I love this thoughtful analysis, and also the lizard part of my brain is just going "hee hee" over "Hegel with action figures." An excellent summary of why sometimes these Big Themes feel clunky.
I particularly appreciate your reference to tension and conflict as the tip of the iceberg. This feeling of delving, starting with the conflict you see on the surface and getting deeper into a story, is so deeply satisfying to me. Playing through Elden Ring right now, one of the things that keeps me coming back to the game is the very rich texture of the world -- on the surface is the very obvious conflict between me and the NPCs, but my interest does not end when I land the killing blow. What's going on in this world? Why are so many people messed up? What is driving their terrible decisions? What happened in the past? Slowly I learn more and more, and to me that's the mark of a great vs. simply a good story.
Wishing you a good weekend, and I hope to see you again one of these days!
Great to hear from you! And yes, let's meet up soon. Are y'all more amenable to in-person these days?
Elden Ring was very much on my mind as I wrote this. The drive of 'exploration' or even just 'find out what the hell is going on here' could, I suppose, be cast as a 'conflict,' but at that point you've removed most of the sap from 'conflict' and are using it to just mean whatever it is you need it to mean in the moment. But of course a bit of conflict does anchor the experience--Myst wouldn't be Myst without puzzles, but it also wouldn't be Myst if it was just a series of puzzles presented in order without any connective tissue.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/picture/2020/apr/04/tom-gauld-on-the-seven-types-of-literary-conflict-cartoon!
I think I must have mashed this one up in my head with the DC that Max Kaehn links below. "Writer vs Twitter"--a tale for our times!
http://dresdencodak.com/2009/05/11/42-essential-3rd-act-twists/
I think this is it! Not quite the one I was remembering, so maybe my brain mashed up this format with the Tom Gauld cartoon above.
I love this thoughtful analysis, and also the lizard part of my brain is just going "hee hee" over "Hegel with action figures." An excellent summary of why sometimes these Big Themes feel clunky.
*superhero voice* "It is I--SYNNNNTHESIS!"
I love a good structural post!
I particularly appreciate your reference to tension and conflict as the tip of the iceberg. This feeling of delving, starting with the conflict you see on the surface and getting deeper into a story, is so deeply satisfying to me. Playing through Elden Ring right now, one of the things that keeps me coming back to the game is the very rich texture of the world -- on the surface is the very obvious conflict between me and the NPCs, but my interest does not end when I land the killing blow. What's going on in this world? Why are so many people messed up? What is driving their terrible decisions? What happened in the past? Slowly I learn more and more, and to me that's the mark of a great vs. simply a good story.
Wishing you a good weekend, and I hope to see you again one of these days!
Great to hear from you! And yes, let's meet up soon. Are y'all more amenable to in-person these days?
Elden Ring was very much on my mind as I wrote this. The drive of 'exploration' or even just 'find out what the hell is going on here' could, I suppose, be cast as a 'conflict,' but at that point you've removed most of the sap from 'conflict' and are using it to just mean whatever it is you need it to mean in the moment. But of course a bit of conflict does anchor the experience--Myst wouldn't be Myst without puzzles, but it also wouldn't be Myst if it was just a series of puzzles presented in order without any connective tissue.