So I understand the idea of the narrative arc -- who hasn't had it drilled into their heads in English classes, writing workshops, and literary analysis? Still -- I am always reminded by the comment of Canadian author Carol Shields who once humorously referred to it as the "ejaculatory" form of writing, with its tension building to climax, followed by resolution. And she proves in her own writing that such an arc is not a required structure for successful literature in her wonderful short story, "Dressing for the Carnival" -- a series of snapshots, short-short narrative moments that are loosely strung together. In each discreet moment a character experiences a transitory identity through clothing, ski tags, a bouquet of flowers, a baby buggy, fruit, and a wife's lingerie. It is the quiet repetition of similar moments, each different on the surface, but emotionally consistent underneath that leads us to a very reflective and quiet finale.
Here's a bit from the beginning:
"She never checks the weather before she dresses; her clothes are the weather, as powerful in their sunniness as the strong, muzzy early morning light pouring into the narrow street by the bus stop, warming the combed crown of her hair and fueling her with imagination. She taps a sandaled foot lightly on the pavement, waiting for the number 4 bus, no longer just Tamara, clerk-receptionist for the Youth Employment Bureau, but a woman in a yellow skirt. A passionate woman dressed in yellow. A Passionate, Vibrant Woman About To Begin Her Day. Her Life."
I have been thinking a great deal about this ambling structureless -structure because my own novel is sprawling a good deal, with lots of characters stepping in, taking a moment to reveal themselves before wandering away. It's fun ... and it might be that by the end of the novel the experience will be less about the climax (if there even is one), and more about the collective emotional experience of many evocative stories. For now it seems I am happy just to let it unravel as it will without the tyranny of the narrative arc.
And in case you've forgotten...here is the infamous arc:
