Shouts From Down Under

Writing Dot Com - An ok site <=== UNDERSTATEMENT ALERT!!

Its got to be PERFECT.



When someone has gone to the trouble of cooking a hot meal for you, for the family, for all present in the house, for the sleepover people, for the drop ins and for those visiting on holiday, or boarding here while they attend Uni, for the step children, for the foster kids, even for the tradie finishing off the bathroom painting; when someone has done this, and calls out, "Dinner is ready. Come to the table." it isn't a good idea to ignore their announcement.

By saying "It isn't good to ignore" them, I've just utilized an understatement tool.

In reality, you could probably more literally describe this situation as "If you don't come at once, then fire and brimstone will fall violently, without mercy, on your stupid, foolish, risk taking, head.

If you don't come to dinner (tea here in Australia) immediately, and let the "Cook" know you heard them just as instantly, then woe unto you, all ye effort-scorning, self death wish people of obviously self centred ignorance.

Yes, you will invoke WW3 by continuing on with your unimportant online activities, even if you are mid game in a League of Legends million dollar prize winning tournament, or half undressed after a shower. You should have organised yourself before this, knowing that dinner was being prepared. You shouldn't have started that game. You should have waited until after tea for that shower. You should have warned the "cook" that you will be otherwise engaged at tea time.

Yes, by not saying all that stuff, and just saying "it's not a good idea" I've given a mind picture of all this chaos, by not saying how terrible it would be.

http://mumbrella.com.au/dolmio-creates-pepper-grinder-which-powers-down-wifi-in-...



http://kaplaninternational.com/blog/words-with-multiple-meanings-infographic/

Secret stuff. We love knowing things that most people don't (we hope)



What is that secret ingredient in the stories we love to get our hands on, and read, that is an understated, held back, brushed over, sidelined and not-said? What is that thing?

Ever wondered how people get folks, like happened to Rhett in the GMM video, to be instantly motivated to think or act in a certain way. Whatever it was, the influence is undoubtedly strong.

I wanted to call this blog entry "Understatement" and as you can see, I have done that but I'm not sure it fully explains what I mean by this secret tactic or strategy in writing.

It's motivating by not motivating. It's a finely balanced, sensitively honed mental manipulation device. It shouldn't be a secret, yet I believe a lot of the time it is just that. A secret writing tool that authors use, perhaps without consciously setting out with that purpose.

Is what I'm saying merely reverse psychology put to use in narrative in such a way (most successfully) the reader is unaware, or gives permission to be "guided" or have their emotions and motivations tweaked strongly, and rushes straight where the whispering author intended all along?

http://changingminds.org/techniques/general/more_methods/reverse_psychology.htm

"Description
Get somebody do something you want by suggesting that they do the opposite.

This works better when the other person is worked up and making emotional decisions rather than thinking things through."

Is Understatement like Russel Crowe's personal Twitter blurb?

Russell CroweVerified account
@russellcrowe
older than my children, younger than my parents, get the odd job here and there

This isn't 100% what I mean by understated style writing used to push people's think buttons.

So what do I mean?

"Understatement is a figure of speech in which there is a contrast between the description and reality. As such, understatement can be used to reflect modesty, sarcasm, derogatory or complimentary tone. Understatement literally refers to what is not being said. In short, the gravity of the statement is undervalued."

- See more at: http://fos.iloveindia.com/understatment-examples.html#sthash.BZJyEDW6.dpuf
Read more at http://fos.iloveindia.com/understatment-examples.html#hLYquLiOLE8rGohr.99

I'll try getting this across using a fictitious story example.

What if we were writing a sci-fi story and therein was a galactic war. We want to get across to the reader the chaos and bloodshed, the injuries and lost life made more terrible by all the strange space travel / time / matrix / black hole / planet double-back-spin-off inertia substrate web interference side effects of this future time, but instead of saying all that stuff we just had a little bite of conversation.

In a few words the reader "overhears" in a crowded bar, the understated feeling and entire situation, the whole scene can be conjured up in the readers anxious mind that has whispers happening saying stuff is going on at a fast rate and I have no control over it- I don't even know much at all. The reader has just overheard it, just a little glimpse of heaps of stuff going on. The reader thinks, oh man, tell me what's going on! What IS going on? So frustrating, suspense building, panicking, disturbing, mind-jacking.

In some dialogue between a couple of our minor characters...

"...yeah Max's tour didn't make it. Fluoro's guide station was found burnt out, not a soul alive, and then when the Sergeant showed us the nat-sav readouts of those surrounding galaxies it's no wonder nobody..."

"...and then I told them it shouldn't have been attempted. You know how Gov-kill takes payments under the table, well, yeah then Josephe cut to the chase with Max but they..."

"could have survived that catastrophe. When they use the start-up crew it's hell on the surface so then...hey gimme another beer. Let's not talk no more on planet-knife programs Billy. Who'll win the game Saturday do you..."

Does that make it clearer or more fuzzily confusing?

I think this writer nails just what I'm trying to say, in a few carefully chosen succinct words. A bit like understatement.

http://janefriedman.com/2013/09/10/understatement/

"One of the most useful and powerful devices for the fiction writer is understatement. You tell the reader less so that the reader knows more. Instead of having everything spelt out, the reader is given, in a very careful way, just enough information for the imagination to go to work."


Here is another explanation by Roxane Day.



Would bone dry be an understatement of a drought, particularly if the vendor is going to list LOTS of items soon...?

Invalid Photo #10396 Photo not yet available

“SOME CRACKING & FRAGILE IN SOME AREAS”

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/REAL-COW-BONE-SKULL-WITH-HORNS-MAN-CAVE-GOTHIC-GOTH-W...


I wondered if someone thought of selling some stomach contents on eBay.

To say there weren't many sets / models/ bags?/ items/ carrot enhanced lots available would be an understatement.

Refine your search for stomach contents

If I said the next video was not suitable for the sensitive, it could possibly, would probably maybe sort of be a little bit of almost a great understatement example. Seems like it anyway. Nearly makes it. It does.



Sparky