tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post1428982503229699178..comments2023-12-26T23:07:08.005-08:00Comments on TOMORROWVILLE: Faking It For RealDavid Isaakhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-77771160841255589142007-10-17T08:36:00.000-07:002007-10-17T08:36:00.000-07:00Hi Janet--You make an interesting suggestion:WRITE...Hi Janet--<BR/><BR/>You make an interesting suggestion:<BR/><BR/>WRITER NEEDED. Mus know nothing about the following subjects...<BR/><BR/>;)David Isaakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-90863185651561596032007-10-16T17:45:00.000-07:002007-10-16T17:45:00.000-07:00David, I would have taken that as a compliment too...David, I would have taken that as a compliment too. I personally think that all technical writing, at least that which is intended for laymen, should be written by somebody who knows very little about the subject, who will see his/her job as translating the geek speak to the rest of the world... Sometimes they do get it right, and it's a joy when they do. I'm the kind of person who reads the instructions and the manuals and the help sections and some of them are almost totally incomprehensible. Like the stuff that came with my new router... ;o) They should have given you the job.<BR/><BR/>Sam, I bet you're writing the ones that actually help.Janethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04600030574995481267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-60210495794846496512007-10-16T09:26:00.000-07:002007-10-16T09:26:00.000-07:00Hi Jake--I'd never really thought about it in that...Hi Jake--<BR/><BR/>I'd never really thought about it in that way, but sure--the parts that ger described are the parts that vary from common knowledge/expectation.<BR/><BR/>And you're right--the Newbie is usually boring. But I can think of some wonderful exceptions. Stephen Maturin, in the Patrick O'Brian novels, is a Newbie with respect to seafaring matters (and therefore gets things explained to him all the time), but is also a wonderful, complex co-protagonist.<BR/><BR/>It may be that any character whose main reason for existing is to serve the author's program--often the Newbie, the Love Interest, the Really Together Best Friend, the Computer Guy--is inherently boring.David Isaakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-54255661013645821092007-10-16T01:31:00.000-07:002007-10-16T01:31:00.000-07:00(Dammit, Blogger ate my post! Heh.)As Tim pointed ...(Dammit, Blogger ate my post! Heh.)<BR/><BR/>As Tim pointed out, the 'burying reader under dumpload of facts' thing is the bane of sf/fantasy. It's a bit difficult to have an outsider's perspective when you're making up the world in your own head.<BR/><BR/>Then again, that doesn't take cliche into account. The Lord of the Rings Rip-Off No. [Insert Arbitrarily Large Number Here] may well count as being written with an 'outsider's perspective'. In fact, the parts of the regurgitate fantasy world the author invented themselves stick out because those are the only parts the author bothers to explain. Unfortunately, this can be extended to plot and character motivations just as much as setting...<BR/><BR/>And there's always things like vampires, where authors sometimes even start out by explaining which cliches are true, which are untrue, and which the narrator (read: author) thinks are utterly ridiculous (read: unkewl). <BR/><BR/>Annoying though this is, it does speak to a central problem of sf/fantasy, which, come to think of it, is merely an exaggerated version of the Setting Problem all stories have - how do you get all this info across to your reader without annoying them? Which is bad, which is good? Purely, I suppose, good info would be info relevant to the character, and bad info would be info relevant only to the author. But what about info irrelevant to the character, but relevant to the reader?<BR/><BR/>I guess that's why the Newbie Initiate character is so popular. Too bad they're usually boring as shit.Jake Jessonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06834903087805267419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-3666406126799602342007-10-15T10:36:00.000-07:002007-10-15T10:36:00.000-07:00Hi, Sam--Yeah, experience rendering things in prec...Hi, Sam--<BR/><BR/>Yeah, experience rendering things in precise detail is a danger. But if reined in, it also allows you to get a reader through a complicated sequence with clarity. Like you say--balance.<BR/><BR/>I once applied for a job as a tech writer. They looked at my samples, which described how a refinery distillation tower worked, and they told me it was very clear, very readable, but "too conversational." Meaning, I guess, that I needed to tighten up my sphincter a bit to satisfy their standards of incomprehensibility. I took it as a compliment.David Isaakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-75804025520399990112007-10-15T07:04:00.000-07:002007-10-15T07:04:00.000-07:00*disclaimer*My last message butts up against the n...*disclaimer*<BR/>My last message butts up against the need to put the "one true detail" in (in practice, this is usually several details), to give gravitas and veritas to the story. <BR/><BR/>There is a balance to everything.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-54378085939271130582007-10-15T07:01:00.000-07:002007-10-15T07:01:00.000-07:00As a professional Technical Writer (who doesn't en...As a professional Technical Writer (who doesn't enjoy the Technical part of the writing), I've gotta say what I love about writing fiction is that I don't have to explain how to boot up your computer and "click" your mouse so you can install your software{*cough* hyperbole! *cough*). ;)<BR/><BR/>I notice that some of the necessary habits of over-detail and step-by-steps bleed over between into my writing, but I go to great lengths to ferret them out. I try to leave as much to the reader's imagination as is safe, and over-detailing anything is the quickest way to put them to sleep.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-2879782985108792212007-10-12T09:16:00.000-07:002007-10-12T09:16:00.000-07:00Hi, Tim--"So why do so many writers (especially in...Hi, Tim--<BR/><BR/>"So why do so many writers (especially in sf) tell us at excruciating length how the bloody kit works?"<BR/><BR/>In the case of some sf writers, I think explaining how the stuff works is the only reason for the story.<BR/><BR/>In other cases, I think writers get trapped into thinking all of their research needs to show up on the page--to show we've done our homework, I guess. If you have 30 hours invested in studying some little topic, it's hard to to resist the urge to go beyond the one sentence the research needs in the story.David Isaakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-79782428449292411632007-10-12T09:09:00.000-07:002007-10-12T09:09:00.000-07:00Hi, Janet-Yes, I've even perpetrated some of that ...Hi, Janet-<BR/><BR/>Yes, I've even perpetrated some of that technical writing myself!<BR/><BR/>Hey, Jeremy-<BR/><BR/>And that's one of the things writing does far better than movies. Poor screenwriters have to have characters engage in all sorts of physical manuevers or weird dialogue to get across how much somone loves his shotgun...David Isaakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04928598446742324391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-35811972016587006352007-10-11T23:47:00.000-07:002007-10-11T23:47:00.000-07:00I think the point about "telling detail" is key. ...I think the point about "telling detail" is key. You want to imply the whole without labouring it.<BR/><BR/>One of the reasons Jack Vance's sf has worn so well is that he recognises you don't need to do technical detail. If your viewpoint character gets on a spaceship, does he care how it goes faster than light? It's a mode of transport, like getting on a train. Most people's interest in technology is what it does, not how it does it. So why do so many writers (especially in sf) tell us at excruciating length how the bloody kit works?Tim Strettonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08598897603628943741noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-57496113827041452502007-10-11T14:23:00.000-07:002007-10-11T14:23:00.000-07:00Great post. It's all about the emotional attachmen...Great post. It's all about the emotional attachment to objects. Everyone has emotions.Jeremy Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11254147824518501318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8371628584376797540.post-28841250086187365612007-10-11T13:39:00.000-07:002007-10-11T13:39:00.000-07:00Too late, you just did... ;o)I think you have a g...Too late, you just did... ;o)<BR/><BR/>I think you have a good solid point. Experts have a hard time making a topic accessible to non-experts. Just look at the vast majority of technical writing...Janethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04600030574995481267noreply@blogger.com