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there is nothing like a good piece of well written dialogue, but.....
you can't survive on dialogue alone unless maybe if you're writing a screenplay...Narrative is certainly needed, and Ariel, that description of the woman in your post would be meaningless if not in narrative form...but again, it can be overdone, as some authors do, to the point you just want to skim it over...
posted by
Rumor
on June 20, 2006 at 12:55 PM
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Narrative vs dialog...
Actually, it's not that clear cut. And show, don't tell, is kinda journalism 101. I'm thinking right now about the "father" of the American short story - Edgar Allen Poe. His stories used a lot of narrative, plenty of internal dialogue, and at the end of each story, you were left in a particular mood. I think that's the point - to weave all the good stuff together and take the reader out of her everyday mind set for a time. Thanks for your thought-provoking post. And the interesting responses are cool, too.
posted by
Pat_B
on June 20, 2006 at 10:30 AM
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I mean that narrative is best not buried
under adjectives
posted by
Azur
on June 19, 2006 at 11:35 PM
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I prefer to go light on dialogue
but the narrative must be strong and can get buried under adjectives and adverbs. In some markets the mountain will not move to the author so it is best for the author to find another mountain.
I can't speak about the magazine stories for women. Most of the women I know read and discuss good literary fiction.
posted by
Azur
on June 19, 2006 at 11:35 PM
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It is mystery to me.
posted by
Whacky
on June 19, 2006 at 9:25 PM
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Ariel70
I loved your description of the dream sequence, now how do I meet this well described lovely?
I'm more of the narrative reading type, and any writing I do is the same. I don't write fiction, I just wouldn't be good or patient enough to think for too long.
I have been published several times in technical printing equipment magazines in Canada, and was published once for a book I wrote on alcoholism.
Strangely enough, I think the writing I have done has been more therapeutic for me than anything else.
My next work will probably be about Hydro One Networks Inc. and their shocking treatment of a senior citizen.
Yup, for me my blood has to boil. Think I got that from my Manchester mum.
Love your posts, your skill is obvious
posted by
WileyJohn
on June 19, 2006 at 9:17 PM
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I gravitate towards the dialog over narrative.... but it depends on the
story. I agree that cheesy dialog is overdone, but then again, so is cheesy narrative. I enjoy the subtleties best.
posted by
-blackcat
on June 19, 2006 at 1:44 PM
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Ariel,
When you spell it out like that, it makes sense. I've never really thought of why I hate cheesy dialog, I just do. The cheesiest of the cheesiest is what you just described: things that are better thought than said. I have heard that same exhortation in creative writing classes and it does feel false.
I hate arbitrary rules, and that one seems particularly arbitrary: a fashion or trend. You're so right. Would Chekhov or Dickens have passed muster under that rule. I don't think so.
posted by
Blanche.
on June 19, 2006 at 12:30 PM
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It's hard to say which way is best. In a short story, with severely limited time and space, the idea of telling and not showing seems like a neccessity, however, in a novel, where events can unfold slowly,with greater detail, I think the opposite is true.
The way an author crafts a scene determines a lot too. I may not need to know X hates cats, but to see him kicking one may be extreme. However, if X describes the cat as being "a sneaky, shedding, monstrosity that takes pleasure in killing smaller, weaker creatures," the reader gets the message how X really feels.
The quality of writing, as well as all art, is so subjective it's impossible to set standards and/or a list of criteria. The trashiest dime-store novel can become a best-seller. Some are unmoved by the Mona Lisa. It's all a crap shoot.
posted by
Talion
on June 19, 2006 at 12:28 PM
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Any editor worth his/her salt should decide on writing quality. If it's captivating narrative - go for it. ...same with dialogue ...same with a combination of both. Such decisions need not limited.
posted by
reasons
on June 19, 2006 at 12:23 PM
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