What the Dickens?

CaroGirl · Jan 18, 2012

Is it impossible to get away with Dickensian coincidence in today's fiction, despite the fact it happens in real life all the time?

For example, yesterday I had to go to the hospital to undergo a medical procedure. My husband and I were early, so while we were waiting in line to buy coffee, I was checking my shiny new iPhone. I had an email from my friend Em telling me that our other friend Zoe had her baby 2 days before. There were photos and info about name and weight. I was pleased.

Off I went to have my nasty, invasive procedure <shudder>. When we were on our way out, just stepping off the elevator, we ran into my friend Zoe's husband getting ONTO the elevator to go up and visit his wife and newborn son. We went up with him and I got to see my friend and meet her beautiful baby.

Totally true. Holy coincidence!!

Could you get away with a scene like that in a novel or would readers toss it as unbelievable and too coincidental?

jaksen · Jan 18, 2012

You all use the same hospital. That's like running into each other at the donut shop you stop at each morning, or the gas station or the post office when mailing gifts at Christmas. Not so much coincidence as you'd expect it to happen.

Sage · Jan 18, 2012

I think a coincidence like that would totally be doable. As told, it seems like less coincidental because you were at the hospital and had been told about something that also would happen at the hospital, and your desire to see Zoe came from the same reason she was there.

If, however, you really needed to see Zoe for some plot reason (she has the key to saving the world), and you were at the hospital for some unrelated thing, and never knew that she was close enough to having the baby that she might be there, and then just happened to run into her husband and find out she was right there where you were, the coincidence could be questioned. But you probably could still get away with it. Just a larger suspension of disbelief.

Terie · Jan 18, 2012

For me, the only problematic coincidences in fiction are those that resolve some or all of the conflict.

Coincidences are part of real life. They almost invariably kick off the conflict. They can add spice to the tale. (OMG! I just typed 'tail' the first time! Spiced kangaroo tail, anyone?)

But using a coincidence to resolve the conflict is usually a no-no.

ChaosTitan · Jan 18, 2012

I was thinking the other day about the odd coincidences that happen in real life that, in fiction, would give readers fits. I suppose it adds truth to the old adage that truth is stranger than fiction.

This particular hospital instance I don't see as unbelievable, though.

fireluxlou · Jan 18, 2012

You could get away with a scene like that. It would be good for moving to the next scene as well. Some tv shows implore this technique all the time. One coincidence leads to the next, which leads to the plot of that episode.

aurinko · Jan 18, 2012

The only time I had problems with coincidences in a story, was the when the heroine, who was travelling around Europe, kept bumping into her friends and love interests. It's okay to have characters bumping into each other when they are in the same town, it's NOT okay to have them bumping into each other when they are only on the same continent.

CaroGirl · Jan 18, 2012

jaksen said:
You all use the same hospital. That's like running into each other at the donut shop you stop at each morning, or the gas station or the post office when mailing gifts at Christmas. Not so much coincidence as you'd expect it to happen.

Well, I'm in a large-ish city and there are about 6 hospitals here. This one isn't even the closest to me, just the one where my specialist works.

Maryn · Jan 18, 2012

aurinko said:
The only time I had problems with coincidences in a story, was the when the heroine, who was travelling around Europe, kept bumping into her friends and love interests. It's okay to have characters bumping into each other when they are in the same town, it's NOT okay to have them bumping into each other when they are only on the same continent.

But what about my friend Larry, who'd left Seattle to each English in China, and ran into one of his former students five years later in Boston?

Maryn, noting that amazing coincidences happen--but not often, like in the novel you read

CaroGirl · Jan 18, 2012

Sage said:
I think a coincidence like that would totally be doable. As told, it seems like less coincidental because you were at the hospital and had been told about something that also would happen at the hospital, and your desire to see Zoe came from the same reason she was there.

If, however, you really needed to see Zoe for some plot reason (she has the key to saving the world), and you were at the hospital for some unrelated thing, and never knew that she was close enough to having the baby that she might be there, and then just happened to run into her husband and find out she was right there where you were, the coincidence could be questioned. But you probably could still get away with it. Just a larger suspension of disbelief.

That's true! I guess the incident would need at least one more "convenience" to make it unbelievable.

The timing just freaked me out and I thought about whether something like this would even work in fiction.

The Lonely One · Jan 18, 2012

What's that cliche? Truth stranger than fiction?

A lot of things in life are believable whereas in fiction they are not. Not sure about this one, though, or Dickens plotting in contemporary fic. Maybe it depends on how it's pulled off.

thebloodfiend · Jan 18, 2012

fireluxlou said:
You could get away with a scene like that. It would be good for moving to the next scene as well. Some tv shows implore this technique all the time. One coincidence leads to the next, which leads to the plot of that episode.

The Simpsons and King of the Hill use that rather brilliantly.

I believe that the correct term for a coincidence that magically saves the day is a Deus Ex Machina. I hate it, hate it, hate it. Your coincidence doesn't sound all that coincidental. It sounds like a "random" everyday occurrence.

scarletpeaches · Jan 18, 2012

CaroGirl said:
Is it impossible to get away with Dickensian coincidence in today's fiction, despite the fact it happens in real life all the time?

For example, yesterday I had to go to the hospital to undergo a medical procedure. My husband and I were early, so while we were waiting in line to buy coffee, I was checking my shiny new iPhone. I had an email from my friend Em telling me that our other friend Zoe had her baby 2 days before. There were photos and info about name and weight. I was pleased.

