THE CRAFT, PART 3 – EXPOSITION AND DESCRIPTION
“Show, don’t tell!”
There’s not a single writer who has not heard this expression, mandate, dictum, requirement, absolute, steadfast rule before. I think it’s the first thing they teach in Creative Writing courses. It gets emblazoned in our minds like a cattle brand. I mean, after all, in presenting a story, we should create a sense of character without revealing their background like a book report or police blotter. We should focus on in medias res and allow the reader to infer prior history.
While I agree with this classic phrase to some degree, I do not abide by it like one of the commandments come down from Mount Sinai. I think the development of fiction over the last fifty years has shown us there are other forms and other styles that can be considered valid. After all, if any person were to tell a story, they might provide background information to have their tale make more sense. First person narratives should allow for the speaker to tell the story in their own fashion.
This relaxing of an old axiom is not meant to imply a writer should discuss the exact science behind a crime scene investigation laboratory or delve into the other businesses that inhabit a particular locale for the sake of “historical resonance.” However, if a private investigator needs to identify his background because a client needs to know who they are hiring, it is a lot easier to tell than show.
The other thing to determine is how you as a writer will go about providing description of either characters, places, or environments. There are some who will describe in elaborate detail facial features and wardrobe in an effort to fully humanize a character. Others might simply comment on a quirk or facial gesture to imply an emotional state.
Color and texture of a pastoral setting, sonic or other sensory details of an urban location, may create the mood inherent for the reader to feel immersed. This is important only if the setting is in essence a character in and of itself.
As for me, I prefer subtle comments that imply how the speaker feels about the described person or location. As a great deal of my work is first person, I want my readers to relate largely to the main character.
NEXT: THE CRAFT, PART 4 – DIALOGUE
