How Fiction Works Writing Meme - Day Elven
Sep. 6th, 2011 07:57 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meridian_rose11 - Are you a realist or a stylist? Do you record every detail, every moment indiscriminately, or do you prune your prose for the sake of style and story focus?
I've struggled with this question because I wasn't sure of the meaning of the terms. Realism seems to be mostly associated with:objective, unbiased perspective; detailed descriptions of everyday life in realistic settings; natural human speech. themes of socioeconomic conflict; urban environments. [ref: http://www.enotes.com/realism] Therefore I'm guessing stylists are the opposite in approach, using fantastical prose to describe extraordinary events in unusual or exotic places.
Since I write for a lot of fantasy and science fiction fandoms, I'm going to say I'm more of a stylist than I am a realist. That said, I'll often ground the fantasy with real life concerns – birth control, bodily functions, remembering to lock the door when leaving a residence; I'll sometimes include these things – or their fantasy/sci-fi equivalents because at the end of the day most characters are [or were, eg vampires] human. I hope I record enough detail to make things interesting and real for the reader without losing focus, but sometimes it takes a beta reader to point out where tighter prose would be an improvement – and of course, where more description would benefit the story.
I'll make an index post when I've completed the meme with links to all my answers; they will all be tagged #how fiction works meme. You can find the full set of questions at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pristineungift's entry:here
I've struggled with this question because I wasn't sure of the meaning of the terms. Realism seems to be mostly associated with:objective, unbiased perspective; detailed descriptions of everyday life in realistic settings; natural human speech. themes of socioeconomic conflict; urban environments. [ref: http://www.enotes.com/realism] Therefore I'm guessing stylists are the opposite in approach, using fantastical prose to describe extraordinary events in unusual or exotic places.
Since I write for a lot of fantasy and science fiction fandoms, I'm going to say I'm more of a stylist than I am a realist. That said, I'll often ground the fantasy with real life concerns – birth control, bodily functions, remembering to lock the door when leaving a residence; I'll sometimes include these things – or their fantasy/sci-fi equivalents because at the end of the day most characters are [or were, eg vampires] human. I hope I record enough detail to make things interesting and real for the reader without losing focus, but sometimes it takes a beta reader to point out where tighter prose would be an improvement – and of course, where more description would benefit the story.
I'll make an index post when I've completed the meme with links to all my answers; they will all be tagged #how fiction works meme. You can find the full set of questions at
pristineungift's entry:here
