Plot coincidences/contrivances.

writera

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I'm not sure if I'm posting in the right place. This board is so big and I've only barely begun to look through it all - have only just discovered Share Your Work. And I wasn't sure whether to post this here or there.

But I'm having two issues with my WIP that both involve huge coincidences to become effective twists. I'd love to hear other people's opinions.

Location - In my WIP, I've got two characters who meet on a website. One tracks the other one down. And it turns out they both live in the same city (a small fictional city in the Midwest). If the book was set in a big area - like LA, New York, or somewhere - maybe this wouldn't be a big deal and the reader wouldn't notice. But the fact that both characters live in this same small city and just happened to meet on a website (which is not a local website, but a big global one) is tricky. Now, it is a psychic website, and it is mentioned by the characters that the coincidence is probably fate leading them to each other. But - I don't know. I'm worried that a) it's too big a coincidence and b) I've highlighted it too much in the narrative, drawing reader's attention to it. Any suggestions or ideas?

Motivation - The second thing is about a character's motivation. I have a character working on the aformentioned website and another character -- a work colleague of hers -- who initially suggested the website to her. But it turns out this other character runs the website in secret and didn't want my main character to know. Another huge coincidence, even moreso as I'm having a hard time figuring out the character's motivation for keeping this secret.

Some of these coincidences will be necessary for suspension of disbelief, and they seemed to work well in the TV show LOST - but at times, I found myself shaking my head with that show. Really? Libby owns the boat Desmond arrived at the island in? And I felt the writers brushed all of this aside and wrote it all down to fate too easily. In a way, I'm starting to do the same thing. As a reader, how much of these type of coincidences would turn you off? And does anyone have any ideas or tips for how you could make twists less coincidental, blending them into the plot more effectively?

Forgot to mention - the WIP is a thriller with supernatural elements.

Thanks in advance, and I hope I'm posting this in the right section.
 
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Marlys

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Location: Since they hang out on a psychic website, is at least one of them psychic? If so, that one could sense that the other lives nearby, and make it the reason they track the other down, to try to meet in person.

Website: It doesn't seem like a coincidence at all that the person who secretly runs a website tells someone else to go check it out (hey, if only to drive traffic). I am wondering why it has to be a secret, though, since you're the author and even you aren't sure why that's so. Could just drop the secrecy and have the person say, "Check out my website."
 

Quinn_Inuit

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Why is it a coincidence that someone who runs a website recommends that site to a friend, even if he doesn't tell him/her he runs it? That seems perfectly reasonable. In fact, I'm going to recommend my website to you right now (it's in my .sig) and I don't even know you. :) And maybe, like me, he's firewalling his online and professional identities to keep the two from mixing into each other's search results. It's pretty common.

Regarding the first coincidence, that's a reasonable concern. Can you set it up so the fact one tracks the other down is somehow dependent on them having been in the same city, even though that's not obvious initially? I'm not sure I'm explaining that very well, so let me use an example. In one story that I'm currently shopping, the two main characters meet only because the ML has a particular combination of disabilities. Thousands of other people have passed down the same road the ML does, but he's the only one who can go through the (metaphorical) door at the end. In one sense, that's a coincidence, but it's like nature rolled the dice thousands of times. Eventually, this combo was bound to come up, and that's what kicks off the action.
 

writera

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Thanks for your responses! Really appreciate it.

The one who is psychic works on the website and is tracked down by the one who is not psychic. It's a really big coincidence, but necessary. I'm really going to have to work on this. Or change the setting to a bigger area/city, where it might go unnoticed.

The one who owns the website but recommends it - it's only a secret because I want it to play as a twist. About halfway through, the main character discovers this. It's a subplot. And I know it's right - I just don't know why it's right lol. I haven't figured it out yet. I think there's a somewhat nefarious reason behind her keeping it secret, but she's not the main antagonist so I'm not sure what it is.
 

