What is the best way to gain a deep understanding of the way

>>8581714
No. That might be one of the worst things you can do. I'd say it varies from author to author. Just study whichever ones you want as intently as you can.

>>8581737
why is it one of the worst things? Isn't literary theory the study of analyzing literature?

Probably reading some fiction books.

This video might help. It's on how the story begins with characters and how it develops from there. It's described as an arduous process.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgJ809QKmas

Just read a load of novels and you will start to see how the different ways they are structured works. Also read some plays as they are more rigidly structured especially compared with classics that are often classics because of their strange structure.
Also you can read some literary theory but probably like 1:10 ratio to fiction and try and keep it to things you have read twice already so you have your own opinions before someone else tells you theirs.

>>8581747
Because theory is too caught up in autistic academic wankery to give you the full picture. Staying as far away from academic generalizations as possible is highly recommended.

I love how some of the suggestions are anti-education.

>Just read and it will come.

>>8581766
I'm not anti-education but literary theory is total bullshit and a waste of time. You'd be better off doing in-depth readings (including secondary academic texts) on specific movements/periods/authors that you're interested in than having anything to do with "theory" in a broader sense.

>>8581777
>all literary education is theory

No, some of it is writing, dear. Don't suppose—it makes a SUcker out of People who POSE.

>>8581784
No one actually said it was you cunt. Theory is being discussed because OP specifically brought it up.

>>8581791
You seem upset.

>>8581793
Not as upset as I'm going to be after a night in jail for punching your lights out.

>>8581798
That's a theory.

>>8581714
I've read over 300 manga, and 200 fiction books. When I read fiction I guess what author is going to do, mainly because I've seen the same scenario in a different skin. I wouldn't say that I understand fiction, so its just me understanding predictability. Here is some advice I can offer. 1) Say no to skimming, I can tell what a major plot point might signal due to my knowledge, not my intellect. 2) Think as if you were the author and the character, many authors' have a sense of what they want their character to be. 3) When you understand what a character is meant to represent try thinking how they fit into the context of the story. 4) Never forget that the setting is 99% of the time a representation of something, a court has a lot of meaning in a story about a corrupt judge.

>>8581808
Copying another's style doesn't seem like a good idea.

>>8581714
Yes, read literary theory and critical theory. I recommend Literary Theory: An Introduction by Terry Eagleton as a starting point. There is a Yale course on youtube, Introduction to Theory of Literature with Paul Fry, that is very good as well. This will give you a wide sampling of perspectives and you could move on from there depending on what interests you.

>>8581737
>>8581760
>>8581777
You talk about "staying far away from academic generalizations" while dismissing the entire field of literary theory outright. I'm assuming you choose to ignore the fact that the traditional, liberal humanist view of literature is a theory of literature as well. I hope the irony is not lost on you. (Or do you not interface with the texts you read whatsoever? If you are engaging in any sort of critical assessment of a text, you are "doing theory".)

OP wants to "gain a deeper understanding of the way fiction works" and the best way to do this is read theory. "The structure that ties things together" is specifically mentioned and this is literally the objective of structuralism, yet you advise steering clear of it. Great advice. Don't listen to this misinformed anon, OP.

>>8581832
I find that a balance of study and writing is a better learning experience.