Weren’t we always told in kindergarten that it’s not polite to point? While not pointing with our stubby little fingers, what we are about to do is learn how to pin-point whose eyes we’re looking out of as we write a scene.
This sounds relatively easy, so why is it so hard? Technique, my friends. It all has to do with the craft of writing.
SEFFW starts out explaining that some sources claim there are as many as twenty-six different flavors of point of view. This is what I would call “technique”. Know when to use ‘em. Know when hold ‘em, Know when to walk away. (Okay, it’s not exactly the words to Kenny Roger’s “The Gambler”, but somehow it seemed to fit.) I may touch only slightly on the techniques SEFFW mentions, but I’d rather dwell on these three basic approaches.
1. First person: Using the “I” voice in the narrative.
2. Omniscient: Not written inside anyone’s head.
3. Third person: Basically, this is simply substituting “he” or “she” for “I”.
The reason we will only dwell on these three, is because any variation is best left to the professionals. Here, we only talk about the FUNdamentals. And twenty-six variations of POV doesn’t sound FUN at all to me! It sounds like college-level work. Now, pass me a graham cracker while I get back to the basics.
FIRST PERSON
An advantage to first person is that it provides your readers intimacy with the viewpoint character. What happens when you first meet somebody? All you know about them is their outward appearance, right? But, when they start talking, they draw you in. You learn things about that person.
The disadvantage to this is that the only things you learn about that person is what they want you to know. All of you think you know me pretty well. But not all of you know everything about me. For instance, some of you know I enjoy singing, mostly because it’s a common interest we share. Others know I like to fish, something I rarely shared with anybody until I scored a piece in Chicken Soup For The Fisherman’s Soul. Would it surprise most of you that I’m a ventriloquist? Probably. I don’t recall many conversations where puppetry was the topic. This is how first person works. Your character only tells about themselves what the reader needs to know.
I hope your character is interesting. If I’m going to listen to them talk for three hundred pages, they’d better have something to say. And although they can be eccentric and weird, if I don’t have something I can identify with, I won’t stick around.
When writing with one view-point character, we only get to know the one character intimately. That may work for your story. Or, you may choose to give a point of view to several characters. Be careful when doing this. I, as the reader, need to have someone to identify with. If I’m supposed to get to know five characters, I’ll probably latch on to only one of them, and that may not be the one you would have chosen to tell the story. Many excellent books are written that way-- by professionals. For now, it best to focus on one main character, even if we hear from the others. It should be that one character’s story. This will help focus the story-line…and keep me from becoming confused…which happens enough, thank you very much.
OMNISCIENT
Omni= all or everywhere. Picture a camera on a boom. The director has it move around to take in a scene. The classics used to be written this way. SEFFW says omniscient point of view in its mildest form does have its uses. In their example, the fact that we’re in nobody’s head for several paragraphs builds a sort of tension, “like ominous background music throughout the novel.” p. 46. You get a certain perspective that can’t be attained through anyone’s POV.
Caution: When using omniscient, you may gain perspective, but you lose intimacy.
So, to recap thus far. First person creates intimacy but loses perspective. Omniscient creates perspective, but loses intimacy.
THIRD PERSON
“If the first person invites intimacy and the omniscient narrator allows for perspective, the third person strikes a balance between the two.” –p.47
Okay, here the authors slipped into college talk. They say, “Actually, it can strike any number of balances--it’s the attempt to define precisely these various degrees of intimacy versus perspective that leads the obsessive to describe twenty-six different flavors of point of view. It’s much less complicated simply to treat the third-person point of view as a continuum, running from narrative intimacy to narrative distance.” –p. 47
I need a recess.
I can see what they’re saying, that it’s like a slide-ruler, where you can get as close or back off depending on the effect you want to have on your readers. Ten percent intimacy, ninety percent perspective. Slide that ruler in the next paragraph to draw in the intimacy by going deeper into the character’s POV. Keep sliding until we are not only in their head, we’ve become them.
CREATING INTIMACY
Language:
To create intimacy in third person, we’re told to use the language of the POV character. This doesn’t necessarily mean to use “ain’t” or drop a “g” in those “ing”s. On p. 49 the authors give a good example of this. (Note: In the old book a different example is given on p. 42. It’s a crass snippet that may offend some of you. I’m glad it’s not included in the new version. Thus, I’ll include the new example in its entirety.)
June bugs growl like bulldozers in the corners of Big Lucien Letourneau’s slanty old piazza and the old twisty tree-sized lilac bushes put off a smell. Big Lucien is nowhere around tonight. Norman is not around. Little Lucien is squatted with his back against the clapboards, his eyes closed, listening to the tantes (aunts) whisper in French just inside the screen door. . .something about the gas stove, he surmises. From Carolyn Chute’s Letourneau’s Used Auto Parts
Little Lucien’s view of life is presented in this paragraph, June bugs sound like bulldozers and lilacs put off a “smell”.
To see what the above passage does when one backs off from the intimacy, I’ll rewrite it, removing Little Lucien’s language:
June bugs buzz in the corners of Big Lucien Letourneau’s slanty old piazza and one can smell the old lilac bushes . Big Lucien is nowhere around tonight. Norman is not around. Little Lucien is squatted with his back against the clapboards, his eyes closed, listening to the tantes (aunts) whisper in French just inside the screen door. . .probably something about the gas stove.
It’s very subtle, but you can see in the first example, that the world is colored with more of Little Lucien’s POV. Which draws us closer to him. Which creates more intimacy. I’m not sure I want to know Little Lucien that well if he thinks lilacs “smell”. But, I digress.
