[stylist] stylist Digest, Vol 81, Issue 18

[Judith Bron]

Kerry, you totally misread my advice.  Judith
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kerry Thompson" <kethompson1964 at gmail.com>
To: <stylist at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 5:21 PM
Subject: Re: [stylist] stylist Digest, Vol 81, Issue 18


> 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
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