by
Janis Susan May/Janis Patterson
Several wise people have said that it is neither politicians
nor warriors who shape a culture - it is the mythmakers, the creators of
legends. In other words, it is us. The writers.
Laws might made by politicians and warriors, but the hearts
and minds and beliefs of a people are created and fostered by the stories they
read. For example, how many of our cultural beliefs have deep roots in legends
and fairy tales? I think pretty much all of them. Even the concept of a Happily Ever After comes
from a legion of fairy tales all the way from Cinderella (the earliest known
telling of which comes from the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt) to Nora Roberts
and her fellow romance authors. The happy ending is by no means guaranteed in
real life, yet we know we can always find one in a romance novel and that
always makes us feel better.
It's the same with mystery novels. Some people wonder why,
in this world of crazy behavior and rampant crime, anyone would voluntarily
read a book in which fictional examples of the same take place. The answer is
simple - because we know before we even open the book that justice will
prevail. Not necessarily the law, I hasten to add, for the two are often not
synonymous. When the novel is finished, the bad guys should be taken care of
and societal balance not only returned but positively reaffirmed. If a writer
is so injudicious as ignore this tradition, the backlash can be dangerous.
Readers want their world tidied.
So how do you keep the ancient formula fresh? This was
discussed on one of my writers' lists, and the answers were occasionally
startling. Everything was suggested from reversing the sexes of the
hero/heroine to putting the story on an alien planet with a bunch of non-human
characters. All of these ideas had a certain viability that an experienced
writer could pull off handily, but the discussion ignored the most important
part... that the formula itself does not have to be freshened. The formula is a
constant, no matter what costumes it wears.
For romance it is one character meets another character,
there is an attraction, there are problems, the problems are solved and there is a happy
ending. This formula doesn't vary what sex which character is or what the
problems are or where the story is set, as long as everything is satisfactorily
resolved and the two main characters have a happy ending. The rest is all just
set dressing.
It's the same with mysteries - there is a protagonist, there
is a crime, the protagonist solves the crime incurring no little risk/danger to
himself and in the end all things are resolved in a satisfactory way. Perhaps
the real world may be going to hell in a handbasket, but within the pages of a
mystery novel the reader knows that justice will always prevail.
Sometimes knowing how things will end is the most desirable
thing. That's why formulas have always existed and always will.
It's true, Susan, that the formulas are timeless and predictable. I think that's why we find them so comforting. Our lives take us to unexpected, sometimes hard, places and we seek reassurance that, if we persist through the hard times, we'll reach that happy ending. I can't imagine life without a belief in happily ever after.
ReplyDeleteThe story patterns seem to be as old as human society itself, bringing something true to every generation.
ReplyDeleteSusan,
ReplyDeleteYou're exactly right, mysteries provide us with an orderly universe that comforts, just as a romance gives us the happily ever after we crave.
There is COMFORT in formulas. It's why we stick to a certain genre or two.
ReplyDeleteNice summary. Writers often shy away from using the word formula, but what you wrote is so true: there is a basic framework, how the writer builds on the framework is what makes one book differ from another.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Janis! I love how you suggest keeping 'formulas' unique!
ReplyDeleteGood luck and God's blessings
PamT
So true! Thanks for your wisdom!
ReplyDelete