~Hakurei Shrine~ > Patchouli's Scarlet Library
Welcome to PSL: Hatate's Writer's Lounge ~ Rules, info and general discussion!
capt. h:
Hm... I actually never thought about when a style is appropriate and when it isn't. That would be useful to know.
Alfred F. Jones:
Aaah, thank you, Iced. I was wondering how exactly to put it when I said "I don't quite agree with everything it says", and you hit the nail on the head.
--- Quote from: Iced Fairy on June 10, 2012, 07:31:32 PM ---This rubs me the wrong way. It's like the Powerthirst announcer screaming about how wordy and dramatic and AWESOME your writing will become. He should have stuck to simple examples, not over dramatized to make his point. It feeds into so many other bad habits of fanfiction writers.
--- End quote ---
Yes, exactly; I can see this being useful when I want to drag out a scene, but not much else. That said, I still think that writers who rely too much on thought verbs will be the ones who benefit from this challenge most.
Tengukami:
--- Quote from: Iced Fairy on June 10, 2012, 08:01:03 PM ---Why not show how it's supposed to be used in simple sentences? Why not explain where the technique is best used?
--- End quote ---
Because it's Chuck Palahniuk. Have you read him? It's sorta his thing to have this fast-paced, clangy style. This is the guy who wrote Fight Club, after all.
I'm also not seeing where he said this was some magic bullet; like the one and only answer to making writing better. It's a tool, plain and simple. And in this case - showing instead of telling - he's absolutely right. His examples are a bit overwrought, but generally speaking yes, a writer should be painting a picture of what's going on rather than simply telling the reader what's going on inside a character. Compare "Jack furrowed his brow, cleared his throat and began to tap his left finger on the counter, casting a glance out the window from time to time while his coffee remained untouched." to "Jack sat nervously in the diner booth." Showing instead of telling is a pretty basic tool, and Palahniuk's challenge to avoid "thinking" verbs is another take on that.
Achariyth:
I get what he's saying; thought bubbles are something to be avoided. But did he have to make his prose so purple? And, worse as a writer, skimmable. Those are writing sins in themselves.
Basically, what I saw the advice boil down to is the same advice that I find myself repeating ad nauseum to other writers, and kicking myself when I break it:
1) Show, don't tell.
2) Avoid the passive voice
Only I expect more people to listen to him. Bestselling author and all...
Iced Fairy:
Now that I'm not in as much of a gnaw at problems point, I will say I intend to try the challenge using my own style. At least as soon as I'm not copying someone else's style. It's good general advice. I just hate the way he presented it. :V