“When you use your characters’ language in your descriptions, you not only convey the sights and sounds around them, you also convey their history, their education, and the culture they live in, without any additional effort.” P. 50.
Emotions:
Intimacy can be created easily with emotions. Take Little Lucien’s view of June bugs and lilac bushes. Both are apparently nuisances to him. Lilacs are my favorite flower. So I would describe it this way:
The scent of the large lilac bushes drifted toward Kathy and wrapped around her like a hug.
Take that, Little Lucien! Although I do agree with you about June bugs. Man, are they noisy!
“Allowing your characters’ emotions to steep into your descriptions also lets you use description more freely.” P. 50. Sometimes when we describe, it stops the flow of writing. That’s when your critique group cries out collectively: “TELLING!” But throw in those emotions, and now it’s interesting. If we allow our scenes to flow through our characters, kind of like a filter, it draws in the reader, creating an intimacy that you don’t see when reading, say, The Denver Post.
What can narrative intimacy do for the story? It can “convey a wide range of emotions, including some so subtle that your viewpoint character may not even be aware of them.” P. 51. WHOA! Did you read that? I missed that in my first read through of this chapter. When we put emotions into our writing, it can go so deep that even our characters aren’t aware that they’re showing them to us. Wish I had an example to share, but I’m not sure that my writing can pull that off, at least on a conscious level.
Another excellent reason for narrative intimacy, is if we only convey emotions through dialogue or interior monologue, we only see the upper level emotions: anger, fear, lust. This can be weary to the reader. SEFFW had a client who did just this in his writing. “He had to learn to allow his viewpoint character’s mood to color the narration before he could capture ennui, anticipation, contentment, and a host of subtler feelings.” P. 51. (Excuse me while I go look up “ennui”. . .a state of dissatisfaction and weariness. . .Well, why didn’t they just say that?) Putting emotions in the narrative allows us to go deeper. I could have said in my lilac example, “The scent of the lilac bushes drifted toward Kathy.” But, by including the “hug” I’ve portrayed contentment, possibly a nuance of memory that even Kathy isn’t aware of. Hmm.
NARRATIVE DISTANCE
There are times when we don’t want such intimacy for our readers. SEFFW lists four, although I’m sure there are several reasons to create narrative distance.
1. When the focus should be on the action of the scene. In this case, keep the narrative voice more impersonal.
2. When writing from a minor character’s POV. There’s no need to round out this character and make him appear more important than he really is. This can throw off a reader, who has invested several paragraphs getting to know this guy, only to never see him again. (On a side note, we can still get some characterization in quickly with our minor characters. I did this in a story where a helicopter pilot was shuttling people to view the aftermath of a hurricane. He wore a cap that said “POW/MIA Never forget”. Quick and subtle, and hopefully powerful.)
3. When the description is beyond the POV character’s vocabulary or state of mind.
4. When the POV character is a psychotic killer. SEFFW suggests “you might want to write his scenes using a more neutral, distant voice. After all, you want to engage your readers, not drive them to distraction.” P. 52. Apparently the authors have never read a Brandilyn Collins suspense. She digs into the villain’s POV and does it very effectively. <shiver>
HEAD-HOPPING
Even when creating narrative distance, it’s best to stay in one character’s POV. In SEFFW’s first example from Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove, the author is in everybody’s head, hopping from one to the other. P. 40. (P. 29 first edition.) We don’t have time to get to know just one character. Intimacy is broken. All novels are written with a warm body in mind, be it a human, alien, or animal. Okay, some alien’s aren’t warm, but go with me on this. The whole reason for the reader to pick up a novel is to read and identify on some level with the characters. They may think they just want to read a good western, or sci-fi, but in truth, it’s all about relationship--relationship between the reader and your characters.
Some authors can pull off switching POVs in a scene. I only include this here in the same way a kindergarten teacher would say, “Someday, children, you will learn to read and write.” I’m saying to you, “Someday, new writers, you will learn how to switch POVs.” Suffice it to say, that the mature writers do this by artistically adjusting the narrative distance, so that the reader doesn’t invest themselves emotionally in one character only to be thrown into the head of another. Technique, my friends. It all has to do with the craft of writing.
When we’re writing a story with multiple POVs and when introducing a new scene, it’s best to make it clear who the POV character is right away--usually in the first sentence, but that’s a guideline more than a rule. Just be conscious not to create confusion for the reader. When switching POVs without jerking the reader from one character to another, end the scene, insert a linespace and begin the new scene. Many successful authors are doing this. It’s okay.
A lot of the craft is portrayed in that most FUNdamental technique: Point of View. It shows who your characters are by conveying emotions, history, and world view. In the words of SEFFW, it’s a “powerful tool. Master it.”
FUNcersizes:
1. Read Chapter 3 if you haven’t already done so.
2. Go to my website, www.KathleenEKovach.com and click the “On Writing” button. I have an article there called “What You See Is What You Get”. It’s one I wrote about POV and it was included in the ACFW newsletter several months ago. Read through it, even though it’s mostly a hands-on exercise for writer’s groups. It gives very basic information about the pure POV. (Plus, you get to read my most ambitious work to date, “Blood on the Cover.”)
3. Check your wip.
a. How much language, world view, or emotion of your POV character are you putting into your narrative?
b. If you are attempting to switch POVs within a scene--which I go on record as saying this isn’t a good idea if you’re just starting out--scrutinize the emotional distance flowing in and out of the scene. Stay distant when first introducing character #1, draw closer for intimacy, than back off before introducing character #2.
