Just Writer-Brain Things: I Know This Plot Already

What's up fronds!

[GIF: T-rex watering potted plants]

Last night, I was watching Star Trek: Enterprise with Qiren (don't hate, we're trying to watch all of the Star Trek media in chronological order by star date), and I immediately knew where the episode was going. I was kind of annoyed, tbh. I wanted a surprise, but clearly I wasn't going to get it. It wasn't that I had seen the episode before - I remember watching Enterprise when it was on the air, but I never finished the Augments storyline for some reason - it was just that the show had gotten predictable. I could see the twist in the episode coming from miles away.

[GIF: T'Pol from Star Trek: Enterprise saying "I suppose so"]

And at first I thought, well, I've seen a lot of this show already. We were on the final season, so it wasn't like I was watching episode one and figured it all out in the first five minutes. Not to mention, a lot of sci-fi shows like this (Firefly, Doctor Who, etc.) pretty much share the same format, like how the structure of medical dramas end up being the same as well.

But then I realized that there was something more to it. It wasn't just that I figured out where the episode was going, it was that I knew the plot twist. The more I thought about it, the more I remembered having similar insights with (no spoilers) Coco, The Incredibles 2, Breaking Bad, Moana, White Collar - I weirdly had this sixth sense for TV and movies that was creeping Qiren out. Before Act 1 was over, I already had the plot figured out in my mind. It wasn't just TV and movies, though; I listen to a lot of audiobooks at work or during my commute, and they never seem to surprise me. 

It took me way longer than I'm proud of to realize that I do this because I'm a writer. Some part of my brain is constantly working behind the scenes, thinking, "Can I make a plot out of this?" or "Where have I seen this plot before?" I want to deconstruct whatever it is I'm reading or watching and know its secrets before they can properly be revealed to me. 

I guess part of it is also that I'm impatient. 

[GIF: Hand drumming its fingers]

I wish I could turn this off for once and just enjoy things the way they're meant to be enjoyed. It feels like I'm constantly "on," in this perpetual state of seeing everything as a potential manuscript, or trying to look at it the way the writer did. My writer-brain just wants a break, dammit.

But I also love the look on Qiren's face when the plot prediction I made an hour ago comes true.

What about you? Have you used your writer-brain to figure out the plot of a book, movie, or TV show? Share about it in the comments!