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i run into these kinds of problems all the time, and generally i find that either it means i need to cut something that is getting in the way of my main idea, or that i need a simple concept that somehow solves all of my problems at once.

i have no idea how important the idea that you have a website creator and a secret creator, but if it's getting in the way, i'd consider changing the core relationship. maybe there are two creators and they are fighting for control over the site. maybe instead of wanting to remain in secret, the creator wants to be known, but the other guy keeps deleting any record of his involvement. or maybe it's super important and i'm totally mistaken.

this brings me back to your first point, the coincidence. i think (and i could be wrong) but it seems to me that the consensus is pretty much "try not to let it be a coincidence" instead have it happen on purpose. give it a real reason.

maybe they find each-other on the site Because they live in the same city or town. they saw the same billboard, or the site somehow mentions their town in a prominent post.

if your problem is that the are is too small for you to feel comfortable, maybe find a way to widen your area. could one of the characters have just recently moved from somewhere else, and be incredibly relived to find another person close by also into this website? then instead of them just happening to run into each other, one character actively seeks the other out.

you have options.
 

folclor

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Small anecdote: I play an MMO and I joined a guild on it. Turned out, one of the officers lives in my home town! It's very common to end up in the same place. It's gonna be harder for people who don't use the internet as often on message boards and games, but it happens all the time.
 

mccardey

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RE location - pretty sure (from my fb feed) that if either or both of them also like/unlike/ respond in any way to local businesses, that kind of thing will be noted by algorithms. You could maybe push that angle.
 

AwP_writer

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For the location, maybe there are location based subforums on the site? As to why someone would keep running a psychic site a secret, some people look down on "psychics" and consider them to either be scammers or naive idiots, so keeping ones connection to such things a secret to avoid embarrassment or harassment doesn't seem far fetched at all.
 

frimble3

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Maybe the one who isn't a psychic is really good at computer searchs, and tracks other one down by ISP, UPS or whatever the computer terms are for things that identify a particular computer. They are curious because some of the 'psychic's' responses mention stuff that only a local would know. Festivals, stores, etc.
As to why the owner of the website is keeping quiet about it ? His or her family is really religious, and thinks 'psychic powers' are the work of the devil. As the website people seem to live near enough to talk to each other, maybe the owner is worried that the psychic will accidental spill the beans to the owner's family.
Is it possible that having them all live near each other would make it less strange that two of them should meet?
Just because the site is global, doesn't mean that it's users are evenly distributed around the globe. Before it became big, it had to start somewhere. Like Microsoft in Seattle.
 

Bacchus

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Hi Writera.

I'm not sure that the coincidence would throw me out. Big coincidences happen all the time*. If the stalker tracked down the stalkee and found them living in the town with a "blow me - she lives right here in Fakesville" I would read right on through. In fact because the novel is set in Fakesville I would think nothing else would work. Wouldn't be much of a story if she was on the other side of the world!

As for
I'm having a hard time figuring out the character's motivation for keeping this secret
- it sounds as if one of the characters poached the other characters killer idea for a website? Isn't that motivation enough??



*random anecdotes - I was talking to a guy, a friend-of-a-friend, who I had never met, in a pub one evening a few years back, and we got on to the subject of weekend plans. It turned out that he was going to see his son who was at boarding school. As was I. It then turned out that his son was at the same school (which, incidentally, was fifty miles away from the pub!). In the UK some schools have a "house" system similar to the fraternities in the US. Same house. They were, and still are, friends.

Another time I was staying at a friend's house in a village near Oxford and about thirty miles from my own home. Couldn't sleep too well in the spare-room so at about 07.00 on Sunday morning I strolled down to the nearest place to get newspapers and fresh milk which was in a petrol station. Seven o'clock on a Sunday morning and my brother drove right in to get petrol - he was over a hundred miles from home. My jaw dropped to the floor, he just said "oh, hello" as if it happened to him all the time, SO have faith in your coincidence, portray it as natural, and I am sure it will work.
 

Harlequin

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The younger your age category, the more plot coincidences you can get away with.

In a MG book it's alright for all the plot events to happen to a single family or you and your best mates. In a YA book you might (I would say) need a fair bit more explanation and in an adult book, you'd have to convince me.

In general, lots of plot coincidences read like deux ex machina and I would avoid. If the book hinges on them then I'd be very very careful utilising them in that way.
 

writera

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Thanks for all your replies! Some really great ideas here.

