is just to tie up the story at the end then I think it feels contrived. I say go for it.

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    1. I hope that my current WIP will be good enough to make the coincidence believable. I will "go for it." Thanks.

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  11. I am not a writer, but I am an artist. I have learned that we are our own worst critiques. We tend to over analyses, give harsh jusdment & hold ourselves back. Therefore, I say, it is best to let go of the rules, let go of the fear, just take a chance & do it if you feel it works.
    It was no coincidences that I stopped by your blog, as I noticed you had made a comment on my blog too... glad I stopped by.

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    1. I'm glad you stopped by, too. I love your blog & your talent & now your advice to "just take a chance."

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  12. Hi Kathy,

    Thank you so much for visiting my blog.

    Thank you for your though provoking post. I really enjoyed it.

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    1. And thanks for returning the visit, Loni. I really like your blog, & plan to visit it again in the future.

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  13. Coincidences happen more often that people think they do. Never using them in writing wouldn't be natural, what's the fun in that? I say, go for it! Also, thanks for the kind comment you left on my blog!

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    1. You're quite welcome & thanks for visiting our blog. You make an excellent point in favor of coincidence in fiction. I'll continue to "go for it."

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  14. "Truth is stranger than fiction," definitely! But I like the last coincidence you describe, and think it would work well in a story. Best wishes on your project!

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    1. Thanks for the good wishes, Caryl, & thanks for your comment.

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