Dear M,
You say it best, when you say nothin' at all...
That should be our motto - well not exactly "nothin"; more like, say less and mean more. We don't have to explain every single word and line, the reader can figure that out. Leave out a few explanations, otherwise the reader would feel exhausted just reading our story. As far as reading goes, when we read, we don't notice that we are actually translating a set of alphabets into something we understand. So an extra clarification would be like a stone in your food.
It is difficult to see those redundant explanations in our own writing. But we could learn to note those in others'. And in due course, I believe we would find such in our writing too.
Now we're on the topic, I remember reading an author - acclaimed and everything, for his plots, imagination, creativity and far-sightedness - who sometimes explained more than I cared to read.
"Good Lord, what a mess!" He felt annoyed.
From the exclamation itself (and the context driving to it) we know he is annoyed. That line could have been edited out. It was the stone in my food, and it was annoying.
Love.
You say it best, when you say nothin' at all...
That should be our motto - well not exactly "nothin"; more like, say less and mean more. We don't have to explain every single word and line, the reader can figure that out. Leave out a few explanations, otherwise the reader would feel exhausted just reading our story. As far as reading goes, when we read, we don't notice that we are actually translating a set of alphabets into something we understand. So an extra clarification would be like a stone in your food.
It is difficult to see those redundant explanations in our own writing. But we could learn to note those in others'. And in due course, I believe we would find such in our writing too.
Now we're on the topic, I remember reading an author - acclaimed and everything, for his plots, imagination, creativity and far-sightedness - who sometimes explained more than I cared to read.
"Good Lord, what a mess!" He felt annoyed.
From the exclamation itself (and the context driving to it) we know he is annoyed. That line could have been edited out. It was the stone in my food, and it was annoying.
Love.
Yes, it is indeed annoying...
ReplyDeleteI have heard it being said time and again about good writing that one must "show, not tell."
ReplyDeletePrecisely.
Delete