Off I went to have my nasty, invasive procedure <shudder>. When we were on our way out, just stepping off the elevator, we ran into my friend Zoe's husband getting ONTO the elevator to go up and visit his wife and newborn son. We went up with him and I got to see my friend and meet her beautiful baby.

Totally true. Holy coincidence!!

Could you get away with a scene like that in a novel or would readers toss it as unbelievable and too coincidental?

A) If you write a Dickensian coincidence into your work, I will come round your house and curl one off on your freshly Shake 'n' Vac'd carpets.

B) The story you relate happened in real life. Fiction must resemble real life, not exactly copy it.

I've often said I love Dickens' work, and I do. For his characterisation, not his plots. Coincidence is a piss-poor plot device and a lazy, lazy, lazy way of moving the story along.

Devil Ledbetter · Jan 18, 2012

I think minor coincidences can be okay as long as they make things worse for the protagonist.

I'm glad running into your friends made your day better, Caro.

CaroGirl · Jan 18, 2012

scarletpeaches said:
A) If you write a Dickensian coincidence into your work, I will come round your house and curl one off on your freshly Shake 'n' Vac'd carpets.

I feel like writing one just to see if you'll really do this! LOL

I could always just move.

Amadan · Jan 18, 2012

CaroGirl said:
Is it impossible to get away with Dickensian coincidence in today's fiction, despite the fact it happens in real life all the time?

For example, yesterday I had to go to the hospital to undergo a medical procedure. My husband and I were early, so while we were waiting in line to buy coffee, I was checking my shiny new iPhone. I had an email from my friend Em telling me that our other friend Zoe had her baby 2 days before. There were photos and info about name and weight. I was pleased.

Off I went to have my nasty, invasive procedure <shudder>. When we were on our way out, just stepping off the elevator, we ran into my friend Zoe's husband getting ONTO the elevator to go up and visit his wife and newborn son. We went up with him and I got to see my friend and meet her beautiful baby.

Totally true. Holy coincidence!!

Could you get away with a scene like that in a novel or would readers toss it as unbelievable and too coincidental?

That's not a Dickensian coincidence. A Dickensian coincidence would be if stepping off the elevator, you ran into your long-lost childhood friend who happens to be visiting his wife, who it turns out is the woman who gave up a baby for adoption years ago who turns out to be your husband so now everyone has a tearful reunion (and no one notices the age difference involved in your childhood best friend being married to a woman old enough to be your husband's mother, though to really be Dickensian it should be the other way around).

CaroGirl · Jan 18, 2012

Amadan said:
That's not a Dickensian coincidence. A Dickensian coincidence would be if stepping off the elevator, you ran into your long-lost childhood friend who happens to be visiting his wife, who it turns out is the woman who gave up a baby for adoption years ago who turns out to be your husband so now everyone has a tearful reunion (and no one notices the age difference involved in your childhood best friend being married to a woman old enough to be your husband's mother, though to really be Dickensian it should be the other way around).

Ha! Fantastic.

Dr.Gonzo · Jan 18, 2012

Peaches, if 'curl one off' means what I think it means then I don't know whether to laugh or puke.

Write it now, caro, and tell me what happens to your carpet.

CaroGirl · Jan 18, 2012

Dr.Gonzo said:
Peaches, if 'curl one off' means what I think it means then I don't know whether to laugh or puke.

Write it now, caro, and tell me what happens to your carpet.

I'm on it...

c.e.lawson · Jan 18, 2012

aurinko said:
The only time I had problems with coincidences in a story, was the when the heroine, who was travelling around Europe, kept bumping into her friends and love interests. It's okay to have characters bumping into each other when they are in the same town, it's NOT okay to have them bumping into each other when they are only on the same continent.

I might agree with you except for this: I live in Los Angeles, and I have randomly bumped into people I know from the L.A. area while crossing a street in San Francisco, in a piazza in Florence Italy, while hiking in Arizona, and on a beach in Hawaii.

scarletpeaches · Jan 18, 2012

Dr.Gonzo said:
Peaches, if 'curl one off' means what I think it means then I don't know whether to laugh or puke.

I advise both.

song_of_calliope · Jan 18, 2012

I think this would work if it were set up earlier in the novel - if, for example, you said something about the fact that you were having a procedure in a certain hospital and your friend mentioned that was where your other friend would have her baby.

Jamesaritchie · Jan 18, 2012

Coincidence can cause a problem, or start a story. What coincidence shouldn't do is solve a problem, or end a story.

Susan Coffin · Jan 18, 2012

Caro,

It think yesterday was synchronicity for you. What a great experience!

As for my own synchronicity- I recently got in touch with a man who researched my family history. He figured out we were distant cousins from eight generations back. Meanwhile, I found out he is first cousins with the mother of my friend who I grew up with and with who I am still in touch with today. My friend and I grew up in Northern California, and the man who did the research lives down in Southern California.

Flicka · Jan 18, 2012

Amadan said:
That's not a Dickensian coincidence. A Dickensian coincidence would be if stepping off the elevator, you ran into your long-lost childhood friend who happens to be visiting his wife, who it turns out is the woman who gave up a baby for adoption years ago who turns out to be your husband so now everyone has a tearful reunion (and no one notices the age difference involved in your childhood best friend being married to a woman old enough to be your husband's mother, though to really be Dickensian it should be the other way around).

I love that sort of story*. Screw credibility; I love it when all the ends are neatly tied up the way they aren't in real life.

Sue me. Some people want a HEA. I don't care if they all go to hell in a handbasket, as long as they do it neatly.

*as in to read, not to write. Which is why I gave up writing mysteries

What the Dickens?

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