Comment if you’re having trouble, or if you want to share a major breakthrough. I only know if you’re reading these articles if you pop in here once in awhile to tell me. <hint>
One last thing: I’d like to keep the critiquing at a minimum and only address the particular subject at hand. We’re sharing such small scenes that an effective critique isn’t really possible. Thanks, guys, for understanding.
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Characterization and Exposition
My, these are big words. I can see Mr. Rogers, entering his little house, taking off his jacket and replacing it with his sweater. He looks at the camera and says, "Can you spell characterization?" Um…no. Not without my spell-check.
How is a young author supposed to know what to do with these two words? They sound scary. First, let me give you some simple definitions.
Characterization – The process of developing and portraying a character. act.vtheatre.net/dict.html
Exposition – The first act of a dramatic structure, in which the main conflict and characters are "exposed" or revealed. Also, any information about the characters, conflict or world of the play. www.playwriting101.com/glossary
It's apropos, then, for SEFFW to put these two together. When introducing a new character, how much exposition should we use to reveal information about that character? The book lists the problems thus:
1. Ye age old issue of "Show vs. Tell".
2. Ye other age old issue of stopping the story cold. "It's a form of telling that is almost certain to make your readers aware that you the writer are hard at work." (p. 24, 26) ...OUCH!
However, a way to do it is to add "a few concrete, idiomatic details to jump-start your readers' imaginations."
Rather than saying:
The elderly rich woman entered the party.
How about:
The elderly woman wore a fox stole, expensive jewelry, and a nose tweaked in a permanent upward position as she entered the party.
This tells the reader that not only is she rich, she's probably a snob. This, obviously would be from another character's POV. However, in using this little bit of exposition (exposing this woman's character), it's not intrusive, and it gives the reader something to build on. Did I mention what kind of dress she had on? She's elderly, so her hair is probably gray, but what kind of hairstyle does she have? I'll bet your imaginations dressed her differently than mine did, but that's okay, because it lets you portray her in a way that's comfortable for you.
SEFFW goes on to say, "But when it comes to your characters' personalities, it's much more engaging to have these emerge from character action, reaction, interior monologue, and dialogue than from description." (p. 25) The fun thing is, using my example above, taking this elderly rich woman and furthering her personality by having her interact with another character.
Consider this:
Stacy shook Mrs. Farnsworthy's hand. "How do you do, my dear," the woman said with a thick Boston accent. "I'm afraid you'll have to step closer. You see, I broke my glasses and can only see out of the bottom lens of my reading spectacles." Stacy complied. "My, you're a pretty girl."
Through this interaction, we see that Mrs. Farnsworthy isn't a snob at all, she's just near-sighted. But, with the little bit I gave you at the beginning of the scene--the exposition of her character--you could see her clearly before I launched into dialogue.
Now, I could give a narrative summary of Stacy at this point, but it's more effective to sketch her out thus:
Stacy blushed. How she wanted to please the matronly woman. Afterall, she had her sights set on Nathan Farnsworthy, and the woman standing before her could someday become her mother-in-law.
I've gone into interior thought with Stacy to give the reader an insight into why Stacy blushed. I still, however, haven't let the reader know whether Stacy is a scheming socialite or if she is truly in love with the young Mr. Farnsworthy. I can slowly leak this information, especially if this is a mystery, or I can continue with Nathan walking into the room and either through dialogue or more interior thought, let the reader know exactly what Stacy's motives are. If I had given a narrative summary on Stacy, I would have told the reader what they would later discover for themselves through Stacy's dialogue and actions. Cool, huh?
SEFFW says to be careful "when you sum up your characters, you risk defining them to the point that they're boxed in by the characterization with no room to grow." (p.25) Maybe Stacy is a conniving socialite, and if I describe her like that, that's the box she'd be in for the rest of the story. What if she actually fell in love with Nathan? I could do more summary, which would bog down the story, or I could reveal that by showing it. But would the reader believe her if they already have her in that box? SEFFW suggests to "allow your readers to get to know your characters gradually, each reader will interpret them in his or her own way, thus getting a deeper sense of who your characters are than you could ever convey in a summary." (p.26)
Flashback
or
What I learned from Back to the Future II
Has anyone seen Back to the Future II? If I were reading the story in novel form, I'd come away with whip-lash. The story starts out in the present, then it whips to the future, then it whips to the past, then back and forth between all three...ping-ping-ping. Great Scott! This is often what happens in books heavy with flashbacks and flash forwards. While it works in movie form, (yes, my name is Kathy and I'm a Back-to-the-Futureaholic,) I'd be very frustrated if I found it in a book.
SEFFW suggests that if your story gets too bogged down with the past, let some of the past go. Some of it may not be needed, or you may be able to bring it out someway in the present. (p. 28)
We call this an info dump. I don't know about you, but my tiny brain can only process so much at a time. If I need to know the history of a character, it's best to give only the details I need as a reader in that particular scene, and most of it in showing form. (That way the book doesn't land on the opposite wall.)
Establishing a Character
SEFFW suggests three ways this can be accomplished gradually and unobtrusively.
1. Through another POV
2. Through dialogue and action
3. Through the character's POV (p. 29)
Remember the interaction between Stacy and Mrs. Farnsworthy? We thought we knew the elderly woman through Stacy's POV, but we learned more about her through the dialogue. Here's part 2 of that scene:
Nathan sauntered into the room and Stacy's gaze latched onto him, as if he were a lighthouse in a turbulent sea.
"Ah, there's my Nathan," the woman purred. "Some women think they can get close to me by dating my son." Mrs. Farnsworthy's near-sighted glare pinned Stacy to the wall. "They never succeed."
