Pondering on ficcing styles

[starbright73]

Most fic I see rely heavily on dialogue to tell the story. I've never managed the art of telling a story through mostly dialogue. I fall into the descriptive trap over and over. And I know that people do not need to know half of what I describe in my fics. *g* I'm sure many just sigh and skip the story after the first inane metaphor or simile

Comments

[starbright73]

WE POV?

Can't think of when this would work!

[starbright73]

I haven't been to FF in ages, Then again, I have no fandom I read in anylonger. *pouts*

I didn't even know the we-POV existed!

[roseveare]

I think it's just getting the balance between them. Too much dialogue can be tedious, too much description can be overwhelming.

[starbright73]

ITA and that's the hard part!
Sometimes I see descriptions dwindle towards the end of the fic and I wonder if it's because the 'verse' is already set or if the writer just got sick of it and wanted to get to telling the story as fast as possible?

When it happens I tend to just read the last lines to see how the story ends. *g*

[high_striker]

I say that it depends, and that balance is the real key to it all. When I'm reading a story (be it fan-fic or a full blown novel) I want both. Dialog is nice because it engages the reader, at least it makes me say the words in my mind and it gives me a better feel for the characters. At the same time- descriptions are also really important so that I can imagine what I'm reading in my mind.

But they can both go too far. I don't need, or want, to read page after page of meaningless descriptions that have no relevance or if they're just starting to beat a dead horse. Then there are the stories with almost nothing but dialog, and those are just crap. The two need to work together and be used to add meaning to a story.

[lin71]

I think both dialog and descriptions are needed in a fic. Too much dialog can easily end in dialogs that are really more descriptive and don't seem like something one actually says (I prefer dialogs that sound good when you read them out loud too), while too much description doesn't work too.

And some fics, or some parts in a fic, need description while in others you can easily show things through dialog.

*gg* Yeah, you see I'm a real help when it comes to clearing things up no? Sorry about that!

By the way, I never thought of your N/W fic as being overly descriptive. Awesome, yes, well written, that too, but overly descriptive? No way!