Originally published at: Famous authors' plots explained | Boing Boing
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Frank Herbert
Boy-man with godlike ambitions and resources, surrounded by plots within plots. Essentially is Elon Musk.
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Are there more than seven plots? I was unaware.
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Michael Crichton: It turns out that using fantastical new technologies to create a historical-era-themed amusement park was not the brilliant business plan that the financiers assumed it would be.
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I wanna go to “Wildfire” park!
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Kurt Vonnegut Jr.: Human beings are sick jokes and everything is connected in ridiculous ways.
[ETA: alternate version, “Inexplicably, many world events revolve around a failed science fiction writer.”]
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Did Hemingway ever actually write in second person?
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Raymond Carver: As long as I don’t get drunk before payday, everything will turn out fine, probably. (pours drink)
That’s also Raymond Carver 
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Nice deeper cut there.
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thomas hardy: Lies, lies, misery, lies, suicide, rape, and corn prices.
People nearby became worried when I burst out laughing.
marcel proust: The only straight person in Paris has a series of very long lunches.
marcel proust: The only straight person who is straight but not quite sure of his origins or who he really is, is in Paris both for personal reasons but also because he lives there with his cat who will never really return the love that is given, but that is of no matter, because it is almost lunchtime and I recall the last several lunches I enjoyed, all of which featured arugula, which is a kind of roughage I do not normally enjoy but which made the lunches themselves all the more enjoyable; all the more so because of the company I kept during those lunches, several of which were not actually with people, but only my memories of them as people about whom I cared very much; if only because as lunch companions they made the perfect counterpoint to the fish consommé that I continue to enjoy and indeed to recall with some fondness as having a fine flavor; now, where was I, ah yes, Paris.
FTFY
ETA: Wow, there’s some damn funny stuff on that site.
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We should collectively compile a set of these for the BB community’s favourite authors. First challenge: Cory.
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In the near future (Insert cool-sounding disruptive technology) is widespread, but it all goes wrong because some people are assholes.
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Disappointed the DFW one didn’t have a footnote.
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Cory Doctorow
Provides instructions to form a dystopia, his plots tend to come true to life after a few years.
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My grade 11 English teacher was a Thomas Hardy devotee, he belonged to some sort of Thomas Hardy society, and thanks to him we had the pleasure to discover the man’s works.
Lies, lies, misery, lies, suicide, rape, and corn prices.
That’s pretty much on-the-nose.
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The kids are ok. In a dystopian future, they’re even better.
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Carson McCullers: Here is a lonely person. And here is another. In fact everyone is lonely.
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Also Kurt Vonnegut, Jr: Some tragic things happened, but they were kind of funny. Some funny things happened, but they were kind of tragic. So it goes.
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And they’re all eating salad at the bad cafe.
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