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C. Lee McKenzie

Young Adult and Middle Grade Author

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The Pros Give Us Some Advice and How to Use Coincidence in Fiction

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Last month I asked a few writer friends who have some excellent books out if they’d be interested in appearing on my blog. Eight responded and sent me their latest book, their tagline and a short piece of advice they wanted to pass on. So I’ll be featuring one of these amazing writers each week.

Buy it now on AMAZON or B&N

To kick off the series is CHERYL RAINFIELD. Her newest book is STAINED, and does it sound like a must read. I really loved her cover and these words: “Sometimes YOU have to be your own hero.”

Tagline: Sarah is abducted and must find a way to rescue herself.

Her Advice: Write what you love and what you want to read. Write about things you care deeply about; your work will have more passion and readers will feel it. And read as much as you can, especially in the genre you write in.

Thanks, Cheryl. 

******

About Coincidence. 

I found myself grappling with the issue of coincidence when I started writing middle grade fantasy. I’d never had to think about it before and that was because I avoided it. At least I tried. Then I found an old article by Nancy Kress and thought it might be helpful to others who also try to avoid this taboo in their plots.
Here’s what she suggested. Coincidence can be effective in 3 specific situations:
  • When it sets up a plot complication, but doesn’t resolve it.

So let’s see what that means. Let’s say your character “accidentally” bumps into her ex-whatever and finds him once again irresistible. From then on, the story can be about their reconciliation or their attempted reconciliation and failure–whatever direction you want your story to take. The chance meeting doesn’t occur at the end when you’re trying to wrap up the story and their meeting will give you a perfect ending. 

No Reality Here
  • When the story is comedy and you’re not trying to set up reality. 

I had in mind You’ve Got Mail when I read this. How coincidental could that online meeting between a small bookstore owner and the large F O X conglomerate be? And then keeping the secret was a great tension builder throughout the story. 
  • When you’re trying to make the point that life is more “mysterious and unpredictable” than people can imagine.

Ms. Kress says this is the most sophisticated use of coincidence and she uses her own short story to show how it could be done. Her character has nothing but a series of coincidences. He chokes on food, but while he’s choking his car’s struck and the force dislodges the particle in his throat. These “miracles” continue throughout the story, baffling the character and pushing the reader’s ability to suspend disbelief.  Her suggestion is to be sure the character remains REAL even while the unreal events occur. 
Hope you’ll stop by Cheryl Rainfield’s blog and say hi. Check out her book. She has lots to say in every one of them. And how about coincidence? What’s your take on using it?
I’ll leave you with this today: “Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own thoughts, unguarded.” 

Comments

  1. Thanks for this, It has really got me thinking about using coincidence in writing (if at all…never have) because I often feel as though real life is so riddled with it…

  2. I think that's a wonderful point about using coincidence to set up a situation, but not resolve it. It's using coincidences in the resolution that come across as cheating, not the use of coincidences, period.

  4. Congrats to Cheryl! What great advice!

    I must admit I've never been too comfortable with the term coincidences. I believe things happen for a reason, even if it is strange and mysterious.

  5. What an interesting post. I am okay with coincidences in books- as long as they seem to make sense. Sometimes they happen in real life- so they can be effective. Lots to think about. Thanks for sharing!

    Best of luck to Cheryl!
    ~Jess

  8. I was taught not to have coincidence. That if the space ship breaks down there must be a reason w/in the plot. Ficiton is more complicated than real life. Dang having to make sense. lol

  11. Awesome. I've read books like that–where you sit back, squint at the pages and shake your head. That's usually when I put one down. Still, I love it when that kind of stuff is effectively used in a plot, where coincidence turns out to be anything but.

  12. I love a good coincidence, like running into an old friend at just the right moment, or being saved from a terrible fate by someone's distraction, but they should always serve a purpose and feel natural. It's annoying when a book is littered with meaningless coincidences. Doctor Zhivago has lots of these, with characters running into people who were last seen hundreds of pages ago, for no apparent reason.

  13. Great advice. I struggle with how to use coincidences in fiction. I don't want things to seem suddenly too easy or too hard. I like the idea of using a coincidence to set up a story problem and then taking it a different direction from that point forward to create tension.

    And I think I love Cheryl's tagline for her novel too. 🙂

    Thanks for hosting, C. Lee!

  14. I enjoy a good, natural coincidence. I use coincidence in writing myself.

    Great advice from Cheryl. When I write something I'm passionate about, the story flows out of me.

  15. Good points about the proper use of coincidence in a story. It has to have the right blend of subtlety and surprise, so as not to come off as contrived. Cheryl's cover, and tagline are a winning combination!

