Gone are the days when most readers could appreciate a book written in third person omniscient, when "he said", "she said" tags were not the mark of "lazy writing" and narrative "telling" wasn't the unpardonable sin. We aspiring authors are told to forget storytelling, and "show" the movie inside our heads. Metaphors and similes are our friends, and finding original ways to describe cliched expressions/feelings can be more exciting than stumbling upon buried treasure.But. What if James Scott Bell is on to something?
I just finished chapter seven of "Plot & Structure", in which Bell covers what he calls "the intensity scale". He says we should rate the intensity of a scene using numbers between "0" and "10" ("0" being no intensity and "10" being max intensity). Anything below a "5" should be written in "telling" form. His reason? To save "showing" for the more intense scenes, and therefore spotlight the emotion and experience for the reader. Bell claims that if you write an entire book in "showing" form, the reader will be exhausted by the end, and the more critical scenes won't stand out like you want them to.
It makes sense, but I'm still very hesitant to take him up on his suggestions because "show, show, show!" has been drilled into my head by authors, agents, readers and publishers alike, and this is the first time I have ever heard of a scenario where its okay to write in "telling" form.
What do you think? Do you agree with James Scott Bell? Should a writer write low-key scenes in "telling" form to make the more intense scenes more dramatic?
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8 comments:
I do agree that sometimes there must be "telling" scenes. It makes sense for them to be low key. I call them "transitional" scenes.
Interesting post, Gwen. I'll have to think about this a little bit more.
I agree with Loree - telling seems most appropriate for transitional scenes. And really, if a scene is below a five on the intensity scale, do we want it to be anything more than a transitional scene?
I just finished reading this same book and I loved it. But you're right, it's hard to rethink something when it's been drilled into your head and it's a little scary to write that way when you may want to submit your ms for a contest and you know what the judges are looking for. Maybe you can write a short scene in telling mode and put a * next to it saying: "James Scott Bell told me to do it." :)
Huh, that's a really interesting thought. I've never heard of that but it seems to make a lot of sense! I think with everything, a balance is always a good idea. This is one of the books I've wanted to get. Now I'm even more certain I need to go ahead and order it =)
Hi Loree, yes, "telling" would be appropriate for transition. For the sake of argument, I've heard that transitioning should be limited to a few sentences or a paragraph, and any scene not critical to the plot should be cut. So...if that's true, it would seem that all scenes should still be "shown" but transitionary paragraphs "told".
Gabrielle, you crack me up! Yep, I'm sure a contest judge will wink at "telling" scenes if I reference "Plot & Structure", lol!
Joanne -- you are so right, balance is what we need to aim for. I think that's why so many authors say "learn everything you can about the writing craft, and then when you sit down to write, throw the rules out the window."
You wont' be disappointed with "Plot & Structure". It's very insightful. :-)
Gwen, I've been doing an online workshop this month on Show & Tell. And our instructor says we should be thinking, "show and tell BETTER" ... seems there's definitely a place for telling, but we just need to know how to do it effectively. Sounds like the book is a good one!
That's interesting, Helen, sounds like a great workshop! I would love to read an example of effective "telling". Hmmm...I feel a research project coming on. :-) Definately invest in "Plot & Structure", its a terrific resource. :-)
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