This is how I've dealt with the same location coincidence so far, at three brief points where it's come up. Kind of relying on the coincidence/fate angle but also hanging a lampshade on it, as they say in the movie business, and highlighting it to the reader.

Kate paused the video, pinched the mouse pad, and zoomed in on the sign.
FREE WI-FI AT THE COFFEEPOT.
The Coffeepot… It sounded familiar.
Curious, but feeling a little bit like a stalker, Kate googled it.
It was a relatively new establishment in the city. Kate had never been there, but she’d heard of it.
Laura is local.
Interesting…
The psychics were spread all across the States and also in other countries across the globe, but her new favorite reader was local.
The more she thought about it, the fact that Laura lived here too seemed almost unbelievable. What were the odds?
It couldn’t be a coincidence. Not a chance.
It’s destiny, she thought. I was meant to find her.
Kate decided to take it as a sign, further confirmation that Laura was the real deal.


-

But where did you even come from? I always assumed you lived in California.”
“No. I did live in California. But I’m from here. Don’t you see? Isn’t it amazing, that we both lived in the same place all this time?”
Laura shook her head. “It’s certainly a weird coincidence.”
“It’s not a coincidence!” Kate piped up. Then she blushed again, lowered her eyes. “I think…I think it’s fate.”


-

“What do you mean, she’s here?”
Janeane vaguely pointed over her shoulder. “Up in the coffeehouse,” she said. “Is it a coincidence or what?”
“Are you sure it’s her?”
“Yes, dimwit. I’m sure. She looks exactly like she does in that stupid photo you showed me. Tell me it’s just a coincidence and she doesn’t know we run the site from here.”
“I don’t see how she could know,” he said. “I don’t see how anyone could know. The whole site’s registered to a proxy. You know that.”

-


As for the second coincidence - the person who runs the website. Some great ideas here. Maybe she is just keeping it a secret because she's embarrassed or her family is religious. I could sort of play it like it's a nefarious subplot and she might have a sinister motivation, only for the reveal to be something innocuous or innocent like that. It's only a subplot, so I don't think the reader would feel cheated if I did. Might be an idea!

Thank you all again!
 
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BethS

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In general, you can use coincidences to set up the story (movies do this all the time) but not resolve it.
 

neandermagnon

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How easy it is to accept a coincidence depends on how convenient it is for the plot. If a random coincidence solves a major story problem then that's deus ex machina and needs to be avoided. However, a random coincidence setting up a story problem, or happening but not creating or solving any problem is easier to accept - but too many of them and it starts to stretch plausibility. For example, if two characters meet or the MC bumps into an old friend from way back as a result of a co-incidence then that's fine. If the MC goes around bumping into loads of people they haven't seen for years, completely coincidentally, then that's stretching plausibility, unless there's an in-story explanation (e.g. the gods have conspired to make it happen or someone cast a spell to make it happen, etc... which of course would only apply in genres where those kinds of things can happen).
 

indianroads

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I don't the the website thing (global site, 2 people on the site from the same small town) as a problem at all.

AW is a pretty big site and I've noticed that some here are located up north of me in Denver - I have no intention of meeting them though.

On a biker community forum I frequent, I was surprised to find (and meet) a couple guys I had talked with for years. It happens.

On the motivation issue: I think this is something you need to explore with your character study. Why does he or she want to keep it secret? A psychic aspect could provide a motivation though, because there a certain 'weirdo' stigma that's associated with it. Maybe this character doesn't want to be seen as a nut-job.

For example: when I was 17 I was in a car wreck, and my heart (etc) stopped for some period. According to the ambulance medic they had to restart my heart twice. I had what's called a NDE (Near Death Experience), but when I talk about it to friends I always felt like I was a weirdo... alienated, you know? I've looked at NDE websites, but never told my story there or even joined. The urge to avoid being the weirdo in your crowd is pretty powerful - might that be the motivation you're looking for?
 

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I'm not sure if I'm posting in the right place. This board is so big and I've only barely begun to look through it all - have only just discovered Share Your Work. And I wasn't sure whether to post this here or there.

