tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620199782689299940.post2733062723711927957..comments2024-01-01T18:42:01.363-08:00Comments on International Christian Fiction Writers: How Much is Too Much?Lisa Harrishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11358581487206184033noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620199782689299940.post-76615061653206288582010-04-22T04:52:14.451-07:002010-04-22T04:52:14.451-07:00Yeah, LeAnne, it used to drive Bert, her late husb...Yeah, LeAnne, it used to drive Bert, her late husband, up the wall occasionally. (Considering before I read your post, I didn't even know she had a perfectionist streak or had been married--this is fun!)Walthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06654686444541690940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620199782689299940.post-10748563950462660692010-04-21T14:52:56.244-07:002010-04-21T14:52:56.244-07:00I try to find the telling detail that suggest the ...I try to find the telling detail that suggest the larger whole and have my character interact with it in some way. I see Walt's older person with the percolator absent-mindedly wiping a smudge from it's shiny surface. Now it is a perfectionist woman, neither things that he specifically mentioned.LeAnne Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11433010038077925237noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620199782689299940.post-87737123545684165202010-04-20T15:33:29.246-07:002010-04-20T15:33:29.246-07:00Alice, great post! I agree with Tracy, that a writ...Alice, great post! I agree with Tracy, that a writer's style is very important, and I also think genre makes a difference. Literary fiction lends itself more to detailed description then, for example, a short category romance. <br /><br />Also, as Ann and Walt have mentioned, the description included needs to be meaningful to the story.Narellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07665380446283721576noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620199782689299940.post-61159314245121133632010-04-19T22:46:00.851-07:002010-04-19T22:46:00.851-07:00I think it is much more about the writers STYLE th...I think it is much more about the writers STYLE than any set amount of description. I've read books that are full of description - setting, character analysis, historical or cultural trivia - you name it, but it still kept you reading. Somehow, skillful writers can manage to weave these details effortlessly into their stories and we injest all that info with no problem. I've also read lots (I mean LOTS) of other novels where I simply skim quickly over these descriptive parts so as not to get bored and so that I can just get on with the story! What's the difference? I guess it's all in the craft. And I guess it is what seperates the 'GREATS' from the 'goods'.Tracy Krausshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05066853243062725525noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620199782689299940.post-33349936116159311402010-04-19T04:26:34.009-07:002010-04-19T04:26:34.009-07:00I generally figure the most a writer should show i...I generally figure the most a writer should show is maybe 10% of the information turned up in research. In my stuff, I try to work the setting in as passing hints that the characters are vaguely aware of unless it impinges directly on their life. After all, how often each day does the average person think of the leader of their country without prompting from their media, unless that leader has done something especially good, evil, or stupid. In the countries that go in for gigantic pictures of their leaders, most of the populace don't notice them after the first or second day; they're just part of the scenery.<br /><br />I give only the sketchiest descriptions of characters; usually only a word in passing. Possibly this is because I find the personality more important than their physical features. Unless the story turns on the fact Sid has bushy eyebrows, who cares? At most, a line might read: The sergeant glanced at the blond major. -OR- Rickter looked up at Porter. This cues the reader that the major is of European extraction and that Porter is taller than Rickter.<br /><br />An example of a something that can be suggestive of a character's personality occurs to me as I write this. In a present day American household, the fact that the character uses a percolator on the stove to make the morning coffee rather than the more common coffee maker says something about the character. What sets this off for an American reader is the fact that it's easier at he present time to find coffee makers in the stores rather than percolators. This can yield a line like: She thought about it as she poured a cup from the percolator. To an American, it suggests the character is different and, probably, older.<br /><br />I'm inclined to suspect writers in other countries have similar cues that they use that are possibly only noticeable to readers conversant with that society.Walthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06654686444541690940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4620199782689299940.post-51382212090176630992010-04-19T02:29:10.123-07:002010-04-19T02:29:10.123-07:00Hi Alice
I like suspense, so I like to be introduc...Hi Alice<br />I like suspense, so I like to be introduced to people in suspenseful ways, including their looks, mannerisms, etc. And what is mentioned ought to be meaningful: if a character's got a scar, it has to be relevant to the plot. I think Dickens is a good model for character, updated of course.<br /><br />Useful blog, but I liked the 'weeds' too!<br />AnnAnn Isikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09685582671114677947noreply@blogger.com