OBHWF/Plot Devices (possible duplicate)

[Ebony Elizabeth Thomas]

No: HPFGUIDX 10997

Again, this may appear as a duplicate post thanks to my AOL/MSN Hotmail 
woes.  As my post on Shipping and Other Theories took 2 1/3 days to arrive, 
I don't want this thread to sail on by before this posts.  Apologies to the 
worthy Administrators and drowing HP4GUers in advance.)

Said I wouldn't jump in unless one of my shipmates needed me...

Most of my comments are just reinforcing Cassie's.

Cassie wrote:
>---------------
>Well, there you go. I do mind cliches, even if they allow my hero to
>be happy. Like Carole said, it's perfectly possible to have your hero
>be happy in an ending that isn't a cliche, and wouldn't that be much
>better?

It's also possible to re-invent cliches in fresh and innovative ways.  I 
think that R/H is much more plausible in canon than H/G, but both *need to 
intertwine with the main plot* to work effectively.  This is my major 
problem with it.

Any good fiction writing workshop will teach you that plot=conflict.  
Without conflict, there is no plot.  Aristotle gave us many valuable 
insights on plot that are still valuable today.  These elements can be found 
throughout Western literature... and may be the unstated basis behind my 
ship's opposition to OBHWF.

WEAK PLOT

A "weak plot", as defined by Aristotle, is one that has a contrived 
mechanical ending in which outside forces step in and resolve the plot.  
Another use of unrealistic intervention is "reliance on coincidenece" to 
solve various other plot problems.

This is what one of my dusty textbooks on creative writing says about 
reliance on coincidence:

"For example, two lovers break up and marry other people.  Fifty years 
later, their respective mates dead, they meet on a cruise ship bound for 
Greece and now are free to marry.  Neither knew that the other would be on 
the cruise ship.  It's a heartwarming story, one that occasionally appears 
in publications like *The National Enquirer*.  Yes, it does happen--once in 
a million times.  But it's not the stuff of fiction that represents real 
life.  A jaundiced reader would probably say, 'Oh, come on now, I just can't 
believe this!'  (H/Hers, does that sound familiar?)

"As Mark Twain once said, 'Let miracles alone.'  Weak plot is that which is 
*unrealistic*, *unmotivated*, and *unbelievable*."

STRONG/COMPLEX PLOTS

1)  Classical version:  result from an intrinsic flaw that produces the 
hero's problem
2)  Contemporary version:  extraneous forces produce the hero's problem
(Note:  I think that Harry is a combination of the above.)
3)  Specific elements include:
--Reversals:  events occur in which the protagonist moves from bad 
situations to good ones and vice-versa
--Discoveries:  certain revelations about the events in the story lead the 
protagonist to unravel events, and in doing so he/she discovers something 
about his/her strengths/weaknesses; the protagonist moves from 
self-ignorance to self-knowledge
--Reversals and discoveries combined SHOULD produce strong emotions, such as 
pity and fear
***COMPLICATION:  suspenseful incidents that occur from the beginning of the 
story up to a crucial point--a turning point following by a change from 
apparent success to adversity.
--Catastrophe:  produced by a reversal, it is the lowest point of action in 
the story and shows the protagonist in his or her greatest despair.
--Recognition scene:  a key scene in which the protagonist understands the 
relationship of his/her character flaw to the problem and understands his or 
her moral responsibility and relationship to the universe.
--Resolution:  that which extends from the turning point of the story

There are also thematic W plots, simple plots, episodic plots, hourglass 
plots, circle plots, etc.

Good fiction writing is all about "raising the stakes" at strategic points.  
In all my training as a creative writer, I can't see how the OBHWF scenario 
contributes to any stakes-raising.  ("Oh, great!" said Harry, holding 
Ginny's hand and beaming at Ron and Hermione.  "I knew you two liked each 
other.")  It may be smile-inducing, but it does nothing to raise the stakes.

On the other hand, I humbly suggest that H/H causes an immediate 
stakes-raising in canon--which is why most non-H/H fans--even so-called 
no-shippers--are disquieted by the very idea of it.  (To be sure, there are 
plenty of H/H fics that read:  "Oh, great!" said Ron, holding Lavender's 
hand and beaming at Harry and Hermione.  "I knew you two liked each other."  
Those make me smile, but are not very interesting either.)

I agree with the R/Hers on this crucial point:  any glimmer of H/H 
developing in canon would cause more of a rift in the Trio than R/H or 
OBHWF.

As JKR has chosen to focus on the theme of friendship rather than romance up 
to this point, I can't see her writing romance for romance's sake.  I do see 
her possibly setting up romance to be used as a plot device as applied to 
her theme.

I don't believe Jo's mission is to make us comfortable.  H/H shipper though 
I am, and as much as I'd like to see it happen post-canon, I honestly think 
that if Hermione doesn't return Ron's feelings, there's going to be a moment 
or two of cringing in future books.

Most of my theories pertain to post-canon scenarios and shipping in general. 
  (Post-it note to no-shippers:  most adult sailors are not matching up 
fourteen year olds.)  However, my chats with my friend Jim and re-reading 
canon (I'm back to SS again today) have brought me to the following 
conclusion:  the Friendship will be tested to its very limits.

After all, a very old and wise Book tells me that in order to separate the 
gold from the dross, the refiner's fire must burn hot.  Anything that can't 
withstand the fire isn't worth having anyway.

Cassie wrote:
>The opposition to the "Happy Family" idea is pretty much precisely
>what Penny and Carole have already leaped into the fray and stated --
>that it would be an overly simplistic, and disingenuous-feeling
>conclusion. Everybody Gets A Weasley. I could cope with R/H, or H/G,
>but I find the concept of ending the series with the two couples
>simply too insipid-- or, as Kathy put it, cheesy. I have a romantic
>streak, and to an extent I like sap, but that would be too much for
>me.

Has anyone ever considered the fact that the One Big Happy Weasley Family 
might not be the best solution for everyone involved?  I'd much rather see 
no ship at all.  (It's funny that H/H and R/H are so diametrically opposed 
that both ships would rather see Ron and Harry slashed than for the other 
ship to prevail!  What?)

Cassie wrote:
>It's got nothing to do with being an H/H shipper, either.

I think it has more to do with the reasons stated above.  Again, I do feel 
that we're all reading the books quite differently.  As a creative 
writer-in-training, I like to try to get inside the character's psyches... 
and in a way, the author's.  Learning by apprenticeship.

When all is said and done, I agree with John the H/H Cabin Boy.  Let's mix 
up the gene pool... if there's a gene pool at all in the end.

Back to my cabin laboratory and my experiment, where a version of a possible 
future One Big Happy Weasley Family are my test subjects.  Currently, 
they're all submerged in a vat of sudsy dishwater, but that may change.  :-)

Best,

Ebony

<>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <>< <><
Ebony AKA AngieJ
(H/H Special Agent, First Class)

"'We start by recruiting members,' said Hermione happily.  'I thought two 
Sickles to join--that buys a badge--and the proceeds can fund our leaflet 
campaign.  You're treasurer, Ron--I've got you a collecting tin 
upstairs--and Harry, you're secretary, so you might want to write down 
everything I'm saying now, as a record of our first meeting.'

"There was a pause in which Hermione beamed at the pair of them, and Harry 
sat, torn between exasperation at Hermione and amusement at the look on 
Ron's face."

--from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, p. 225, 1st Amer. ed.

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