He says, she says – and when. It’s all in the timing for a writer

Pen writing“You must know all, then not tell it all, or not tell too much at once.”

-Eudora Welty

Excellent observation from American short story writer and novelist, Eudora Welty (1909-2001). This sums up the process of writing perfectly.

A good novel offers a slow reveal, one of the joys of reading is slowly uncovering the story of the protagonist.

Everyone knows the dangers of “information dump”, when all the character’s backstory is laid out in the opening pages, when you still don’t have much interest in the leading lady or gentleman.

As Welty notes, a good author will tease out her characters and her story slowly, “knowing all”, but revealing the details in slow and deliberate way that keeps your readers rapidly turning the pages.

And when we do, we know we are in the hands of a very skilled author…

1 Comment

  1. evelyneholingue on August 11, 2018 at 3:09 am

    Don’t tell me:)
    The hardest to do.

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