Science Fiction Fantasy Chronicles: forums - View Single Post - Cliches.....are they really all that bad?

Giovanna Clairval · 19th November 2007, 12:14 PM

Hi, Peter,

How are you, my friend?

Characterisation and dialogue are part of the plot inasmuch as one considers the way they are placed in the chain of events; otherwise, they are part of the story (subtle distinction, but a distinction anyway).

And I said that the plot is what makes the originality of a novel apart from style and characterisation--meaning, with this last word, the character building as a process, but also its actual concretisation (which can be obtained with different devices: dialogue, description, etc.), regardless of the way the different scenes fit in the "arrangement of incidents", which is "plot".

An authour may use sparkling style, and his characterisation may be very effective, and yet she can concoct a confused plot. A few of my favourite authors did this, sometimes, and that didn't prevent me from enjoying the read.

So, I do agree with you when you say that readers don't read for the plot but for the pleasure they can find in the way the story (the idea) is treated: ambience, characters, dialogues, and (as most of we Chronics do) style.

19th November 2007, 12:14 PM	#63 (permalink)
Giovanna Clairval Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 1,127	Re: Cliches.....are they really all that bad? Hi, Peter, How are you, my friend? Characterisation and dialogue are part of the plot inasmuch as one considers the way they are placed in the chain of events; otherwise, they are part of the story (subtle distinction, but a distinction anyway). And I said that the plot is what makes the originality of a novel apart from style and characterisation--meaning, with this last word, the character building as a process, but also its actual concretisation (which can be obtained with different devices: dialogue, description, etc.), regardless of the way the different scenes fit in the "arrangement of incidents", which is "plot". An authour may use sparkling style, and his characterisation may be very effective, and yet she can concoct a confused plot. A few of my favourite authors did this, sometimes, and that didn't prevent me from enjoying the read. So, I do agree with you when you say that readers don't read for the plot but for the pleasure they can find in the way the story (the idea) is treated: ambience, characters, dialogues, and (as most of we Chronics do) style.