This article introduces a new series of blog entries, which I refer to as “Authors Talk”. You can think of it as an author interview and, indeed, that is the name of the blog category. However, I prefer to see it as a friendly chat between fellow authors. Today I’m having this virtual chat with Davyne DeSye, author of Carapace. If you’re a science fiction fan (and even if you aren’t), this novel is a must-read. Easily one of the best science fiction works I’ve read lately (you can read my review of Carapace here). A detailed list of useful links to Davyne DeSye’s work can be found at the end of this article.
Besides a linear narrative progression and not optimal narrative endings, another problem area for authors of fiction is over-explaining. By over-explaining in writing, we mean the tendency of a writer to provide too much factual information. This is usually detrimental to the overall pace of the novel, but it’s not the only repercussion, as we will see further below.
In today’s article I’ll show you where over-explaining in writing comes from (in other words, why fiction writers tend to over-explain), as well as how to avoid it. As a sneak preview, I could reveal that over-explaining in writing is very much related to an author’s relationship with their audience. In more detail, fiction authors who over-explain do so out of fear that their readers will not understand the story.
Art is NOT about facts; it’s about affect. To over-explain means an author is preoccupied with facts where s/he should have focused on showing affect(more…)
I often go to Amazon’s Best-Sellers List to find free Kindle eBooks. The problem is, as I explained in my article on the supply and demand of writing fiction, that there is simply too much noise out there. That is, too many mediocre works.
“Hang on!” someone might say. “How on earth can you tell a book is mediocre simply by reading its description?” Well, you can if you’re experienced enough. A long, divulging description usually tells me that the author is preoccupied with the plot. But plot is overrated, grossly so.
Furthermore, bear in mind that long descriptions usually reveal something else, too. A long description is usually a sign of an author who has concocted a plot so convoluted, that it requires a long description to make sense to the prospective reader. Too complex a plot is hard to write and harder to read. Here’s what most inexperienced authors don’t realize:
All plots have been devised already. There is nothing new under the sun. There is no original story by virtue of its plot.
So, if a writer shouldn’t place too much emphasis on the plot, where then? If plot is overrated, what are good novels based on?
This is what an inexperienced writer’s plot looks like. If this image looks familiar, you’ve probably seen it on my article explicating the chaos of meaning(more…)
