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icepixieETA: Let's see if this works right this time...
This is just something I've been thinking about lately. Also, I've never done a poll before. Fanfic applies to both questions if you want it to.
[Poll #525641]
Please elaborate in comments if you want. I'm interested in anything you have to say relating to these questions.
For me, about four out of five times, my first inking of a piece of writing will come in the form of a location to set it. I usually tend to draw these locations from real life. Whether they're from RL or purely imaginative, I know everything about how it feels to be in that place, from the exact location on a map to the air temperature to the background sounds and smells. Not all of this information makes it into the description of the place, but it helps me form the action that happens and the characters that would be found there. The other times are divided between a character--including fanfic explorations of characters seen on TV--and a "hey, wouldn't it be cool if" kind of plot. But mostly it's location: I'll think, I want to write a scene that takes place at a fireworks store, in a cornfield, on the front porch of a 1920s bungalow near a speedway on a summer night, on a snowy day in Atlantis, whatever. Everything else just falls into place after that. Of course, this tends to lead to fragmentary writing; once that scene is over, what do I do? Ideas where the character or plot come first aren't as rich in detail, but they seem to carry me through longer stretches of writing and larger goals.
Similarly, I enjoy pieces that make good use of descriptive language to really pull the reader into a scene. Thomas Hardy, my perennial favorite Victorian soap opera novelist, is a great example of this. In fact, when we were reading some Hardy stories in the Kenyon Seminar this semester, we had a brief discussion about descriptive language in novels. Matz suggested that some people "do the work" of imagining everything that is described as far as location, objects, etc., while others just skim to get to the action. I was somewhat astonished that anyone could not see everything as it was described. It's not a conscious decision for me; when I read, my mind pretty much translates it into a movie in my head. I take the description of the setting, realize it it full color, add any details that are lacking to make it cohesive, and then the action just takes place there like it would on a TV screen. After a while, I can't tell you the words I just read; I can tell you what the scene looks like in my mind, with my own words, but I probably couldn't repeat any of the sentences used by the original author. Maybe this comes from watching too much television as a small child, but I think even if I had no idea what movies or TV were, I'd still do this. Maybe not as well, but I think that's still how I would read.
This is just something I've been thinking about lately. Also, I've never done a poll before. Fanfic applies to both questions if you want it to.
[Poll #525641]
Please elaborate in comments if you want. I'm interested in anything you have to say relating to these questions.
For me, about four out of five times, my first inking of a piece of writing will come in the form of a location to set it. I usually tend to draw these locations from real life. Whether they're from RL or purely imaginative, I know everything about how it feels to be in that place, from the exact location on a map to the air temperature to the background sounds and smells. Not all of this information makes it into the description of the place, but it helps me form the action that happens and the characters that would be found there. The other times are divided between a character--including fanfic explorations of characters seen on TV--and a "hey, wouldn't it be cool if" kind of plot. But mostly it's location: I'll think, I want to write a scene that takes place at a fireworks store, in a cornfield, on the front porch of a 1920s bungalow near a speedway on a summer night, on a snowy day in Atlantis, whatever. Everything else just falls into place after that. Of course, this tends to lead to fragmentary writing; once that scene is over, what do I do? Ideas where the character or plot come first aren't as rich in detail, but they seem to carry me through longer stretches of writing and larger goals.
Similarly, I enjoy pieces that make good use of descriptive language to really pull the reader into a scene. Thomas Hardy, my perennial favorite Victorian soap opera novelist, is a great example of this. In fact, when we were reading some Hardy stories in the Kenyon Seminar this semester, we had a brief discussion about descriptive language in novels. Matz suggested that some people "do the work" of imagining everything that is described as far as location, objects, etc., while others just skim to get to the action. I was somewhat astonished that anyone could not see everything as it was described. It's not a conscious decision for me; when I read, my mind pretty much translates it into a movie in my head. I take the description of the setting, realize it it full color, add any details that are lacking to make it cohesive, and then the action just takes place there like it would on a TV screen. After a while, I can't tell you the words I just read; I can tell you what the scene looks like in my mind, with my own words, but I probably couldn't repeat any of the sentences used by the original author. Maybe this comes from watching too much television as a small child, but I think even if I had no idea what movies or TV were, I'd still do this. Maybe not as well, but I think that's still how I would read.
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Elf's 2 pence
Date: 2005-07-04 01:15 am (UTC)(Joss Whedon said it about right on one of the Angel DVDs, saying he was interested in writing musicals and science fiction and vampires and superheroes and everything that doesn't happen in real life, so he can use it to talk about PEOPLE and everything that actually does happen. Of course he worded it much better than that, only I'm too lazy to surf the internet for the exact quite right now.)
As a reader, I certainly need stories to work on multiple levels. I need characters I care about and interesting things happening to them, a good thematic level helps, and the prose needs to be at least at a certain level to hold my interest. There are authors out there who write prose so clunky I just can't stand to read them...I have a physical reaction, like hearing nails on a chalkboard. (Apologies to the many fans of R.A. Salvatore.)
And I also, both writing and reading, see very clear movies in my head, with sound. It's why I find writing dialogue (and scripts) so much quicker than writing prose. I love prose, but it takes me some time to work out just the right words to achieve the effect I need. Dialogue...I tend to just hear the characters talking in my head (yes, I hear the voices!) and transcribe. Sometimes I have to go back and edit and polish them a bit later, but even that comes a bit more smoothly than shiny prose.
John (Elf), somewhere in the universe...
Re: Elf's 2 pence
Date: 2005-07-04 01:47 am (UTC)Plot seems to be winning in the poll. I'm not surprised, really.
There are authors out there who write prose so clunky I just can't stand to read them...I have a physical reaction, like hearing nails on a chalkboard.
Oy. Yes, yes, yes.
I do the same thing with hearing dialogue in my head. A lot of things I write seem to start out in script form, but switch to prose a little ways in. I think it's because I'm just a control freak at heart, and I want to describe everything about a scene and not leave it up to directors, actors, etc. *g*
Re: Elf's 2 pence
Date: 2005-07-04 02:49 am (UTC)I have to say, though, after having put on four Scapespeare plays...there are definite benefits to relinquishing control. Some of my favorite moments in my plays have come from letting the cast put their own spin on things and go crazy. Minor characters steal the show, props take on whole new significances...it's a beautiful thing!
John (Elflore), somewhere in the universe...
Re: Elf's 2 pence
Date: 2005-07-04 05:30 am (UTC)I think I need to steal that line.