Allison Symes's Blog - Posts Tagged "rule-of-three"
Story Influences
One aspect to reading I love is when I think I can spot which stories have influenced the writer.
Sometimes it is obvious to spot these. (This is especially true for the well done spoof). Sometimes the influence is portrayed in a subtle manner (and I always feel a bit pleased with myself when I spot this type).
Stories do influence us even if we’re not always conscious of it. My love of fairytales means I know I will expect justice to be done in some way (and that applies to most crime fiction too).
I pick up on the Rule of Three in all manner of books and stories thanks to what I have learned from fairytales. Something happens twice. Something happens with a change on the third occasion and that change usually leads to the traditional happy ever after ending in fairytales.
Notice I say usually there. My first reading of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christen Andersen came as a shock precisely because it didn’t follow what, by then, I had come to see as the usual pattern.
Andersen’s ending of this tale is appropriate for the character as he has portrayed her (which is something else I’ve picked on subconsciously thanks to my love of reading. Naturally I ensure the endings I create for my characters are appropriate to them as I have portrayed them).
So think about what books you love. What influence have they had on you? It may well be more than you thought, especially if you're a writer too.
Sometimes it is obvious to spot these. (This is especially true for the well done spoof). Sometimes the influence is portrayed in a subtle manner (and I always feel a bit pleased with myself when I spot this type).
Stories do influence us even if we’re not always conscious of it. My love of fairytales means I know I will expect justice to be done in some way (and that applies to most crime fiction too).
I pick up on the Rule of Three in all manner of books and stories thanks to what I have learned from fairytales. Something happens twice. Something happens with a change on the third occasion and that change usually leads to the traditional happy ever after ending in fairytales.
Notice I say usually there. My first reading of The Little Mermaid by Hans Christen Andersen came as a shock precisely because it didn’t follow what, by then, I had come to see as the usual pattern.
Andersen’s ending of this tale is appropriate for the character as he has portrayed her (which is something else I’ve picked on subconsciously thanks to my love of reading. Naturally I ensure the endings I create for my characters are appropriate to them as I have portrayed them).
So think about what books you love. What influence have they had on you? It may well be more than you thought, especially if you're a writer too.