And you thought Mrs. Farnsworthy was just a nice old woman with astigmatism. Hmm, maybe she is...Perhaps there's more to this woman than meets Stacy's POV. We can bring that out by possibly using a short flashback to reveal some history, or by further interaction of the characters. Expose a little each time the reader turns a page.
And what about Nathan? All we know of the man is that he saunters and that his mother dotes on him. SEFFW warns that exposition can be obtrusive even if given in dialogue. What if Mrs. Farnsworthy told Stacy:
"Funny thing about my Nathan. His father never loved him, and that's why I've taken all the responsibility on my shoulders to make him the man he should become. I enrolled him in the best school, where he graduated top of his class in business management. Now, we can get rid of his father and he can take over the family business."
WHOA! Major dumping here. Be careful not to have your characters say anything that's not normal conversation. If you really want your reader to know Nathan's past, it must be given in a different, and much slower way.
Establishing a New Culture
A person isn't the only thing you may have to characterize. The same techniques can be used for exposing a new culture, i.e. a fantasy world, a little known geographical culture, someone's job, etc. In my example, I'm exposing the reader to the inside life of the wealthy. How do I paint that world for the reader? I could:
1. Have Stacy glance around the room, noting the genuine crystal chandelier and the gold-gilded draperies--showing the world through Stacy's POV.
2. Have Mrs. Farnsworthy adjust her diamond necklace repeatedly so it will catch the light just so--showing the world through action.
2. Have the sauntering Nathan discuss the dreary parties and how they spent way too much on food--showing the world through dialogue.
Backdrop can be a character all it's own. When we paint the world for our readers, we're introducing them to something with a pulse. The courtroom must be alive with drama. The futuristic world must breathe on it's own. And Mrs. Farnsworthy's party must physically crush Stacy with it's decadence.
Here are two more definitions. I hope after reading about characterization and exposition, you can fully understand what they are and how to use them.
Characterization - …the method used by a writer to develop a character. The method includes (1) showing the character's appearance, (2) displaying the character's actions, (3) revealing the character's thoughts, (4) letting the character speak, and (5) getting the reactions of others. classes.berklee.edu/llanday/resources/terms.htm
Exposition - "...a narrative device, often used at the beginning of a work, that provides necessary background information about the characters and their circumstances. Exposition explains what has gone on before, the relationships between characters, the development of a theme, and the introduction of a conflict." (Meyer). www.cocc.edu/lisal/literaryterms/d_h.htm
FUNcercizes:
1. Read chapter 2 if you haven't already.
2. Look at your wip:
a. Is there long snatches of history that can be better explained through dialogue, (inner or outer)?
b. Are there places where, especially when introducing a new character, you tend to tell the reader what they look like, rather than letting them figure it out on their own through dialogue or another character's POV?
c. In your backdrop are you telling too much or not enough? How can you show the culture in which your character lives without long exposition?
3. If you don't have a wip started, take my character, Nathan Farnsworthy. Knowing what you do about him thus far through the POVs of his mother and Stacy, go into his POV and develop his character the way you think it should go. You can use his inner dialogue, outer dialogue, or even take a stab at a flashback. But be careful not to expose his character too much. This is only the first scene, you know.
Use the comment feature after this article and let me know how you're doing. We are much too quiet, and I don't know if you're working hard or hardly working! Hey, that cliche works there, doesn't it?
___________________
For further definitions of characterization and exposition go to the following links:
Characterization:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2003-33,GGLD:en&oi=defmore&defl=en&q=define:characterization
Exposition:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2003-33,GGLD:en&oi=defmore&defl=en&q=define:exposition
How is a young author supposed to know what to do with these two words? They sound scary. First, let me give you some simple definitions.
Characterization – The process of developing and portraying a character. act.vtheatre.net/dict.html
Exposition – The first act of a dramatic structure, in which the main conflict and characters are "exposed" or revealed. Also, any information about the characters, conflict or world of the play. www.playwriting101.com/glossary
It's apropos, then, for SEFFW to put these two together. When introducing a new character, how much exposition should we use to reveal information about that character? The book lists the problems thus:
1. Ye age old issue of "Show vs. Tell".
2. Ye other age old issue of stopping the story cold. "It's a form of telling that is almost certain to make your readers aware that you the writer are hard at work." (p. 24, 26) ...OUCH!
However, a way to do it is to add "a few concrete, idiomatic details to jump-start your readers' imaginations."
Rather than saying:
The elderly rich woman entered the party.
How about:
The elderly woman wore a fox stole, expensive jewelry, and a nose tweaked in a permanent upward position as she entered the party.
This tells the reader that not only is she rich, she's probably a snob. This, obviously would be from another character's POV. However, in using this little bit of exposition (exposing this woman's character), it's not intrusive, and it gives the reader something to build on. Did I mention what kind of dress she had on? She's elderly, so her hair is probably gray, but what kind of hairstyle does she have? I'll bet your imaginations dressed her differently than mine did, but that's okay, because it lets you portray her in a way that's comfortable for you.
SEFFW goes on to say, "But when it comes to your characters' personalities, it's much more engaging to have these emerge from character action, reaction, interior monologue, and dialogue than from description." (p. 25) The fun thing is, using my example above, taking this elderly rich woman and furthering her personality by having her interact with another character.
Consider this:
Stacy shook Mrs. Farnsworthy's hand. "How do you do, my dear," the woman said with a thick Boston accent. "I'm afraid you'll have to step closer. You see, I broke my glasses and can only see out of the bottom lens of my reading spectacles." Stacy complied. "My, you're a pretty girl."
