The Art of Subtext

This is an interesting theory. I wonder, do I describe faces? I don't think I do.
I'll have to experiment with that, thanks to you, Bruce.

Hi Tom--yes, your method is dramatic. It focuses on the way your characters interact. But if they are conditioned by a culture that is suspicious of appearances, they too might be less influenced by crooked noses or "weak" (note the value judgment) chins--or so Baxter might suggest.

By the way, you might be interested in how Baxter defines the "scene" in fiction. Check it out!

Barbary, I don't remember anything in your poetry that goes back to the old way of trying to influence a reader's evaluation of a character via facial description. Most of us have moved beyond judging people by weight, height, skin tone, etc. -- it happens in the culture, not so much as a result of thinking about how to write. The author who still writes those judgmental descriptions is probably the one who needs to think about what she is doing and why.

Bruce - thanks - and you have inspired me - I am a face person and like to hear faces described as there is such a thing as Face Feng shui...Ok well, I hope that comment is relevant - I was stalking Tom. Salud.

Sigh of relief. :)

Yes, Mariana, Bruce always inspires us to write at the next level.

GLad to read some serious writers discussing how to make writing stronger. It's an art that takes work. The people who just write what they feel are pursuing therapy, particularly when they are unwilling to edit or change what they've written. That's not what being a writer means.

I use the show don't tell approach with description. I don't enjoy reading lots of physical description, so I don't write it. It's a tough call sometimes, however, since some readers are unable or unwilling to pull out the picture if it isn't written in the "long blonde hair and big green eyes" format.

I think it's more what you say in your comment, Bruce (and what Tom H. also says)--that we don't judge people by appearance as much as we used to (or at least we know we shouldn't) rather than a case of not trusting appearances because we live in an age of makeovers and simulations. We--both readers and writers--are more interested in the inner worlds and the motivations of characters than whether they have a straight nose or an aquiline one, and too much of that sort of detail can reduce the extent to which we identify with characters. There are exceptions in genres like romance, of course--see Sandy's example. :-)

Aha! Aniko, that might explain the critique from the lady who suggested I had left her in the dark about my character's age and description, even though I showed where she was envious of her "grown-up" nine-year-old cousin, and mentioned that she looked forward to second grade, and had her dressed in a sun-suit, and let her hide behind her hair etc... That lady might have been a romance novel reader.

That could well be the case.... or maybe she just wasn't a reader at all?