Mike Reeves-McMillan

I happen to enjoy cooking shows, which is why I read this article on one chef’s theory of food.

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Mike Reeves-McMillan

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I happen to enjoy cooking shows, which is why I read this article on one chef’s theory of food. But I ended up wondering if it could be applied to writing.

Basically, he’s saying: find the underlying “formal pattern” of a dish and translate it into different ingredients. Classic dishes are classic because they work reliably. Take a classic and deconstruct it; what are its parts? Now, what can you substitute for those parts?

I’ve heard Brandon Sanderson remark on the Writing Excuses podcast that a buddy-cop movie has essentially the same underlying structure as a romance. He often refers to stories that have no overt reference to sports as “underdog sports” stories: outsider joins group of losers, they learn to accept the outsider and are inspired to win.

So, could I write a heist novel where the project isn’t a heist, but an engineering challenge? Or a mystery novel where the mystery isn’t a murder, but a scientific (or historical, or archaeological) puzzle? (I’m sure that’s been done.) What other ways could we use classic structures with new ingredients?

http://www.wired.com/2016/07/chef-david-chang-on-deliciousness/

Comments

4 responses to “I happen to enjoy cooking shows, which is why I read this article on one chef’s theory of food.”

  1. Mike Reeves-McMillan Avatar
    Mike Reeves-McMillan

    I’ve heard about that structure before, I think, but not seen it so clearly explained. It’s not the kind of approach we usually see in Western stories (you wouldn’t introduce new, apparently unrelated, material so late), so yes, it would be fresh and interesting.

    Reply
  2. Mike Reeves-McMillan Avatar
    Mike Reeves-McMillan

    I’ve heard about that structure before, I think, but not seen it so clearly explained. It’s not the kind of approach we usually see in Western stories (you wouldn’t introduce new, apparently unrelated, material so late), so yes, it would be fresh and interesting.

    Reply
  3. Josh Roby Avatar
    Josh Roby

    A whole bunch of Star Trek is essentially murder mysteries reskinned as strange space encounters.

    Reply
  4. Josh Roby Avatar
    Josh Roby

    A whole bunch of Star Trek is essentially murder mysteries reskinned as strange space encounters.

    Reply

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