Through this interaction, we see that Mrs. Farnsworthy isn't a snob at all, she's just near-sighted. But, with the little bit I gave you at the beginning of the scene--the exposition of her character--you could see her clearly before I launched into dialogue.
Now, I could give a narrative summary of Stacy at this point, but it's more effective to sketch her out thus:
Stacy blushed. How she wanted to please the matronly woman. Afterall, she had her sights set on Nathan Farnsworthy, and the woman standing before her could someday become her mother-in-law.
I've gone into interior thought with Stacy to give the reader an insight into why Stacy blushed. I still, however, haven't let the reader know whether Stacy is a scheming socialite or if she is truly in love with the young Mr. Farnsworthy. I can slowly leak this information, especially if this is a mystery, or I can continue with Nathan walking into the room and either through dialogue or more interior thought, let the reader know exactly what Stacy's motives are. If I had given a narrative summary on Stacy, I would have told the reader what they would later discover for themselves through Stacy's dialogue and actions. Cool, huh?
SEFFW says to be careful "when you sum up your characters, you risk defining them to the point that they're boxed in by the characterization with no room to grow." (p.25) Maybe Stacy is a conniving socialite, and if I describe her like that, that's the box she'd be in for the rest of the story. What if she actually fell in love with Nathan? I could do more summary, which would bog down the story, or I could reveal that by showing it. But would the reader believe her if they already have her in that box? SEFFW suggests to "allow your readers to get to know your characters gradually, each reader will interpret them in his or her own way, thus getting a deeper sense of who your characters are than you could ever convey in a summary." (p.26)
Flashback
or
What I learned from Back to the Future II
Has anyone seen Back to the Future II? If I were reading the story in novel form, I'd come away with whip-lash. The story starts out in the present, then it whips to the future, then it whips to the past, then back and forth between all three...ping-ping-ping. Great Scott! This is often what happens in books heavy with flashbacks and flash forwards. While it works in movie form, (yes, my name is Kathy and I'm a Back-to-the-Futureaholic,) I'd be very frustrated if I found it in a book.
SEFFW suggests that if your story gets too bogged down with the past, let some of the past go. Some of it may not be needed, or you may be able to bring it out someway in the present. (p. 28)
We call this an info dump. I don't know about you, but my tiny brain can only process so much at a time. If I need to know the history of a character, it's best to give only the details I need as a reader in that particular scene, and most of it in showing form. (That way the book doesn't land on the opposite wall.)
Establishing a Character
SEFFW suggests three ways this can be accomplished gradually and unobtrusively.
1. Through another POV
2. Through dialogue and action
3. Through the character's POV (p. 29)
Remember the interaction between Stacy and Mrs. Farnsworthy? We thought we knew the elderly woman through Stacy's POV, but we learned more about her through the dialogue. Here's part 2 of that scene:
Nathan sauntered into the room and Stacy's gaze latched onto him, as if he were a lighthouse in a turbulent sea.
"Ah, there's my Nathan," the woman purred. "Some women think they can get close to me by dating my son." Mrs. Farnsworthy's near-sighted glare pinned Stacy to the wall. "They never succeed."
And you thought Mrs. Farnsworthy was just a nice old woman with astigmatism. Hmm, maybe she is...Perhaps there's more to this woman than meets Stacy's POV. We can bring that out by possibly using a short flashback to reveal some history, or by further interaction of the characters. Expose a little each time the reader turns a page.
And what about Nathan? All we know of the man is that he saunters and that his mother dotes on him. SEFFW warns that exposition can be obtrusive even if given in dialogue. What if Mrs. Farnsworthy told Stacy:
"Funny thing about my Nathan. His father never loved him, and that's why I've taken all the responsibility on my shoulders to make him the man he should become. I enrolled him in the best school, where he graduated top of his class in business management. Now, we can get rid of his father and he can take over the family business."
WHOA! Major dumping here. Be careful not to have your characters say anything that's not normal conversation. If you really want your reader to know Nathan's past, it must be given in a different, and much slower way.
Establishing a New Culture
A person isn't the only thing you may have to characterize. The same techniques can be used for exposing a new culture, i.e. a fantasy world, a little known geographical culture, someone's job, etc. In my example, I'm exposing the reader to the inside life of the wealthy. How do I paint that world for the reader? I could:
1. Have Stacy glance around the room, noting the genuine crystal chandelier and the gold-gilded draperies--showing the world through Stacy's POV.
2. Have Mrs. Farnsworthy adjust her diamond necklace repeatedly so it will catch the light just so--showing the world through action.
2. Have the sauntering Nathan discuss the dreary parties and how they spent way too much on food--showing the world through dialogue.
Backdrop can be a character all it's own. When we paint the world for our readers, we're introducing them to something with a pulse. The courtroom must be alive with drama. The futuristic world must breathe on it's own. And Mrs. Farnsworthy's party must physically crush Stacy with it's decadence.
Here are two more definitions. I hope after reading about characterization and exposition, you can fully understand what they are and how to use them.
Characterization - …the method used by a writer to develop a character. The method includes (1) showing the character's appearance, (2) displaying the character's actions, (3) revealing the character's thoughts, (4) letting the character speak, and (5) getting the reactions of others. classes.berklee.edu/llanday/resources/terms.htm
Exposition - "...a narrative device, often used at the beginning of a work, that provides necessary background information about the characters and their circumstances. Exposition explains what has gone on before, the relationships between characters, the development of a theme, and the introduction of a conflict." (Meyer). www.cocc.edu/lisal/literaryterms/d_h.htm
FUNcercizes:
1. Read chapter 2 if you haven't already.
2. Look at your wip:
a. Is there long snatches of history that can be better explained through dialogue, (inner or outer)?
b. Are there places where, especially when introducing a new character, you tend to tell the reader what they look like, rather than letting them figure it out on their own through dialogue or another character's POV?
c. In your backdrop are you telling too much or not enough? How can you show the culture in which your character lives without long exposition?
