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Topic : Re: Can fiction be written without a coincidence? Does every fiction has a coincidence? Is there any evidence for a fiction not having a coincidental occurring at all ? I understand by the time - selfpublishingguru.com

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coincidence: a striking occurrence of two or more events at one time apparently by mere chance (according to WordReference.com)

For me, the key idea behind coincidence is the fact that it is striking. That two people happen to be in the same busy café and end up sharing a table, thus leading to a nice conversation and friendship, is not coincidental. That these two people turn out to have been colleagues in the first year of primary school is a coincidence. That they turn out to be estranged mother and daughter who hadn't seen eachother in over twenty years is a huge coincidence.

I believe the problem with coincidences in fiction is twofold:

all it takes is one huge coincidence (poorly handled) to make the story feel forced (personally, I get really annoyed with these ones) *
accumulation of small coincidences that would blow over unnoticed if used in fewer numbers

But your question is not about what constitutes fair use of coincidences.

Can you write a story without a single one? I should think it's perfectly possible. I don't usually count how many coincidences I come across in stories I read (and a well-used small coincidence can very well go unnoticed until you start looking for them), but it's not impossible to do so.

Do notice that some genres may rely more on coincidences than others: romance, I believe, is one such because a good coincidence can bring in surprise and up the tension. Then there is mystery, where a reader may even doubt if the coincidence was in fact so, or a carefully crafted event.

Just to stress this idea, a huge coincidence can make a great novel. The Portuguese writer Eça de Queirós wrote his famous Os Maias using a huge, jarring coincidence, yet did it so well it came off almost as a natural event, something even likely to occur.


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