[stylist] stylist Digest, Vol 81, Issue 18

[James H. "Jim" Canaday M.A. N6YR]

Kerry et al,
to understand a character, you have to see him, her, or it in the 
setting and landscape.  that place, time, arrangement of what is and 
is not possible sets your character's universal range of potential 
actions.  thus Sean cannot jump on a Harley to deliver 
telegrams.  the hot drink he is offered I called "warm chocolate" 
because I thought that more appropriate to the time.
to advance the character, that character moves along a track, and 
there is a backdrop too.

yes, "swell" was my first choice and I'd written that there.  it is a 
fine old word.  I think one can find swells today.
in a way, "swell" is sort of the opposite, antinym,  of hoodlum.

actually, the hotel is fictitious, spelled h o s k i n s, but you got 
where I was going.
I did indeed think of the Mark Hopkins Plaza in that.

though I call for  transitional phrases for text change of 
place/character, I refuse to be included as an "old fogie."  sorry Kerry!
jc


At 04:21 PM 1/11/2011, you wrote:
>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,