Comments on: The Reels of My Mind http://www.hittingthebooks.com/2006/08/19/the-reels-of-my-mind/ Reading...Writing...Life Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:34:58 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Carla http://www.hittingthebooks.com/2006/08/19/the-reels-of-my-mind/comment-page-1/#comment-619 Carla Sun, 20 Aug 2006 09:13:30 +0000 http://www.hittingthebooks.com/2006/08/19/the-reels-of-my-mind/#comment-619 <p>Sometimes a couple of sentences of telling does the job of five pages of showing - Kipling's short stories are brilliant for giving a thumbnail sketch of a character or setting in a handful of words. E.g. his description of The Worm in <i>His Wedded Wife</i>, "He objected to whist, cut the cloth at billiards, sang out of tune, kept very much to himself, and wrote to his Mamma and sisters at home." That gives me a picture of The Worm in one sentence and I'm ready to be told a story about him. I once heard a radio adaptation of the same story where the dramatist laboriously 'showed' all these things in ten minutes of utter tedium.</p> <p>However, telling is a no-no, they say, regardless of how effective it is. So you're doing the right thing in paring back the details. I'd agree with Bernita, only the details that make the plot move or say something about the character are needed. If those are in, the reader can probably fill in the rest if they want to.</p> Sometimes a couple of sentences of telling does the job of five pages of showing – Kipling’s short stories are brilliant for giving a thumbnail sketch of a character or setting in a handful of words. E.g. his description of The Worm in His Wedded Wife, “He objected to whist, cut the cloth at billiards, sang out of tune, kept very much to himself, and wrote to his Mamma and sisters at home.” That gives me a picture of The Worm in one sentence and I’m ready to be told a story about him. I once heard a radio adaptation of the same story where the dramatist laboriously ’showed’ all these things in ten minutes of utter tedium.

However, telling is a no-no, they say, regardless of how effective it is. So you’re doing the right thing in paring back the details. I’d agree with Bernita, only the details that make the plot move or say something about the character are needed. If those are in, the reader can probably fill in the rest if they want to.

]]> By: Bernita http://www.hittingthebooks.com/2006/08/19/the-reels-of-my-mind/comment-page-1/#comment-617 Bernita Sat, 19 Aug 2006 13:19:20 +0000 http://www.hittingthebooks.com/2006/08/19/the-reels-of-my-mind/#comment-617 <p>Problem is sometimes caused by basic creative writing classes. Students are given a descriptive exercise to detail a room, a person, a scene. Can cause a habit that's hard to break. I approach details by asking if they contribute to the movement of the plot, significantly explain a character, are they essential?</p> Problem is sometimes caused by basic creative writing classes. Students are given a descriptive exercise to detail a room, a person, a scene. Can cause a habit that’s hard to break. I approach details by asking if they contribute to the movement of the plot, significantly explain a character, are they essential?

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