3. If you don't have a wip started, take my character, Nathan Farnsworthy. Knowing what you do about him thus far through the POVs of his mother and Stacy, go into his POV and develop his character the way you think it should go. You can use his inner dialogue, outer dialogue, or even take a stab at a flashback. But be careful not to expose his character too much. This is only the first scene, you know.
Use the comment feature after this article and let me know how you're doing. We are much too quiet, and I don't know if you're working hard or hardly working! Hey, that cliche works there, doesn't it?
___________________
For further definitions of characterization and exposition go to the following links:
Characterization:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2003-33,GGLD:en&oi=defmore&defl=en&q=define:characterization
Exposition:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLD,GGLD:2003-33,GGLD:en&oi=defmore&defl=en&q=define:exposition
Monday, September 26, 2005
Show and Tell
First of all, read "The Excitement is Building" on this blog by scrolling down or clicking the link in the archives. This gives the ground rules so we can keep things orderly. It also gives instructions on how to join Fiction FUN if you haven't already. Now, here we go!
Heavenly Father, please be with each member here, help us hone our craft so we can present our writing ministry in a professional manner. We want to give you our best. I pray against the evil one who would try to throw things in our way as we go through this study. And I ask that as we learn and put into practice these things that can be rather dry, that you help us maintain the level of fun as the title suggests. Help us to enjoy each other and relax. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
SHOW AND TELL
Scenes
Following our Kindergarten theme, how appropriate that our first lesson is "show and tell". I loved show and tell in school, mostly because I had all the attention of the entire class. Guess some things never change. This time around, however, the attention is on our scenes. Are we showing or are we telling? First, what is a scene?
According to The Complete Guide to Editing Your Fiction by Michael Seidman, the story line, or the linear action of your piece, is made up of scenes chosen to bring your characters from their beginning to a resolution. "It's a timeline, a record of events caused by and causing other events." My translation: Each scene should feed on the scene before it. If it doesn't move the story along, it must go. Axed. Deleted. Outta there.And that's usually your favorite scene in the book. Save it in a separate folder—mine is labeled "Outtakes", and use it in another story.
Seidman further explains what scenes are:
1.Describes or defines the action
2.Continues the evolution of the character
3.Adds ambiance and tone (putting the reader there, in the story)
4.Creates tension (a need to turn the page)
In our book, Self-Editing For Fiction Writers, (henceforth and forever known as SEFFW,) the authors started out with an example from The Great Gatsby. (BTW, Robert Redford was so totally HOT in that movie…but I digress.) When shown what was happening in the first example, it read rather dry. The second example shows how it appeared in F. Scott Fitzgerald's story. What a difference! I had to go back and read the narrative version because I so didn't get the same experience. SEFFW explains the difference: "The first version is a secondhand report. The second is an immediate scene."
SEFFW describes scenes thus:
1.They usually have settings, someplace the reader can picture
2.They contain some action, something that happens.
They also say that scenes are events that are seen as they happen. A flashback is the same principle. They show events as they unfold, even though they unfolded in the past.
Do you like graham crackers? I sure did in Kindergarten. Couldn't wait for snack time...
The large room came alive with happy squeals as each class filed in for their snacks. Once settled on the painted wooden picnic bench, just my size, I picked up the square dessert, my mouth watering just thinking of the sweet, crumbly goodness that was about to hit my tongue. Upon the first crunch, I knew this graham cracker was probably the best I'd ever tasted. I rolled it around in my mouth, chewing until it was nothing but goo, then swallowed it down with ice cold milk. It all made a path down my throat, and I felt the cool sensation inside my warm little body. After it splashed into my tummy, I started the whole process over again.
Writing a scene, or series of scenes, is like eating a graham cracker. You don't feel the cool sensation of the cracker and milk sliding down your throat until you pick it up and put it in your mouth. You set the scene, placing your reader in your character's skin, and then pick up the cracker and anticipate it.
If you haven't read it already, please go to pg 9, (pg 4 in the older version), and read the two paragraphs that tells about when the SEFFW editors worked on a novel featuring a law firm. In essence, the writer introduced three people in the first chapter by putting their job interviews in narrative summary, telling her readers the job description, the associates' background, and why the firm hired them. But she didn't set the scene. Where were they? What did the room look like? What were they feeling? Who was giving the interview, anyway? In the rewrite, after answering all these questions in a genuine scene, "her readers got a much better feel for who the new associates were and a glimpse of the senior partners' humor and good nature. The book was off to a much more engaging start."
Narrative
Does narrative have a place in modern fiction? You betcha! However, not as much as it had in the past. SEFFW states that because of the "influence of movies and television, readers today have become accustomed to seeing a story as a series of immediate scenes." Drat the boob tube! No longer can we take page after page, expounding in our purple prose the beautiful scene in which we are about to plunge our reader.
Neither are we allowed to clip from immediate scene to immediate scene, expecting our reader to keep up. SEFFW says this type of writing is like jogging on railroad ties. Love that! Therefore, we need to transition our readers into the next scene, and often that can be done with the narrative voice.
According to SEFFW, the purposes for narrative are:
1.To vary rhythm and texture, (give the reader a break, especially if you tend to write brief, intense scenes.)
