I hope this question is not mainly opinion based, I'm really just looking for a writer's handbook/source/acclaimed author saying this is either good, okay or bad. I think it might not be so good, which is why I'm asking.
In the very first sentences of my book, I introduce Nick, the main character. At the time of writing, I thought little of the words I jotted down. But now, reading it in retrospective, something was off to me. Take a look.
Splinters flew as Nick chopped the logs. A great pile of firewood towered beside him. Deep ravines laid in the haft of the axe, shaped by Nick’s hands. The axe had belonged to him since a young age. He was soon to be the lumberjack of the homestead, like his father before him. He died, along with Nick’s mother, a winter night. Such was normal for low-level servants of the King. So, without his mother of father, Nick was without family. The closest thing he came to family was Brad, who was his best friend, and the other servants on the farm.
Sorry if the excerpt was a bit lengthy, I know this is not a critique site. Now, at first it's OK, I'm just describing what he's doing. But it quickly gets into how his parents died and all that. This is not a vital part of the story, not at all, I just wanted to tell my readers why he was the lumberjack. And also to illustrate what kind of situation he's in. But when I think about it, is it too soon to say these things? Perhaps the reader can just wonder about these details for a bit. Here's another example of this, coming straight after the first excerpt.
-Hey, you done soon?
Millie was exhausted. She did all the small jobs on the farm, like transporting the firewood from the chopping block to the shed, or the fireplace. Since she was just twelve there wasn’t any specific job given to her yet.
Once again, the details are not very important. Her age could be told in a different way, through her actions for example. So, is it "bad" to say details like these, and background material, so early in a character's introduction?
Also, sorry if it looks like I want you to critique the entirety of my story. That is not my goal, I simply want to know if the potential problem of mine is a problem.
Answer
There are many styles of story-telling. Consider, for example, the start of the Lord of the Rings:
Bilbo was very rich and very peculiar, and had been the wonder of the Shire for sixty years, ever since his remarkable disappearance and unexpected return. The riches he had brought back from his travels had now become a local legend, and it was popularly believed, whatever the old folk might say, that the Hill at Bag End was full of tunnels stuffed with treasure. (LotR, book I, chapter 1 - a Long-Expected Party)
In this passage we are told, rather than shown, that Bilbo is rich, peculiar, has had adventures etc.
This style of telling rather than showing was common in medieval (and earlier) stories, which served as one of Tolkien's sources of inspiration. You might also find it today in the fantasy genre, inspired by Tolkien. (Though you might also find this style in other genres, and many fantasy works do not lean that much towards telling rather than showing - this is a tool, that an author might or might not choose to use.)
Now that we have established that a preference to tell rather than show elements of the character's background is a tool, let us examine how to use this tool.
First, your language cannot be dry. You are not reading facts off a list - you are telling a story. Compare
On his brow sat wisdom, and in his hand was strength (LotR, book II, chapter 1 - Many Meetings)
to "Glorfindel was strong and smart". The first is flowery - it sets the scene as much with the language, as much as with what is being said. The second is dry and boring.
Second, telling works very well when you are informing the reader of static details that would be well known to the characters around your MC. That is, you use telling to paint a picture: blonde hair, blues eyes, no parents... Dynamic aspects (that is, things that are not true, have been true for some time and not likely to change soon) are better shown than told. Telling something that everybody around the MC knows allows you to paint the picture quickly, instead of creating a scene where the piece of information would be brought up, but would elicit no reaction in other characters, since they are aware of it all already.
tl;dr: As others have mentioned, you are telling rather than showing. If telling rather than showing is a conscious choice on your part, that is perfectly fine. To make it work, you should make the telling engaging, and you should keep it to facts that are static and well-known (in-world) about your character.
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