The Clumping Theory
Have you ever noticed how things seem to occur in clumps?
In the book world, these clumps are called hot trends. Like wizards, vampires, chick lit.
In life, it's more the little things.
Yesterday, I got a haircut. Three or four people I email with also either got their hair cut yesterday or within a day or two either way and had friends who were also getting haircuts in this same timeframe. None of us had mentioned it to each other before.
I've also heard this phenomenon called global consciousness or group consciousness.
Have you experienced this or noticed it happening to others or in a different way?
And how would you handle this kind of thing in fiction? I don't know if it could work. Maybe the readers would think it was too coincidental and would never happen the way we wrote it.
Or maybe we could write about a group who was studying it. Hmmm . . . maybe that will become my next WIP.
Don't steal it :)
In the book world, these clumps are called hot trends. Like wizards, vampires, chick lit.
In life, it's more the little things.
Yesterday, I got a haircut. Three or four people I email with also either got their hair cut yesterday or within a day or two either way and had friends who were also getting haircuts in this same timeframe. None of us had mentioned it to each other before.
I've also heard this phenomenon called global consciousness or group consciousness.
Have you experienced this or noticed it happening to others or in a different way?
And how would you handle this kind of thing in fiction? I don't know if it could work. Maybe the readers would think it was too coincidental and would never happen the way we wrote it.
Or maybe we could write about a group who was studying it. Hmmm . . . maybe that will become my next WIP.
Don't steal it :)
Comments
But you're right, in a book, you'd have to do a good job of setting it up.
Helen
Straight From Hel
Elspeth
In a story? Hmmm. Maybe diverse people with nothing in common having the same dream at 12:01 a.m. on a Tuesday?
Terry & Cassandra - Terry, your haircut counts, too. And food ... once we went to a potluck get together where everyone was to bring something - didn't matter what. Everyone brought something different - but it was all from the same deli.
Elspeth, Marisa & Laura - I think you've hit on the only way it could work - by many people doing the same oddball thing, or the only thing that would cause something horrific to occur.
Great theory. I think of it as serendipity.
Might be too much coincidence in a novel unless you work it as a premise.