[stylist] stylist Digest, Vol 81, Issue 18

[Kerry Thompson]

Hi friends,

But, Judith, if you take out everything that doesn't advance the plot, 
you'd end up with only nouns and verbs.

Seriously, a story, be it a 350 word short short or a 900 page novel, is 
more than plot. It is setting and character as well, maybe character 
most of all. Without characters to care about, the reader is unlikely to 
read, or if he reads to remember, a story. A story needs to be about 
establishing the place or world building. Some characters grow out of 
their world. Think of Elizabeth and Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. Some 
are in conflict with their world. Think of Mike Smith in Stranger in a 
Strange Land. Without their respective settings, the stories of these 
characters would be incomprehensible ifnot impossible.

Yet, I suppose one could imagine Pride and Prejudice without Elizabeth's 
sisters and mother, and without Darcy's aunt and cousin, or his sister. 
But think how much both of them would lose by these omissions. Elizabeth 
wouldn't seem so witty, gay and intelligent. Darcy wouldn't seem either 
as brooding or as urbane. Perhaps these other characters aren't strictly 
necessary to the plot, but they add immeasurably to the story.

Sometimes the most memorable thing about a story has little or nothing 
to do with the main plot. Take the Harry Potter stories. If you were to 
ask me what is the most memorable part of the series, I'd answer 
unhesitatingly, quidditch. I am not a sports person. But, I love 
quidditch. A case could be made that the game has no bearing on the main 
plot of the series. But, the series would be so much less fun without it.

Jim, ooh, "swell" is the perfect word.

And, I was wondering, is the Hopkins Plaza what we now call the Mark, as 
in the top of the Mark?

Anita, yes, some novelists use very short chapters. Douglas Adams often 
did. Donna's right, though. Sometimes there are breaks in the narrative, 
but they don't merit a chapter break. That's the sort of situation where 
white space and or asterisks are called for.

Looking at the debate, it does seem to fall along generational lines. Us 
old fogies are more likely to use written transitions. You young 
whippersnappers are more likely, and indeed it seems have been taught, 
to eschew actual, written transitions in favor of white space. It's sort 
of like how some of us were never able to convince our parents that the 
Beatles are real music.

Lori, LOL! A bearded gnome, no less.

Bridgit, you might want to use BCC rather than CC when you send to 
multiple e-mail recipients.

Solidarity and Peace,

Kerry