Style VS Structure

[Kelvin O'Ralph]

Hi everyone:

I find it confusing when people focus on the aspect of "showing" when writing a book. I read Danielle Steel's book, Bungalow 2, and I was intrigued to noticed the way she writes. Critics call her the Queen of Romance. She's really good in telling a story, but she TELLS, too much, according to the "showing" rule. There were instances where she repeated her descriptions. For example, she would describe two various guys more than once. Also, she talked about how the MC, Tanya, how she loves her kids and husband, more than four times in just the first few chapters.
My point being, she delivered the story very well even with the lots of telling. Maybe, writers need to describe only when necessary, and let the viewers imagine the rest. Because that's the beauty of reading.

Kelvin

[Worldwalker]

Originally Posted by Kelvin O'Ralph

Maybe, writers need to describe only when necessary, and let the viewers imagine the rest. Because that's the beauty of reading.

If I'm going to imagine it all, why exactly am I paying a writer? I can imagine by myself for free.

I wouldn't consider Danielle Steel to be a good example of a writer, nor an example of a good writer. Yes, she's sold a lot of books, but she writes them to a formula and pumps them out wholesale to an audience that will, bluntly, buy any romance with her name on the cover; she could probably publish her grocery list and sell it. She sells books in spite of her style, not because of it.

And speaking of style, what does your post about telling and showing have to do with style versus structure? You've left me rather confused.

[Lemurion]

I agree with Worldwalker, this has nothing to do with style vs. structure.

The single most common reason for buying a book is having liked a previous book by the same author. Danielle Steel can get away with not following best practices because she has a built-in fan base; people who will buy anything she writes. Not everyone has that luxury.

Also, it may be that despite the fact she doesn't follow current best practices for show vs. tell, she does other things very well, and her books sell on the combination of what she does well and her name.