Form Over Function and Palahniuk

For the sake of this discussion, can you describe what you mean by "form" for those not familiar with the term?

epistolary (story presented in the form of letters) is another type of form: 'Ella Minnow Pea', for example.

Structure. I would call it structure.

Didn't someone say there were only 35 plots or something in that range? Any and all stories using that sort of plot basically lay or overlay their work on a "classic." Isn't doing it intentionally a kind of a parody? My story began with none of this in mind, really. All I wanted was a certain love affair type plot. What it ended up is following Othello pretty closely (no racial difference, which was just a characterization in Shakespeare, but a job difference) for awhile and then veering off.

I certainly think that most writers, or many writers recognize the pattern they have made and then go for either obliterating the pattern (so you don't see it, which I would call "naturalistic" or making the pattern stronger.) I'm all for obliterating it. I like things to look accidental.

I don't see using an unusual structure as always being form over function. Ideally, I think the structure chosen should be the one that furthers the function the most. That said, I occasionally like to read stories in which the structure or style is considered as important as the story itself, but I don't tend to prefer it and don't tend to write that way, except perhaps experimentally (to try something out).

I see. Form and structure are not interchangeable but closely related. Epistolary or diary form, for example (Bridget Jones' Diary). There was a novel that was written backward chronologically. The Time Traveler's Wife was written from two 1st person POVs but based on an alternating, jumbled chronological timeline. The Mystery of Pittsburgh was modeled after The Great Getsby and divided into three parts: June, July, August. Atonement is done as a metafiction: a book within a book.

All of the above, IMHO, are perfect forms for the stories being told. They make sense.

Why do you think Palahniuk is form over function? Do you feel that the forms of his novels are too overwhelming but do not fit the storytelling?

I haven't really paid attention to form yet in my own work. There is a three- or four-act structure in my current WIP -- they are distinctively time-based. But to me that's just structure, not really form. The closest I have come to using "form" may be one of my short stories: it's told in 3rd person limited but the main character changed from a person to an animal in the middle; the language changed as well, like how you described Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man.

The function part is what I don't get. What is the function of a story? To tell a story. To entertain. Maybe to give a glimpse into another lifestyle, or period of history. To show "morals" in action as a parable. Outright propaganda.

I would argue that Palahniuk does not favor form over function, rather, that his forms have a very specific function - to distract the readers from the foundations of the plot twist.

For me, form must always serve the story. If you can convince me that a backwards chronology, or a novel composed entirely of the MC's Mastercard bills, or 66 2nd person narrators is the BEST way to tell your story, then fine. Once form becomes a distraction from the story, I'm out the door.

Ooh, pretty fireworks. Wow, look at how SMALL the stitches are in that hem. Gosh, she must be the only person in the world who would wear a wastebasket papered with the works of Karl Marx on her head. Yeah, I get it. I'm just not necessarily impressed.

A similar term in filmmaking is "style over substance." And I've seen that, especially in Asian cinema where stylistically the film is stunning, but then you wonder what the heck the story is about. You don't get involved with the characters. It's like watching moving art, but at the end, you're not involved. When "style meshes with substance," however, the storytelling can be heightened to great levels. For example: 300 (graphic novel style) or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.