Thread: The Mystery of Writing

Is there a such thing as too much character thought? If restraints are advised, how do you achieve that "deep character" and still, leave room for that compelling story?

When do you think "tell" is better then show?

When is it best to leave room for imagination, and when is it best to not?

Finally, what do you do when you don't know how to describe something properly? Getting or achieving a effect like a feeling, imagining a scene, exc.

I am not asking for a quote from a book, a lecture from a writing article you read, I want opinions from your own experiences.

These questions are impossibly broad -- and the best you can hope for are broad, generalizing answers. It's very difficult to answer things like this in a meaningful way with no examples -- because all of them depend on context.

If you're just starting out, then I understand that you are looking for answers -- perhaps out of frustration. But I think you'll have to answer these for yourself -- by writing -- then at some point others will judge whether or not you're doing them successfully.

Of course, in addition to writing, reading and seeing how others have done it will help a great deal -- but in the end, I don't think anyone can crack this mystery for you.

I read, years ago, while learning to write, that you need to "read like a writer." What this means is instead of reading a book for entertainment or knowledge, to read and absorb the way the author writes. It's a very difficult thing to explain so I'll give you an example of how I do it.

This is an exert from Water For Elephants (a fantastic novel that you should read for entertainment )
"'Wake up Mr. Jankowski. You're having a bad dream.' My eyes snap open. Where am I? Oh, hell and damnation.
'I wasn't dreaming,' I protest.
'Well, you were talking in your sleep, sure enough,' says the nurse. It's the nice black girl again. Why do I have such trouble remembering her name? 'Something about feeding stars to cats. Now don't you go fretting about those cats-I'm sure they got fed, even if it was after you woke up. Now why did they go and put these on you?' she muses, ripping open my Velcro wrist restraints. 'You didn't try to run off now, did you?'
'No. I had the audacity to complain about that pablum they feed us.' I glance sideways at her. 'And then my plate sort of slid off the table.'"

Now, there's quite a bit of good "advice" in these paragraphs. A lot of good "advice" on dialogue. Something this book will teach you if you decide to read it. When I read this, I'm taking in how the author is moving from thought to thought. I'll take notes, try it on my own a few times, and then move on. This novel is written in first person, which can sometimes make it easier to write, but it doesn't give you any insight into multiple characters. You're generally limited to one, sometimes two, and maybe even more if you're really daring. Also, this quote shows a great array of "show & tell," if you will. There is enough dialogue that is telling you what's going on. And there is enough showing going on as well. Finding these balances takes a lot of practice. I mean, a lot.

I agree with JosephB, you have to learn this on your own. But there are tools that can help you. The internet is a great way to start. Try looking up "writing techniques" and "genres." You'd be surprised the amount of help you'll find. After you've done that, I would suggest the library. Read anything that interests you as well as things that don't interest you, because they'll teach you a lot as well.

If you'd like some help editing some of your work and maybe gaining some insight, feel free to message me on here at any time.

Good luck and happy writing!

Originally Posted by Johnathanrs

Is there a such thing as too much character thought? If restraints are advised, how do you achieve that "deep character" and still, leave room for that compelling story?

Depends on the quantity of thought. Too much of anything is bad. If done within reason, I don't see a problem with it.

When do you think "tell" is better then show?

Whenever I feel like telling something, I tell it. It's not lazy, it's not wrong, and it should not be treated like a pariah because a few people on Internet forums get their panties in a twist about it. Every book since the dawn of time has telling in it. I will give up writing in the morning if you can find me a single novel written in the last 2,000 years which hasn't.

When is it best to leave room for imagination, and when is it best to not?

There's one thing you need to know when you're writing: If you can figure out why you're doing something, so can your reader. They don't need to be led by the hand. Give them what's necessary and leave the rest up to them.

Finally, what do you do when you don't know how to describe something properly? Getting or achieving a effect like a feeling, imagining a scene, exc.

I don't have advice for this that isn't generic. If I got stuck, I would open a book and read another author's description, hoping it would give me an idea for mine.

The best way to figure out the answers to all your questions is to hand a writing sample to a trusted friend and ask them to read it in your presence. When they wrinkle their brow in consternation, ask them what's wrong. They can give you immediate feedback when your writing is unclear for any reason. Use those areas to focus on initially. You'll get better with practice.

A final bit of advice: Spread the wealth (but not too much!). Five or six trusted friends (and they must be literate) can bear the burden of your learning curve much easier than one or two. Good luck!

Originally Posted by KarlR

The best way to figure out the answers to all your questions is to hand a writing sample to a trusted friend and ask them to read it in your presence. When they wrinkle their brow in consternation, ask them what's wrong. They can give you immediate feedback when your writing is unclear for any reason. Use those areas to focus on initially. You'll get better with practice.

I like you already KarlR! Just an addition to this, try reading what you write aloud, to yourself, a friend or a group of friends. It sounds kind of scary, but after you do it you'll fall in love with how much help it is to your work.

These are fun questions, and not things I've given a lot of conscious thought to. (thanks for bringing them to the top of the pot).

Originally Posted by Johnathanrs

Is there a such thing as too much character thought? If restraints are advised, how do you achieve that "deep character" and still, leave room for that compelling story?

I think "too much thought" is when you let the rest of the writing slow or stop, or you start to disconnect from the process because of the aspect you're thinking out. This can happen with character, world, plot, symbols or anything else. I don't think it's bad to put a huge amount of thought into characters, but don't let it hijack your mind.

When do you think "tell" is better then show?

...

When is it best to leave room for imagination, and when is it best to not?

These come down to priorities between 3 ways of giving information: direct (tell), observation (show), infer (imagine). I think the biggest decision-maker is the value of the information and how quickly you want the reader to get it.

"He stood in front of the amusement park gates. He thought them such gaudy and shallow places. Flashes of broken childhood memories, dark rooms and strange masks, swirled around in his mind, while his fingers twitched and tapped against the pistol in his pocket."

Direct information: he thinks amusement parks are gaudy and shallow. A simple and unimportant opinion that wouldn't be worth the drama needed to show this opinion.
Observation: He's at the amusement park, and he's probably going to shoot people.
Inference: Something terrible happened in his childhood, possibly involving an amusement park. What happened? Who knows. Something harsh enough to make him want to kill people anyway.

Finally, what do you do when you don't know how to describe something properly? Getting or achieving a effect like a feeling, imagining a scene, exc.

I try to do it! The best thing to do is to read your writing out loud to people who you know will point at specific things and ask questions that you don't already have answers to. Reading it out loud is important because you can hear things in the writing that you may not be able to read in the writing.