Shouts From Down Under

What is really going on?

Do you ever find a story, movie or song disappointing?

Sometimes it's not that clear why. You understand the plot. The characters are ok. There is plenty of detail. Their dialogue sounds all right. The scenery and props all work together reasonably. But something just doesn't feel right. You can't quite put your finger on it.

Then there are the stories, books, poems, songs etc that feel amazing straight away. They are inspiring. They flow and build, fall, twist and turn at just the right pace, the characters are all so real, and the story feels like it's just right. You forget that you are reading a story or watching a movie. You become involved with the issues laid out in the plot, you imagine you are the character and you want what they want in their story. You might even find yourself thinking what they are going to say before it's even scripted. And they do say it. It's almost intuitive.

When you write your story, I find I have to really read it with a self critical eye, not to put myself down, but to be totally honest with myself. That's what people always want from reviewers.

I suppose it depends on your attitude to the author. Are you trying to show them up? Do you want to be "right" and them "wrong"? Is it all about you being superiour and knowing more stuff about writing etc?

Or is your attitude one of judging how their story makes you feel as you read it.

I was amazed when the First Person Shooter computer game was first released called Half-Life. It's available on www.steampowered.com in a few different versions of increasingly better quality graphics.

As the newer versions were created ie Half-Life 2, the game was more real as far as detail is concerned.

But what I enjoyed most about the entire game was the storyline and the way the person playing the game was treated.

When you start playing the game, you aren't told anything. You are inserted into the game as a Scientist who is supposed to know all about Nuclear Physics, how to do technical laboratory stuff and all the rest of whatever a physicist should know.
But, you're not told anything! Nothing! Now, whose idea was that to have a computer game where you aren't told anythng, ever!
In Half-Life 2 it becomes even more apparent that you are on your own. Everything about how you are treated in the game, your reactions playing the game, the scenery, the dialogue of the other entities within the storyline, and the events that unfold is all designed to be depressing, hopeless, confusing and the main thing? YOU are to blame. Everything that goes wrong in the storyline, and yes, it does go wrong, you are blamed.

You would think that such a game wouldn't be any good at all. In fact, you'd think such an idea would make the product a total failure.
Well, it's the complete opposite. The game was and is very popular. It's probably fair to say, that it's legendary.

Why? Because you had to think. The programmers and game designers assumed you were "smart" and could work things out. They left the game that way. And it worked very well.
Plus, there was an interesting original story, and with plenty of humour.

How does this relate to writing novels / stories / poems / songs?

Well, what I'm saying is, there is a balance to get right in our pieces of writing. Whatever it is, we can give too much, or not enough detail.
Our dialogue needs to infer, without spelling things out. How do we find that happy medium?
I think its a matter of reading it honestly. Does it kick butt? Is it really realistic enough? Does it sound amateur?
By the same token, a lot can be inferred by very little.

For instance, If Joe Blow was talking to his mate Frank and said,
"Let's drive to the next town and get some petrol there. (gas)" All you would know of the backstory is that small statement.
But what if he said,
"I'm so tired, and we're nearly out of petrol. This car is overheating again and your mum's expecting us for dinner.In a couple more hours. Let's get coffee"
You are inferring here that they've driven a long way. They haven't planned very well. The car is ill maintained. There is more driving to be done where they'll risk falling asleep.
Maybe that example isn't that clear, seeing as I'm writing this at nearly 2.00am but I just mean, you can easily lose the opportunity to make your story world seem a lot more than it is, just by using the right wording.
There's no need to spell it all out to the reader. Just a few odd words here and there can create a massive imaginary world, full of stuff that you haven't even mentioned. But the reader's mind HAS!

Another example:
A cloud of smoke drifted above them.
Or,
Sirens wailed as townspeople rushed about, raking leaves, cleaning spouting, filling every available bucket and bathtub with water, rolling out hoses and making sure the vehicles were full of petrol, bags packed in them, ready to travel.
I didn't mention smoke or bushfire in the second example, but you can tell what's happening just from the things people are doing.

Sparky