“I think the tendency to over-explain and over describe is one of the most common failings in fantasy. It's an unfortunate piece of Tolkien's legacy. Don't get me wrong, Tolkien was a great worldbuilder, but he got a little caught up describing his world at times, at the expense of the overall story.” ThinkingWorldWritingLittlesStoriesCommonFantasyPiecesFailingCaughtTendenciesLegacyExpensesUnfortunateCaught UpDescribing Author:Patrick Rothfuss
“Reading Gypsy Boy, I felt invited into a secret society. I've always found Gypsies mysterious and even slightly dangerous, and Mikey Walsh does an excellent job describing the cloistered lifestyle and fascinating traditions of the Romani people. Moreover, Mikey's personal story of being a misfit among misfits is both compelling and universal. I cheered for him every step of the way.” PeopleWayDoeStoriesJobsReadingFoundFeltSecretStepsBoysDangerousTraditionUniversalLifestyleMysteriousExcellentFascinatingCompellingInvitedDescribingEvery StepGypsyMisfitsSecret SocietyPersonal StoriesMikey Author:Julia Scheeres
“I once started a detective story to make moneybut I couldn't get the murder to take place! At the end of three chapters I was still describing the characters and the milieu, so I thought, this is not going to work. No corpse!” StillsEndsCharacterStoriesThreeMurderMaking MoneyChaptersGoing To WorkCorpsesDetectivesDescribingMilieuDetective Stories Author:Mary McCarthy
“The Da Vinci Code may well be the only novel ever written that begins with the word 'renowned'... I think what enabled the first word to tip me off that I was about to spend a number of hours in the company of one of the worst prose stylists in the history of literature was this. Putting curriculum vitae details into complex modifiers on proper names or definite descriptions is what you do in journalistic stories about deaths; you just don't do it in describing an event in a narrative... Why did I keep reading? Because London Heathrow is a long way from San Francisco International.” ThinkingWayFirstsWellsMayLongBookStoriesReadingLiteratureNamesLanguageHoursNumbersCompanyNovelWrittenWorstEventsComplexesInternationalDetailsLondonNarrativeCodeProseDescriptionDefiniteLong WaySan FranciscoDescribingCurriculumStylistJournalisticRenownedDa Vinci Code Author:Geoffrey K. Pullum
“Inviting people to inquiry is much more powerful to me than describing my experience... When people hear me tell the story, they often say, "Oh my goodness, I get it. I get it!" But it's not enough.” PeopleEnoughStoriesPowerfulGoodnessInquiryDescribingInviting Author:Byron Katie
“"Real" drawing is about specifics. It's about describing an object as accurately as possible. In a comic strip you have to draw a picture of the idea of the object. You have to draw the word that you are picturing, then you have to mix in specifics with it for it to work as a story. But you are still working with drawn words.” StillsIdeasRealStoriesObjectsDrawsDrawingComicDescribingComic StripsSpecifics Author:Chris Ware