When telling a story there is different ways to get to the goal. If it is romance you can have this prince charming all around that finally notices the main character, or a regular person that the main character grows to love. As far as I know it goes with all genres, but some are used more than others and I wonder why. Often I see the less used being more effective, but I am not sure if that is because they are less used or why they are less used. Maybe it differs between whether the media is visual or "mental" (pictures in your mind while reading or listening to music). What works and what does not, why does it work and is there anything working better?
Meaning more in the way of... Uhm... Let me give an example:
A man went to a hotel and walked up to the front desk to check in. The woman at the desk gave him his key and told him that on the way to his room, there was a door with no number that was locked and no one was allowed in there. Especially no one should look inside the room, under any circumstances. So he followed the instructions of the woman at the front desk, going straight to his room, and going to bed.
The next night his curiosity would not leave him alone about the room with no number on the door. He walked down the hall to the door and tried the handle. Sure enough it was locked. He bent down and looked through the wide keyhole. Cold air passed through it, chilling his eye. What he saw was a hotel bedroom, like his, and in the corner was a woman whose skin was completely white. She was leaning her head against the wall, facing away from the door. He stared in confusion for a while. He almost knocked on the door, out of curiosity, but decided not to.
This disinclination saved his life. He crept away from the door and walked back to his room. The next day, he returned to the door and looked through the wide keyhole. This time, all he saw was redness. He couldnât make anything out besides a distinct red color, unmoving. Perhaps the inhabitants of the room knew he was spying the night before, and had blocked the keyhole with something red.
At this point he decided to consult the woman at the front desk for more information. She sighed and said, âDid you look through the keyhole?â The man told her that he had and she said, âWell, I might as well tell you the story. A long time ago, a man murdered his wife in that room, and her ghost haunts it. But these people were not ordinary. They were white all over, except for their eyes, which were red.â
A common example on how horror stories differ from horror movies through the elements of how to tell the story. In the movie you always know something is going to happen when the music starts playing in a certain way, and there is not much surprise. You know what will happen, just not quite when. In stories it is the opposite, because while you know there is going to be something surprising in the ending, you have no idea what it will be, and all the info you get through the story is going to get you curious. And then something you had not imagined happens.
Is simply not telling the best way to get suspense? I mean, as a reader or viewer I would be frustrated if there was something I simply did not know. Like, if the detective gets a letter and he read it and put it into his pocket with a stern expression. That is just annoying and does not work well (to me). But I guess the reason why the one romance book I read was not appealing was because there was no suspense.
Heh, what Playaholic said is in a way true. Though, as you said, too much suspense will ruin it (
Like, if the detective gets a letter and he read it and put it into his pocket with a stern expression. That is just annoying and does not work well (to me).
agreed)
Though, to make a story really appealing, is really based on the reader. You cannot make a book that will appeal to everyone, that is, in every sense of the word, impossible. There are people who like suspense (Playaholic), people who like horror (Ernie), and people who love, love (Me).
but i think all genres need suspense,whatever it is,and suspense can be pure exitement,does not have to be
Like, if the detective gets a letter and he read it and put it into his pocket with a stern expression. That is just annoying and does not work well (to me).
it can be just a very tense part of the story,like in a fight,and the protaganist is losing,you would think
If you wish to read my post, you will have to use your imagination. If you want a straight answer, don't read it.
I think I understand your question. It is about plotlines and why it seems the less common plots make better stories.
Picture each and every book as a massive landscape. Within each book are woods. The trees, flowers, and creatures in the woods -- the scenery -- represent the book's imagery and characters. The more rich the imagery and characters, the more beautiful or awesome the woods become. A boring story, may have a bunch of the same trees, with the same boring flowers, and a few squirrels; while a rich story may contain many different variations of trees, deer, birds, and rabbits; streams, bridges, and constant activity that catch the traveler's (or the reader's) eye.
A book is a forest. The scenery is the imagery and characters used in the book. Other than creating this vast woodland, a writer must create a path for his audience. Some writers will not finish their path. Others fail to keep their paths clear, and they only confuse their audience. But those who do finish their path do so in three ways. The path represents the plotline.
Our first writer creates a path that is clear and walks the traveler straight to the end. The path tends to be predictable, but any sudden changes in the path will only raise the traveler's excitement a little bit. After the traveler continues down the suddenly twisted path, he feels only a little accomplished, if at all. Many readers (like Twilight fans), will be content with the path and the scenery will be enough to satisfy them. Others, despite the beautiful scenery, will not be satisfied. These travelers are those who prefer more adventurous trails.
Our second writer misleads the traveler. The path often splits, and the traveler runs into many dead ends. Many writers make their paths into too much of a maze, and lose their readers. IF a writer is successful in misleading their reader, the traveler will believe they are heading down the right path, but when the plot of the story goes for a sudden turn, the traveler reaches a dead end and must backtrack before he continues down a new path. As long as the scenery keeps the reader's interest, the reader will not mind being misled. Some people, however, do not care for the scenery. These people often stop reading the book or trudge along slowly. These often include mystery novels, where you must piece together information--or find the right path.
The last reader creates a path that is shrouded in fog. The traveler can only see a few feet in front of him. When a traveler is being mislead, he 'thinks' he knows where he is going; while a traveler walking through fog never knows what's coming up in the distance. Too much fog can also be a bad thing.
The richest stories use all three strategies. The writer will include clear honest paths, and then the writer will mislead the character some. As the character is going down a path, the writer will add patches of fog to introduce moments of suspense.
The story Cenere shared, is a great example of a misleading story with a touch of fog. However, Cenere would have left the reader in more of a fog if this sentence was left out, "Perhaps the inhabitants of the room knew he was spying the night before, and had blocked the keyhole with something red."
Gee, thanks Nemo, now I want to draw foggy forests - - I like the metaphor, though.
@Soulhack: Genre characteristics. Funnily enough this is second and third semester info to me, so it is actually making my homework more interesting. No, the different genres cannot cooperate very well in its purity and fans of one genre might not like another, but the different genres do work together as elements in different stories. A romance novel can convey horror and suspense. I just find it fascinating how stuff work and which of it does.
I do like Nemo's metaphor, because it quite makes sense, at least when it comes to the storyline itself.