2.To give continuity on a larger scale, (use narrative to fill in spaces of time rather than several scenes spanning time.)
3.To cut down on repetitive action, (a hero participates in several races—put some in narrative to keep from boring the reader.)
4.To show less important scenes, (say there's a minor event leading up to a key scene—narrate the first event so that when the important scene happens, it will seem more immediate in contrast.)
R.U.E.
So, back to showing…If you want your readers to be involved, RESIST THE URGE TO EXPLAIN, (R.U.E.) Don't tell the reader that your heroine is depressed, show them in action or dialogue. And be careful when you do show it in dialogue, not to further tell, just in case your reader didn't get it the first time. As in:
"Pass that half-gallon of ice cream this way, and hold the bowl," Kathy said after her tenth rejection of the year. She was depressed and didn't care who knew it.
SEFFW, reminds us that "show, don't tell," isn't a hard-and-fast rule. There are times when telling "will create more engagement than showing." They conclude with this: "…when you show your story rather than tell it, you treat you readers with respect. And that respect makes it easier for you to draw them into the world you've created."
FUN Work
(isn't that an oxymoron?)
1. Read Chapter 1, "Show and Tell" in SEFFW if you haven't already.
2. Do the exercises. (Stop groaning, they're easy.)
3. Consider your wip (work in progress). Print out a scene or chapter.
4. Take a highlighter and mark all instances of telling.
a. Are there large blocks of yellow? If so, rewrite them to create a scene. Remember your setting; put the reader in your character's skin.
b. Maybe there's hardly any yellow. Are you bouncing the reader from scene to scene without allowing them to breathe? Either add narrative, or change some of your scenes to help it flow better.
5. Use a different highlighter and mark where you've told how your character feels outside of the dialogue. Are there ways to show it instead of tell it. Watch for instances where the character's emotions comes through in dialogue, and then it is further explained.
When you comment, discuss your wip (or create a scene just for this project) in regards to:
1. How you set a particular scene, (placing the reader in the character's skin.)
2. How you showed emotion in dialogue or action.
3. Have you axed a scene that didn't move the story along? If so, do you need chocolate?
If you need help with these things, that's what we're here for. Don't be shy. You may paste part of your story. Just please keep it brief, no more than a page.
Thanks all, for agreeing to be my "test" class. I've never done this before, so I appreciate any constructive comments sent privately to kracklinprosie@logonco.net.
Love you all!
Kathy
Michael Seidman, The Complete Guide to Editing Your Fiction, (Writers Digest Books, 2000), 40
Renni Browne and Dave King, Self-Editing For Fiction Writers, 2nd Edition, (Harper Collins Publishers, Inc., 2004) 7-9, 12-14,19
Heavenly Father, please be with each member here, help us hone our craft so we can present our writing ministry in a professional manner. We want to give you our best. I pray against the evil one who would try to throw things in our way as we go through this study. And I ask that as we learn and put into practice these things that can be rather dry, that you help us maintain the level of fun as the title suggests. Help us to enjoy each other and relax. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
SHOW AND TELL
Scenes
Following our Kindergarten theme, how appropriate that our first lesson is "show and tell". I loved show and tell in school, mostly because I had all the attention of the entire class. Guess some things never change. This time around, however, the attention is on our scenes. Are we showing or are we telling? First, what is a scene?
According to The Complete Guide to Editing Your Fiction by Michael Seidman, the story line, or the linear action of your piece, is made up of scenes chosen to bring your characters from their beginning to a resolution. "It's a timeline, a record of events caused by and causing other events." My translation: Each scene should feed on the scene before it. If it doesn't move the story along, it must go. Axed. Deleted. Outta there.
Seidman further explains what scenes are:
1.Describes or defines the action
2.Continues the evolution of the character
3.Adds ambiance and tone (putting the reader there, in the story)
4.Creates tension (a need to turn the page)
In our book, Self-Editing For Fiction Writers, (henceforth and forever known as SEFFW,) the authors started out with an example from The Great Gatsby. (BTW, Robert Redford was so totally HOT in that movie…but I digress.) When shown what was happening in the first example, it read rather dry. The second example shows how it appeared in F. Scott Fitzgerald's story. What a difference! I had to go back and read the narrative version because I so didn't get the same experience. SEFFW explains the difference: "The first version is a secondhand report. The second is an immediate scene."
SEFFW describes scenes thus:
1.They usually have settings, someplace the reader can picture
2.They contain some action, something that happens.
They also say that scenes are events that are seen as they happen. A flashback is the same principle. They show events as they unfold, even though they unfolded in the past.
Do you like graham crackers? I sure did in Kindergarten. Couldn't wait for snack time...
The large room came alive with happy squeals as each class filed in for their snacks. Once settled on the painted wooden picnic bench, just my size, I picked up the square dessert, my mouth watering just thinking of the sweet, crumbly goodness that was about to hit my tongue. Upon the first crunch, I knew this graham cracker was probably the best I'd ever tasted. I rolled it around in my mouth, chewing until it was nothing but goo, then swallowed it down with ice cold milk. It all made a path down my throat, and I felt the cool sensation inside my warm little body. After it splashed into my tummy, I started the whole process over again.
Writing a scene, or series of scenes, is like eating a graham cracker. You don't feel the cool sensation of the cracker and milk sliding down your throat until you pick it up and put it in your mouth. You set the scene, placing your reader in your character's skin, and then pick up the cracker and anticipate it.