    Julie

  16. I really like that sophisticated use of coincidence in the short story. Interesting coincidence, ha ha, but a book I just read was a also about coincidence – "She is Not Invisible" by Marcus Sedgewick. It was fantastic how coincidence was worked into the plot line!

  19. I love Chery's cover and think her advice was just perfect! I don't have coincidences in my books – or I think I don't anyway. But what if I do — what if there are things in there that are accidentally, coincidentally a coincidence? That can't be held against me, right?

  21. Such a lovely cover!
    All the talk about coincidence, made me think of serendipity. Though the two are slightly different.
    Serendipity is more "fate" driven, I would say…

  22. Hi Lee … sometimes coincidence just ruins everything .. but thankfully it's only a story .. coincidence in real life is a little trickier …

    But I like the look of Cheryl's Stained … and you have to write about what you love to write about .. otherwise it all falls flat on its face ..

    Cheers and I'm going to love this series … Hilary

  23. Very interesting points! Coincidence is a tough one, and I've seen stories where it's done quite well, and…not so well. These examples are great, and make a lot of sense.

  26. Honestly, I've never thought about coincidence. If I've used it, it was a coincidence. 🙁 I know, that's awful. Seriously, this is a great article and something to consider. Congratulations to Cheryl on your book. An interesting idea.

    • Thank you, Beverly. 🙂 I drew on my own trauma and abuse experience to write STAINED. And Lee gave us a lot to think about, wise writer that she is.

  27. Great advice from Cheryl.
    I think I've used coincidence in my writing a few times, but can't currently recall if I meant to or if it was a coincidence! teehee.

  29. me likes coincidence in omnibus movies in which you have many different stories connected by some strange coincidence

    • It's interesting how we'll tolerate some coincidences, but not others. That's why I thought Nancy Cress's article was so interesting. I think she has some of the issues nailed down.

  33. What an excellent post. I never really thought about how to use coincidences in my own writing. It made me think of a book I'm reading right now called Zebra Forest, which has a huge coincidence in it. Sometimes they can teeter on plot holes, can't they?

  35. This is a great idea for a series. I can always use good advice. 🙂 Ah, the mind, it truly can be a battlefield, can't it? One of my more recent goals is to be more mindful of what I'm thinking. Then I can redirect things along a better path. Wishing Cheryl all the best!

  36. Love Cheryl's cover and her book sounds fantastic. Great idea to share these each week! Also, your parting thought hit home with me unfortunately!

    • Aw, thank you Julie; I'm glad you like the look and sound of STAINED. (smiling) And Lee, Thank you so much for your kind words. 🙂

  39. Hey Celebrity author and quite the pro amongst pros, Lee,

    You can stop twiddling your thumbs. For yes I have arrived. Yay and gosh!

    Excellent notation from Cheryl. Oh yeah write what you love or love what you write. Or heck, just make love not war,

    It was no coincidence I visited your must-read site. Because, it's a must-read site.

    I, on the very rare occasion, accidentally have the shadow of my ex wife darken my doorway. You can tell she's crazy about me. Or just crazy. Perhaps, in the coincidence of her accidentally darkening my doorway, she will finally give me closure over what happened all those years ago. Then again, more like closure of y door she accidentally darkened, perhaps. Yes, I'm rambling and that's no a coincidence.

    As usual, your posts make me think and the help of those who get to guest on here.

    Your starstuckest fan,

    Gary

    • Ex wives are never coincidences. They're like the tide, they just keep turning up because of their nature. 🙂 Continue rambling. It's joy to read.

    • More like a flood, methinks. I've been known to ramble inanely and start talking about all sorts of weird stuff. I might even leave an incoherent, disjointed comment that has absolutely nothing to do with the post. This could set a trend. Nah, loads already leaving comments on blogs that have absolutely nothing to do with the post.

      Great post! Thanks for sharing! Following!

  40. Interesting idea. In a sense, a lot of stories have some grounding in coincidence. EG a boy-meets-girl story. They just "happen" to meet, unless they're set up by friends.

  41. Great advice! I THINK I only have one coincidence in my book, but it moves the story forward in a big way and the narrator recognizes it as some sort of act of fate. So I hope it works and doesn't make the readers roll their eyes…

  42. I agree with Cheryl. Writing what you love really allows you to let go and let the story flow from your fingers to the once-blank-screen.

    And the use of coincidence as a plot device is a smart and interesting technique.

  43. I LOVE Cheryl's cover! Great advice from her, too.

    My critique partner called me out on coincidences. I used them too much! I have to be careful not to use them to solve problems.

  45. Smart advice, Cheryl. I wrote what I wanted to read and with the values I wanted to see in a story.
    Coincidences at the end of the story just make it feel contrived and forced.