VanderMeer's Wonderbook, Chapter Four: Narrative Design (Continued)

The concept of contamination in fiction can be difficult to pin down, as it is a term that can apply to many different specifics.  What, then, does define a contamination?  It is when a subtle element begins to invade the narrative and slowly changes it.  That might mean, for example, a pattern of images, or it might be a tone in the narration, or a focus on new elements in the narrative, or any number of other possibilities.  The key is that these elements bring something new to the story or scene, changing it in some way, and that they emerge slowly.

To use the example of imagery, suppose that a first person narrator describes a person as "the devil."  In the context of the story, this image is odd, but not so odd that a single usage would be out of place.  But, as the scene continues, more images of hell, demons, infernos, devilishness, etc, are used in reference to this character.  The image takes over the scene, altering it.  Now, this is not necessarily a great use of the tactic, though it might work in the right context, but the extreme is often easier to use as an example than the subtle. 

A contamination happens slowly and should be something that the reader doesn't recognize at first.  It invades the story on the margins, where no one notices.  For a writer, it is the same type of thing.  It can be that the contamination occurs because a particular moment in the story seemed right, or an idea just keeps popping back to mind.  Or, it might just be a way to respond when stuck at a particular point in the progress of the story.  It is always useful to recognize that no one ever gets written into a corner, because the nature of a story is to change.  In those moments, when it seems unclear where to go, it can be most useful to just get to work by looking at what little things are already beginning to invade the story.

In any piece of writing, the goal is to communicate, obviously, and for a piece of fiction, that is not any different.  A writer sets out with a goal, at least in general, and wants to provide some form of experience and perhaps even insight to the reader.  If such purposes are predetermined before the act of writing, as is, at least in part, the case much of the time, how can it be useful to allow a contamination to alter the story?  For me, part of the answer to that is in the fact that a story is not truly predetermined, or if it is, the predetermination does not always come from my conscious awareness of what is in the story.  As well, I tend to think that the true nature of what I want to provide a reader is not always encased in the specific details, but in the process of reading the work, in the experience that evoked by it.  In so far as I am seeking to cultivate those aspects of my fiction, it is important for me to allow that spontaneity and the energy that it brings, since those can communicate to the reader.  Beyond which, if I am working from a deeper sense of what is to be communicated, I believe that the choice of the contaminant and how it is utilized will be in service of that goal, even if I feel, consciously, that it is a random thought.

Of course, a contaminant can be a decision by a writer.  In some cases it may be important to shift the focus of a story.  Suppose that a third person narrator shows the thoughts of a different character for a moment.  This is not all that odd, and it might be unnoticed, but as the scene continues, the narrator, over a period of time, begins to shift towards more of that character's perspective.  When, at the end of the scene, it becomes clear that this individual will be central to coming events, the shift is clarified.  Thus, the narrator has moved the reader, subtly, to see this character as important, before the information was actually revealed.  Done well, this can be so subtle that the reader might barely notice, or it may be a more obvious shift, that is intended to communicate, as well, that the narrator already realized the coming events.  

As well, it may be a tactic that is used in revising a story that feels flat.  Looking over a story, it may become obvious that a small element at the beginning, one that felt singular to a moment in the story, could be used to make the work stronger.  It may be clear, as well, that other moments already exist in the story where this element might be invoked once again.  The use of the device again opens up the story and adds depth by shifting the focus.  Suppose that it is a story about a woman who decides she wants to become pregnant, as she recognizes that she won't be able to have a child for much longer.  This is a fairly cliche story, and looking it over, it becomes clear that it is not working.  However, at some moment early on, their is a moment in the story where the woman expresses anger over a dog that is barking all night.  Now, this is just a moment in the story, but, their are a few moments with other animals in the story as well.  Not major events, but a cat in a shop window, and a policeman with a horse.  With each of these, and maybe adding in a few others, the character is shown expressing some form of anger at the animal.  By allowing this element to contaminate the story, it begins to undermine the reader's sense that this woman is nurturing.  It may be that other elements are added to enhance this as well.  The narrator's desired outcome seems to conflict, now, with who she is seen to be in the story, giving it depth and pathos.  The contamination has allowed the story to flourish in a new way, one that still explores the same questions, but now has a degree of further depth and a more unique energy.  

A contaminant allows the insertion of change by a writer.  It lets small elements become important enough to alter what is happening within a story.  It might be that this is confined to a single scene, or contained in a smaller portion of the story, or the change might infest the story to it's end.  It may be of almost any variety, and may not even be noticed at first.  But, over time, as it continues to spread, the reader's experience is impacted and the story's meaning is altered.  Contaminants, like the previously discussed interruption, are a way of allowing a story to come into contact with new elements and change in response.