- Joined
- Apr 30, 2007
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Okay, here is my main writing problem. Besides just making myself write.
It's seeing a story in movie form. This has worked great for some writers. It's been said of Charles Dickens that he could envision a story as a movie before movies were invented, and of Ray Bradbury that he was so influenced by cinematic images that readers can literally see his stories unfolding in front of and around them. True enough.
The main problem I have with this is I see my main character as if I were watching him. Yes, I know what he is thinking, feeling, and experiencing, too--but describing how someone looks while they're doing something if they're all alone is terrible author intrusion, and if another character is present it's a terrible POV violation particularly if that other character would not see the MC the way the author would. Heck, even the MC would not see himself as the author would--particularly if the MC is at all humble and not conceited.
It's a slightly bigger problem in non-fiction than fiction as if I'm not inventing the character and I show (state or imply) how they're thinking or feeling I have to have something solid (their own words, the words of someone who knew them well, or other good evidence) to back it up, but to me that's less of a problem than just the way in which I see any story play out, true or not. I don't think it's a good idea to write a whole book describing action unfolding as if you're watching it on film. Of course you can include other sensory details, but to me something still seems "off" and it is a huge issue.
Can anyone point to good examples of how to overcome this pitfall? Thanks.
It's seeing a story in movie form. This has worked great for some writers. It's been said of Charles Dickens that he could envision a story as a movie before movies were invented, and of Ray Bradbury that he was so influenced by cinematic images that readers can literally see his stories unfolding in front of and around them. True enough.
The main problem I have with this is I see my main character as if I were watching him. Yes, I know what he is thinking, feeling, and experiencing, too--but describing how someone looks while they're doing something if they're all alone is terrible author intrusion, and if another character is present it's a terrible POV violation particularly if that other character would not see the MC the way the author would. Heck, even the MC would not see himself as the author would--particularly if the MC is at all humble and not conceited.
It's a slightly bigger problem in non-fiction than fiction as if I'm not inventing the character and I show (state or imply) how they're thinking or feeling I have to have something solid (their own words, the words of someone who knew them well, or other good evidence) to back it up, but to me that's less of a problem than just the way in which I see any story play out, true or not. I don't think it's a good idea to write a whole book describing action unfolding as if you're watching it on film. Of course you can include other sensory details, but to me something still seems "off" and it is a huge issue.
Can anyone point to good examples of how to overcome this pitfall? Thanks.