Quote:
Originally Posted by rkomar
The thing is, you can get fully fleshed characters and environments in novels under 200 pages. Sometimes the author has to be efficient in their use of words to get it that short, and that takes effort and skill. Good novels are supposed to "show, not tell", and that's where the skill comes in.
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In an article I have as part of a collection of such about writing stories (the article is written like an author and a questioner are talking) the author character demonstrates how the author and reader collaborate in the telling of a story. The author provides clues like mentioning how a character enters a run down cafe and the reader supplies details like half empty sugar dispensers, worn linoleum flooring, greasy menus, checkered table cloths etc. from their own idea of what a run down cafe actually looks like. So I can agree with you that there is some artistry involved. Choosing just the right details and the right words to describe them so that the reader can fill in the blanks themselves is a large part of what I think the magic of reading is all about.