In the last issue there was an interview with Lee Child, whom, I was not surprised to discover is one of the world's most popular authors, with over 50 million books sold.
The most heartening thing he had to say was that his 'overnight success' was nothing but. He had several books published before one of them finally caught on. He spoke about the discouraging book tours where only two or three people might show up for a book signing and how important it is to persevere no matter what. (I also read a recent interview with Ann Tyler - who said the same thing. It took her ten years before her overnight success exploded)
Child also spoke about the rules of writing. He had some interesting things to say about the sacrosanct 'Show, don't tell' rule. He believes that writers waste far too many words 'showing' when they should just be telling the darn story. He thinks that an over-emphasis on pretty words dilutes the narrative.
I've been thinking about that a lot this week. I devote a lot of effort to ensuring that I show, don't tell. In fact, Anne McDermid told me that my capacity for subtlety is one of the things she appreciated about Blown Red. I think it gives the reader credit for some intelligence if the author does not lay all their cards on the table.
That being said - I agree that showing can go way too far. How many times are readers forced to skip through reams of poetic prose because in the ecstasy of all those beautiful words the author forgot about the story?
Still - it is a fine balance. Child says if a guy is tall and lean - just say so. And yet, isn't is far more interesting to show those attributes? For example, 'With a faded seersucker jacket clinging to his bony shoulders, the guy looked more like a coat rack than a cop.' Okay - maybe not that bad....but you get the point.
Today I will be working on a piece of dialogue - the reunion of Grace and Kim. There will be anticipation and hope and love and angst. The challenge will be to show all those emotions without beating the reader over the head with a flowery stick.
The things we must endure for art!
I read this post over with great interest. What a fine line a writer walks. In Kindergarten we learned "Show and Tell", and now most of the show is being hacked out of us!
ReplyDeleteIf one is able to strike a delicate balance, made even more difficult by the fact that "show" and "tell" are definitely not balanced 50/50 throughout the story, then the reader is in for a great time.
The great thing about "show" is that the reader can develop their own world in your story. It may not be what you picture as you write, but it is a real world, nonetheless, and they are there. Too much tell may mean that the reader is unable to imagine exactly what you're telling him he's supposed to see, and the story fails.