How Many Stories Are There?

Does exactly what it says on the tin. Some of the nonsense contained herein may be very loosely related to The Sisters of Mercy, but I wouldn't bet your PayPal account on it. In keeping with the internet's general theme nothing written here should be taken as Gospel: over three quarters of it is utter gibberish, and most of the forum's denizens haven't spoken to another human being face-to-face for decades. Don't worry your pretty little heads about it. Above all else, remember this: You don't have to stay forever. I will understand.
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MadameButterfly
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paint it black wrote:
MadameButterfly wrote:
James Blast wrote:Aye! me to, summat like Debbie does Dallas' Dirty Short Pants with Her Drill and Sex. :twisted:
Damnit! This is the second time I've caught you this evening!

Mr. Blast this is quite .... *words escape me at this moment*
shame, it could've been a good topic this thread, as usual is totally f**ked over

ho hum :urff:
And you jump out from being "hidden", there must be a story in that?

We know that some topics go wobble but the good ones' seem to keep their heads above water.
it's all about circles and spirals
that ongoing eternity
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Andie
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James Blast wrote:I will now edit my posts as I can't delete them, no offence meant :oops:
no offence taken James

some of us live in the real world...we can take it! :D
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
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MadameButterfly
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Burn wrote:
James Blast wrote:I will now edit my posts as I can't delete them, no offence meant :oops:
no offence taken James

some of us live in the real world...we can take it! :D
no offence taken here either! :D

my post stays undeleted as it gave me a giggle!
it's all about circles and spirals
that ongoing eternity
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James Blast
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Dark wrote:I have only revision to do. And since Ez wants SOMETHING on-topic, I have an English Lit exam next week, where I have to write 3 essays on 3 stories that I have no interest in WHATSOEVER.
I'm afraid those are the rules Korin. I had to resit my History of Design in 3rd year at art school because I thought it was Bollocks!
It wasn't and now I know what they were trying to teach me. I use a lot of it in my day to day life.
It's painful at the time but brings rewards, seriously.

regards
James
and I'm still waiting for a review off you or your Dad about that flippin' Pink Floyd CD! :evil:
"And when you start to think about death, you start to think about what's after it. And then you start hoping there is a God. For me, it's a frightening thought to go nowhere".
~ Peter Steele
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timsinister
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Calling a story or tale 'Quest' based is far too vague; it could mean anything. What aboutn the X-Files? It's kind of quest based, but in a larger whole, and Mulder never actually achieves his goal!

There's no way anyone can cram the wealth of literature into seven bleedin' categories.
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markfiend
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timsinister wrote:Calling a story or tale 'Quest' based is far too vague; it could mean anything. What aboutn the X-Files? It's kind of quest based, but in a larger whole, and Mulder never actually achieves his goal!

There's no way anyone can cram the wealth of literature into seven bleedin' categories.
It's a bit like the lists you sometimes see comparing the lives of Elvis Presley and Jesus; if you simplify far enough (and deliberately pick out similarities) of course you'll make it look like there are far fewer differences than in fact there are.

It could be argued that every story is just about The Fall and/or redemption.
The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.
—Bertrand Russell
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canon docre
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timsinister wrote:Calling a story or tale 'Quest' based is far too vague; it could mean anything. What aboutn the X-Files? It's kind of quest based, but in a larger whole, and Mulder never actually achieves his goal!

There's no way anyone can cram the wealth of literature into seven bleedin' categories.
I wouldn't necessarily agree. It s a matter of finding the common grounds of every story. Like MF put it, to simplify.

Let's start from the beginning: you have a person. This person does something, or something is done to him, so he has to react. Voilà The Quest. If said person just sits at home and waits until it's over you don't have a story.
The Quest does not necessarily need to be a physical action, it can be spiritual also. (In most movies its both: The hero, let's name him Bruce Willies overcomes the evil-doers and becomes a better human at the end = Die Hard)
The story-sheme is evident in almost every Hollywood movie. TV series are a bit different matter though. For ex. in X-files you have the overall story of Mulder "to know what's behind all this", which spans over the whole serie. It's a Quest par excellence. That he never finds out is what makes it a serie. You watch it (or even me), because you hope he'll find out at the end, hence you expect the Quest to be fulfilled.
Put their heads on f*cking pikes in front of the venue for all I care.
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Debaser
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And some say there's...

1. Supplication (in which the Supplicant must beg something from Power in authority)
2. Deliverance
3. Crime Pursued by Vengeance
4. Vengeance taken for kindred upon kindred
5. Pursuit
6. Disaster
7. Falling Prey to Cruelty of Misfortune
8. Revolt
9. Daring Enterprise
10. Abduction
11. The Enigma (temptation or a riddle)
12. Obtaining
13. Enmity of Kinsmen
14. Rivalry of Kinsmen
15. Murderous Adultery
16. Madness
17. Fatal Imprudence
18. Involuntary Crimes of Love (example: discovery that one has married one’s mother, sister, etc.)
19. Slaying of a Kinsman Unrecognized
20. Self-Sacrificing for an Ideal
21. Self-Sacrifice for Kindred
22. All Sacrificed for Passion
23. Necessity of Sacrificing Loved Ones
24. Rivalry of Superior and Inferior
25. Adultery
26. Crimes of Love
27. Discovery of the Dishonor of a Loved One
28. Obstacles to Love
29.An Enemy Loved
30. Ambition
31. Conflict with a God
32. Mistaken Jealousy
33. Erroneous Judgement
34. Remorse
35. Recovery of a Lost One
36. Loss of Loved Ones.

But me, I'm sticking to the seven, and in the end, as Aristotle noted, the plot of a story isn't just an unconcious archetype. An author may set out to write a 'quest' but in the end it's just human interests and the logic of what is possible. :urff:
Five cups of coffee just to be myself...when I'd rather be somebody else
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