But I'm having two issues with my WIP that both involve huge coincidences to become effective twists. I'd love to hear other people's opinions.

Location - In my WIP, I've got two characters who meet on a website. One tracks the other one down. And it turns out they both live in the same city (a small fictional city in the Midwest). If the book was set in a big area - like LA, New York, or somewhere - maybe this wouldn't be a big deal and the reader wouldn't notice. But the fact that both characters live in this same small city and just happened to meet on a website (which is not a local website, but a big global one) is tricky. Now, it is a psychic website, and it is mentioned by the characters that the coincidence is probably fate leading them to each other. But - I don't know. I'm worried that a) it's too big a coincidence and b) I've highlighted it too much in the narrative, drawing reader's attention to it. Any suggestions or ideas?

Motivation - The second thing is about a character's motivation. I have a character working on the aformentioned website and another character -- a work colleague of hers -- who initially suggested the website to her. But it turns out this other character runs the website in secret and didn't want my main character to know. Another huge coincidence, even moreso as I'm having a hard time figuring out the character's motivation for keeping this secret.

Some of these coincidences will be necessary for suspension of disbelief, and they seemed to work well in the TV show LOST - but at times, I found myself shaking my head with that show. Really? Libby owns the boat Desmond arrived at the island in? And I felt the writers brushed all of this aside and wrote it all down to fate too easily. In a way, I'm starting to do the same thing. As a reader, how much of these type of coincidences would turn you off? And does anyone have any ideas or tips for how you could make twists less coincidental, blending them into the plot more effectively?

Forgot to mention - the WIP is a thriller with supernatural elements.

Thanks in advance, and I hope I'm posting this in the right section.


Oh oh oh.

Number 1:
I wonder if you can play around with FCC regulations in some way, the ones that are in the news right now, such that people are funneled to websites without realizing it.

Number 2:
You're right, this is a stretch. I am always happier to allow coincidence if there is humor in the story, like the Dirk Gently series on BBC america which relies on "Everything is Connected" (and is humorous) as a principle. Can you add a few jokes? Specifically around the coincidence of it.
 

Metruis

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Coincidence is fine if it kicks off the story. You shouldn't stand in the way of a humorous or synchronistic meeting between two characters, not at all! Doesn't excuse setting it up properly–an interest in social networking, a comment about the boyfriend their friend found before on an online website, a mention of their hometown on the forum... as long as you put one beat in before it happens, to show that the mechanics of the story will allow for this to happen, you'll have properly set up that action in whatever way seems fit for you and your story. Like, it shouldn't play out beat by beat 1- friend tells friend about website 2-goes onto website 3-meets guy from hometown. There should be something in there to set up that this character would be interested in meeting someone from a website, and something on the forum to allow for this meeting to happen–a state your location! thread, sort by location map, whatever. Not just, they start talking and whoa what a coincidence. To decrease the "well that was a coincidence" feeling, I find it's best to add more set-up.

That said, coincidence can be used to great comedic value! I second the recommendation of Dirk Gently... if you make it funny, you can get away with pretty much anything, as long as you hold true to the workings you set up can be done in your world.

Just don't resolve things with coincidence. Resolve things with the culmination of many coincidences in a way that makes your reader go "ohh, that was grand!"
 

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A general suggestion you may find useful wrt coincidences is: If the coincidence solves things for your MC, don't use it. If the coincidence makes things even worse for your MC, then it could work.

I'm not sure if I'm posting in the right place. This board is so big and I've only barely begun to look through it all - have only just discovered Share Your Work. And I wasn't sure whether to post this here or there.

But I'm having two issues with my WIP that both involve huge coincidences to become effective twists. I'd love to hear other people's opinions.

Location - In my WIP, I've got two characters who meet on a website. One tracks the other one down. And it turns out they both live in the same city (a small fictional city in the Midwest). If the book was set in a big area - like LA, New York, or somewhere - maybe this wouldn't be a big deal and the reader wouldn't notice. But the fact that both characters live in this same small city and just happened to meet on a website (which is not a local website, but a big global one) is tricky. Now, it is a psychic website, and it is mentioned by the characters that the coincidence is probably fate leading them to each other. But - I don't know. I'm worried that a) it's too big a coincidence and b) I've highlighted it too much in the narrative, drawing reader's attention to it. Any suggestions or ideas? Could you change it so that the website is more localized? Maybe it narrows down the chatrooms by region? You could also have one of the people be a bit of a psychic who is drawn to the other person, since the MS has supernatural elements. Or have the one who does the tracking be really into talking to everyone, and s/he tracks down absolutely everybody and sees that one of the members on the website lives in the same city.

Motivation - The second thing is about a character's motivation. I have a character working on the aformentioned website and another character -- a work colleague of hers -- who initially suggested the website to her. But it turns out this other character runs the website in secret and didn't want my main character to know. Another huge coincidence, even moreso as I'm having a hard time figuring out the character's motivation for keeping this secret. This one doesn't strike me as a coincidence, because it makes sense that someone who runs a website may want to direct others to that website.

Some of these coincidences will be necessary for suspension of disbelief, and they seemed to work well in the TV show LOST - but at times, I found myself shaking my head with that show. Really? Libby owns the boat Desmond arrived at the island in? And I felt the writers brushed all of this aside and wrote it all down to fate too easily. In a way, I'm starting to do the same thing. As a reader, how much of these type of coincidences would turn you off? And does anyone have any ideas or tips for how you could make twists less coincidental, blending them into the plot more effectively?

Forgot to mention - the WIP is a thriller with supernatural elements.

Thanks in advance, and I hope I'm posting this in the right section.

I think a coincidence to get the story started is okay, but anymore than that and it would stretch my suspension of disbelief.

And I disagree with whoever said you could get away with more coincidences in younger age categories. That's a great way of making sure you come up with a shoddy MG/YA. :D
 

Lady Ice

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See, I don't massively get thriller/supernatural vibes from the writing passages. I think that if there's enough suspense, the coincidences won't be a problem- as there's the psychic element anyway, it seems only right that there should be a spooky coincidence and that would get your reader's imaginations going because they're trying to work out the mystery.
 

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What type of website is it? I get the impression that it's some sort of site that puts psychics in touch with each other. As such, you may be able to make the website itself an active player in creating the coincidence.

I imagine most websites of this nature have algorithms that suggest matches for each user. As such, the website itself may suggest one character as someone the other character may be interested on, based on information in their profiles. It may also use other details. For example, each Internet Service Provider has a certain range of IP addresses blocks (subnets) they're allowed to use. For a small town, they may use just one block of IP addresses. As such, the website may detect that these users' public IP addresses are in the same town and factor that into its algorithm.

As for the website creator keeping their involvement secret, are they making any money from their involvement? If so, maybe they could be keeping this secret from the IRS to avoid paying taxes, and getting found out could result in criminal charges?
 

Sonsofthepharaohs

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A few years ago I had a housemate who was a recent divorcee looking for love. He went on literally DOZENS of dating websites, and finally became very friendly with a nice woman about his age, who was into all the same things, had the same sense of humour, etc. When they finally decided to meet up, as it turned out... she lived TWO DOORS AWAY. I'm not kidding. Her garden actually backed onto ours.

6 months later he carted all his possessions the less than 50 feet to her house, and they're still living there, now engaged.

I know fiction has to be more convincing than real life, because it doesn't have the benefit of being true, but huge coincidences do happen :)
 
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My brother was brought up in Smalltown, population about 20,000. After university, he moved to Bigtown, about 1,000 miles away, population about 2 million. Shortly thereafter, he met his wife-to-be. She'd grown up less than 1 mile from our house in Smalltown. He'd never met her there.
 

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I feel like coincidences are okay, especially if there is a mild supernatural element to your world. There is a misconception that things should happen in stories the way they happen in real life. Nah, stories should be told about the things that are worth telling stories about, and sometimes those are the rare, unlikely things. If you think it's weird that you have a perfect storm of coincidences, remember that The Perfect Storm was a popular book about an unlikely combination real events.

The one thing that should not be a coincidence is the resolution: that's a deus ex machina. The reason is that the resolution should be earned by the main character. But having coincidences that create problems or opportunities for the hero is perfectly fine.