On Storytelling

Freddie deBoer is an opinionated man. It's a coinflip if his posts are going to hit my "hell yes!" synapse or my "wait, what?" nerve, but his writing is always worth a read. Here's a link to his Substack, and to his most recent novel (if you want the ebook go check the major retailers. It's on Kobo Plus, as well.

He recently published a critical look at Stranger Things, specifically looking at the first half of season 5. If you're in to reading comment sections, this one might be a doozy. Online opinions on pop culture phenomenon bring out the passion in folks.

Now that the whole Stranger Things saga is complete, Freddie put out a follow-up to the first article, titled "All Kidding Aside, I Find the Creative Arc of Stranger Things to Be Quite Sad". Disclosure: I liked the first season of Stranger Things, and somewhere around my office I have a copy of the Stranger Things Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set. But between season 1 and season 2, my kids were born, and my time and desire to watch prestige TV declined. I don't have a dog in the fight over the particular criticisms on the show. However, Freddie makes solid points on storytelling that bear repeating.

(For the record I really hate the term “worldbuilding” at this point, with its suggestion that authors have a duty to ponderously build settings and backgrounds that are filled-in and complex for their own sake, rather than simply serving the story, as should always be the goal.)

Yes. Shout this from the heavens, yes! I get that constructing lore and language and trade routes can be fun and enjoyable hobbies. Less absolutely can be more in terms of background, and sometimes a Toyota-style 'just in time' slather of verisimulitude serve the story better than spending months with timelines and character biographies.

In fiction, you have to add and prune characters as best suits the story; too many characters leads to dividing attention in such a way that leaves all of them underserved. It’s a simple fact that some characters have to function as plot devices and be discarded when no longer useful. Otherwise, you’re left with baggy, distended narratives that feel confused and rushed.

Current trends lean towards catering to online culture, where fans are kings and authors pay attention to every jot and tiddle of criticism. It's good to pull away frmo that, to remember that it's about story, not about memes and likes. I get that's hard; suiting the story sounds great but doesn't pay rent. But kowtowing to mob whim doesn't guarantee housing either. I'd ra