If you haven't read it already, please go to pg 9, (pg 4 in the older version), and read the two paragraphs that tells about when the SEFFW editors worked on a novel featuring a law firm. In essence, the writer introduced three people in the first chapter by putting their job interviews in narrative summary, telling her readers the job description, the associates' background, and why the firm hired them. But she didn't set the scene. Where were they? What did the room look like? What were they feeling? Who was giving the interview, anyway? In the rewrite, after answering all these questions in a genuine scene, "her readers got a much better feel for who the new associates were and a glimpse of the senior partners' humor and good nature. The book was off to a much more engaging start."
Narrative
Does narrative have a place in modern fiction? You betcha! However, not as much as it had in the past. SEFFW states that because of the "influence of movies and television, readers today have become accustomed to seeing a story as a series of immediate scenes." Drat the boob tube! No longer can we take page after page, expounding in our purple prose the beautiful scene in which we are about to plunge our reader.
Neither are we allowed to clip from immediate scene to immediate scene, expecting our reader to keep up. SEFFW says this type of writing is like jogging on railroad ties. Love that! Therefore, we need to transition our readers into the next scene, and often that can be done with the narrative voice.
According to SEFFW, the purposes for narrative are:
1.To vary rhythm and texture, (give the reader a break, especially if you tend to write brief, intense scenes.)
2.To give continuity on a larger scale, (use narrative to fill in spaces of time rather than several scenes spanning time.)
3.To cut down on repetitive action, (a hero participates in several races—put some in narrative to keep from boring the reader.)
4.To show less important scenes, (say there's a minor event leading up to a key scene—narrate the first event so that when the important scene happens, it will seem more immediate in contrast.)
R.U.E.
So, back to showing…If you want your readers to be involved, RESIST THE URGE TO EXPLAIN, (R.U.E.) Don't tell the reader that your heroine is depressed, show them in action or dialogue. And be careful when you do show it in dialogue, not to further tell, just in case your reader didn't get it the first time. As in:
"Pass that half-gallon of ice cream this way, and hold the bowl," Kathy said after her tenth rejection of the year. She was depressed and didn't care who knew it.
SEFFW, reminds us that "show, don't tell," isn't a hard-and-fast rule. There are times when telling "will create more engagement than showing." They conclude with this: "…when you show your story rather than tell it, you treat you readers with respect. And that respect makes it easier for you to draw them into the world you've created."
FUN Work
(isn't that an oxymoron?)
1. Read Chapter 1, "Show and Tell" in SEFFW if you haven't already.
2. Do the exercises. (Stop groaning, they're easy.)
3. Consider your wip (work in progress). Print out a scene or chapter.
4. Take a highlighter and mark all instances of telling.
a. Are there large blocks of yellow? If so, rewrite them to create a scene. Remember your setting; put the reader in your character's skin.
b. Maybe there's hardly any yellow. Are you bouncing the reader from scene to scene without allowing them to breathe? Either add narrative, or change some of your scenes to help it flow better.
5. Use a different highlighter and mark where you've told how your character feels outside of the dialogue. Are there ways to show it instead of tell it. Watch for instances where the character's emotions comes through in dialogue, and then it is further explained.
When you comment, discuss your wip (or create a scene just for this project) in regards to:
1. How you set a particular scene, (placing the reader in the character's skin.)
2. How you showed emotion in dialogue or action.
3. Have you axed a scene that didn't move the story along? If so, do you need chocolate?
If you need help with these things, that's what we're here for. Don't be shy. You may paste part of your story. Just please keep it brief, no more than a page.
Thanks all, for agreeing to be my "test" class. I've never done this before, so I appreciate any constructive comments sent privately to kracklinprosie@logonco.net.
Love you all!
Kathy
Michael Seidman, The Complete Guide to Editing Your Fiction, (Writers Digest Books, 2000), 40
Renni Browne and Dave King, Self-Editing For Fiction Writers, 2nd Edition, (Harper Collins Publishers, Inc., 2004) 7-9, 12-14,19
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
WELCOME!
Hi Gang!
Welcome to Fiction FUN(damentals). Learning the craft of writing can be tedious at times, and often the rules ruin the playtime. Remember kindergarten? All that coloring and story time? The Play Dough? Those shoebox-sized cardboard bricks we’d make houses out of and the boys would come along and kick them down? Ah, what kinder, gentler time. But, we had rules. Don’t color on your neighbor’s paper. Be quiet during story time. Don’t stick the Play Dough up nose—or up anyone else’s nose. Don’t beat up the boys after they kick down your house.
Writing is playtime for me. I’m sure it’s the same for you. But if we want to graduate to First Grade, we’ve got to play by the rules. It’s my desire to make those rules FUN for you.
Here’s my disclaimer: I’m not a teacher and I’m still new to this writing-for-a-career thing myself. So use this as a jumping-off place. And one more rule: DON'T FORGET TO HAVE FUN!
Welcome to Fiction FUN(damentals). Learning the craft of writing can be tedious at times, and often the rules ruin the playtime. Remember kindergarten? All that coloring and story time? The Play Dough? Those shoebox-sized cardboard bricks we’d make houses out of and the boys would come along and kick them down? Ah, what kinder, gentler time. But, we had rules. Don’t color on your neighbor’s paper. Be quiet during story time. Don’t stick the Play Dough up nose—or up anyone else’s nose. Don’t beat up the boys after they kick down your house.
Writing is playtime for me. I’m sure it’s the same for you. But if we want to graduate to First Grade, we’ve got to play by the rules. It’s my desire to make those rules FUN for you.
Here’s my disclaimer: I’m not a teacher and I’m still new to this writing-for-a-career thing myself. So use this as a jumping-off place. And one more rule: DON'T FORGET TO HAVE FUN!
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