Plot, what plot?
Every story has a plot
Up and down goes the flow
That's not the only way to go
The plot that's known
Tis like a mountain
That the writer climbs up
But slice-of-life
That's a row of hills, smooth and easy
Yet why does your garden grow
With no rows at all?
A flat garden
Will never make it to fall
...
What is the slice-of-life genre?
Fact: Many fanfic writers actually write for the genre, but don't realize they are doing so. Slice-of-life is about how life affects people, as another writer who writes the genre well once told me. Slice-of-life captures the day to day life of an individual, the precious moments and how this effect them. The sub-genre are angst, fluff, friendship, family, romance. They can be themed around food, a particular job, family structure, social status, how life was during a particular time frame. On the surface, the genre is simple, but there is so very much one can do with it.
Myth: The genre is plotless. The plot type most people are familiar with is the basic plot type, where the story contains a beginning, rising action, climax, falling action and the ending. However, only some slice-of-life pieces follow this particular plot style. Mostly this plot style shows up in one-shots. There are many different plot types used with this particular genre. The basic plot is used with non-episodic works.
Plot Type 1 ~ Episodic: The first type of plot which a slice-of-life story may use is in comparison to the basic plot type's triangular mountain format a bunch of hills. The story has a beginning, rising action, climax, falling action, end, beginning based on the end, rising action, so on and so forth. We see this plot type in television dramas, though sometimes depending on the series, the plot can become more complex than simply hills. Even a novel can take on an episodic feel to the work by having each chapter be an episode in the person's life. This format however will not be used for movies, as movies don't work well with episodic works.
Plot Type 2 ~ Flashback Episodic: This particular plot is similar to episodic, but whereas the beginning of the next slice may start at the end of the previous slice of life, the beginning may start at any prior point. Also worth noting, flashback here refers to going back in the timeline, not actually using an actual flashback within a story, although sometimes an actual flashback may be used. Again, this is used with television dramas, but even novels may use this format.
Plot Type 3 Uphill Climb ~ : This particular plot type goes beginning, rising action, climax, rising action, climax, until finally the story comes to the falling action and ending.
Plot Type 4 Chaotic Climb ~ : This particular plot type goes beginning, rising action, climax, falling action, beginning, climax, and keeps going until instead of a beginning, one ends up with an end.
As one may have noticed, the plot types become more and more complex as they move along. One of the reasons people thinks slice-of-life ends up being plotless lies with the inability of the reader or viewer to identify the elements due to the elements not following the normal pattern. Add to this, the more complex the plot is, the harder to pinpoint plot elements can be for people. These four plot types, and the basic plot type also aren't the only plot types out there, but these are the four types I'm able to introduce with the Slice-of-Life genre.
Another myth for this genre is the idea that the slice-of-life genre needs to be real. However, there are slice-of-life pieces out there which are of the sci-fi and/or fantasy genre. Harry Potter for example is about the everyday life of a student at a magical school. A few may be thinking, but Harry Potter contains action, and Slice-of-Life contains no action. This is also a myth. For example, how could one capture the day to day life of a race car driver, or someone on a sports team if action wasn't involved. Sports series are a major example of slice-of-life where the action comes into play.
Slife-of-life is about capturing a particular moment, focusing on said moment and how it affects the world around said moment. Of course, this can range from an athlete's day to day preparation for their sport, to simply walking home from school. However, even something as mundane as walking home from school will not only have a plot, but also something to draw the reader in. A good slice-of-life piece will highlight things like the bug bite one gets while walking home, or the smell of the air due to the weather outside, or the places one stops.
In other words, the charm of slice-of-life lies in the detail, and capturing this detail in whatever medium one is writing. This detail includes the characters acting like themselves, but expands upon this, to include unexpected things.
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How to Write a Good Fanfic
RandomThe journey to become a better writer is not an easy one, but it is a journey well worth the task. This is even so for writers who work with fanfiction.
