(Plot+Characters)*Voice^2=Literature?

[Kuruharan]

My AP English 12 teacher is somewhat of a mathemetician when it comes to literature and it really bugs me. For her, a good story comes from the Five Act Formula (she doesn't really call it this) with an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Add a protagonist, conflict, and antagonist, a few side characters (better if it includes a pretty woman), throw in a pinch of what my teacher likes to call "narrative voice" which includes tone, diction, syntax, and word choice. Foreshadowing and flashbacks give it some zest, too. And voila! Without even trying, you have plugged and chugged a New York bestseller! Funny, I had always considered writing to be an art rather than a algebra formula.

I think the (or a) secret to the art is the setting of the stage for a story and how the author links all these elements together in pursuit of this goal. This is not an easy challenge, as several threads on the Downs on the subject of crappy fantasy attest. Sure, one can plug and chug all they want (and likely as not, sell books too) but that does not make it worthwhile. All of the elements you mentioned I believe are tools in the quest to help “realize” the story, but they are not ends in themselves. Writing the story can follow some accustomed forms in utilizing these tools, but bringing the story to life is the art that does not fit into a formula.

For whatever reason, Tolkien succeeds while many do not.