Episodic Story-Telling: House & Murder By Death

There are a number of ways to tell a story, and a number of mediums to do it in. I've rambled on and on about this type of stuff before. But it occurs to me there is one format I have yet to dabble in: episodic stories.

Why haven't I written any of these, or even written about any of these? Because they scare me, in a way. And I hate them, simply on principle. And yet I enjoy them, because, well, they're fucking addictive.

A television series is provides the best example of episodic story-telling, if not the most commercially successful. Simple put, you are presented a cast of characters, a setting, and a problem (some of the basic necessary elements for a plot); however, rather than creating a single instance in which the problem builds to rising action and then hits a dramatic climax that leaves the characters and setting permanently changed and the problem resolved, the characters and setting remain intact and the problem remains unsolved at the conclusion of the story. Another story can then be told using the same characters, setting, and primary problem, and a series of secondary problems are presented that put stress on the primary problem, but ultimately leave the original elements intact. This can theoretically repeat forever and ever and ever.

Case and point: House. A misanthropic, vicodin-addicted doctor solves medical mysteries no other doctor can solve, while he is surrounded and aided by colleagues who try to provide him with a moral compass but always fail. Every episode, every story, is purposefully the same, structurally speaking. And this can go on forever, given that the personal lives of the actors, writers, directors, and producers don't get in the way, and the audience always responds.

But House recently did something pretty daring: it went off course. WAY of course. Over the last season they began focusing much more on a story arch of their steady cast, rather than of the importance of each episode's story. It ended with the title character, House, admitting himself to a psychiatric hospital. The new season then opened with a 90-minute episode that details his experience in the nut house. This is the first episode ever that has completely discarded the setting, and except for House, the rest of the cast. There is no medical mystery. There is only the healer trying to heal himself. WHOA.

Of course, it wasn't bad. Like I mentioned, it is daring. And it was well acted, directed, and written. In isolation. It was a good story. But it is completely off course from the rest of the series' episodes, the rest of the scheme of things. And, frankly, everything seemed out of character, and unbelievable. The thematic nature was off, the character was off. I was disappointed, and I am not looking forward to where they're going from here. And if they swing everything back to normal, that will look just plain stupid.

Now, you're probably wondering, Did he start writing an intellectual discussion of episodic story-telling just to give a poor review of an episode of House????

Yes. Yes I did.

Oh and I saw Murder By Death tonight. They fucking rock and are awesome story-tellers! (see, I tied it all together after all!)

Short Vs. Long (Stories)

Got some pretty good advice recently. The last couple years I've been engaged in only one fiction project, that whole Norse mythos adaptation. I reached a milestone, yet realized I'm still a couple more years away from completion (unless everything else in my life falls to the wayside). And the truth is, I miss writing little short stories. Having to focus all my story-telling and literary energy on one particular tale is often constraining. And I am never productive when I feel bound or constrained or claustrophobic. That's why I can only write in public and open areas.

So, I asked someone with experience what I should do: keep working until I knock this thing out, take a break to work on other projects (and risk coming back to it unmotivated), or what?

Well, I was told that short stories allow writers to practice. It's like a scrimmage during soccer practice. Not quite a real game, but it allows you to see where you're strengths are, where your weaknesses are, and find ways to accommodate and experiment but not be on a grand stage, not be in a place where it can all come crashing down in a horrific and tragic manner.

I took this advice to heart. One part of me thought the worst (I become bored of this novel and can never get back to it). Another part thought, Gee, it sure was fun to write short stories all the time when I was in college. Yet another part of me thought the soccer analogy was rather poorly developed and wants to re-write that paragraph. And another part of me tapped along to some must playing in the coffee shop (my foot!).

Anyways, here's the plan! I will allow myself to write a short story here and there between writing for this novel, in order to 1) have some fun, 2) keep practicing and developing my craft, and 3) develop specific elements that relate to the novel and leave me motivated to go back to the novel!

We'll see if it works.