  Drama
This week: A Picture In Words Edited by: Jay's debut novel is out now!  
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Hi! I'm Jay's debut novel is out now!, and I'll be your guest editor this week!
A Picture In Words
How exact do you need to be with your descriptions and details to evoke an emotional response from your readers? |
| ASIN: B083RZ37SZ |
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Amazon's Price: Price N/A
Not currently available. |
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So, I read a lot.
This, in and of itself, is probably not surprising at all, considering where we are, but bear with me for a moment. The current reading project in my house is to get through some of the tremendous backlog I have accrued over the past... year or so?
We now have a book store in our zip code. (WORD Bookstore, to be exact, so, cool and indie and with really fantastic selection. And a savings club where you get a $5 coupon for every $100 you spend.)
It's been illuminating, because, well, self discovery usually is. (Last time I was there, the clerk looked in my file and discovered I had five unused coupons. Five. They haven't even been open for a year. I usually don't buy through Amazon or other online retailers anymore, because local commerce is awesome, but I could have probably melted from the acute realization that not having kids or pets is a conscious choice that apparently allows me to have books. But I digress.)
Anyway. So, I read a lot, and one of the things that I've been trying to pay more attention to, as a writer, is how the author uses scenery and setting as part of building the innate drama of the story-- there are many authors for whom the setting is as much a character itself. Right now I'm working my way through the Vlad Taltos books by Steven Brust as part of my literary adventure, and because it's an older series, I regularly find all kinds of things which were obviously the inspiration for lots of other things I've read over the years. The land of Dragaera is clearly as much a character in these books as Vlad and his trusty jhereg, Loiosh.
It's weird, because I do struggle a bit in having a real understanding of how things look and smell and feel-- for a living, breathing city, I'm left to do a lot of the imagining on my own, which is great on one hand because I can superimpose a lot of my own imaginings into it, but at the same time, there are scenes which suffer a bit because I feel like they're occurring in a vacuum, since I can't add the context. It reduces the drama of a fight scene or a heated conversation when I can't really get a good picture of where it's happening.
On the other hand, one of my favorite "old" sci-fi rogue tales is Roger Zelazny's Jack of Shadows. Zelazny was a master of minimalism, and this particular slim volume is a frequent reread for me. I feel like it relies a bit on shorthand; places are evocatively named (Dung Pits of Glyve, say, sends a pretty clear picture) and characters definitely fall a bit into archetypes. (I'm discovering I might have a meta-thing with the subcategory "rogue," and I have no doubt anyone who's read my work will likely go, duh, Jay, yes. But still.)
It's strange to me, because it really muddies the waters for me a bit on how much scenery is too much scenery. In my own work, I want to create a sense of living and lived-in space; I want to create a living picture that exists outside of the characters on the page and doesn't simply collapse on its tentpoles the moment you exit the scene.
It's a tough balance. What do you leave in, and what do you keep? I think the secret lies in juxtaposition. The unique juxtaposition of images which are familiar enough for the reader to get their bearings, while unique enough to make your world one that lives and breathes dramatic details. If we aren't going to see it, we need to feel it!
Sensory details are the easiest way to avoid the vacuum effect. To avoid pausing for reflection and keep the drama flowing, include these details as subtly as you can by making them part of the characters' reflections or incorporate them in other places where they're not too intrusive while still giving your reader the context they need to fully absorb your world. This is maybe easier said than done, to be fair. Every story is different so trying to provide too-specific advice here is stumping me a bit.
Make notes about how your favorite authors do this well (and, hey, where some could do better!) to help give yourself a context or a framework to maximize that drama.
That's all I have for this week-- thanks for bearing with me as your guest editor!
Until Next Time,
Take care and Write on!
~jay
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Drama: September 03, 2014 Issue [#6530]
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