Sunday No Snippet

[forestofglory]

I finished a draft of the fic I posted a snippet of last week, but its so short that there's not really a good new snippet to share.

But I like posting on Sunday to muse about writing so here are some things I've been thinking about. I've love to hear any thoughts you might have on these matters.

What makes prose good? Like on the sentence level? I've become more aware of the prose in the fic that I read since I started writing it. I've noticed that I like some of it better, and find some of it easier to read, but I can't really identify what traits make me enjoy prose.

I've been thinking about the difference between writing non-fiction and fiction and they are actually surprisingly similar, which confuses me. One thing that is different though is that I have to think lot harder about how much to say between the words. With non-fiction i have learned that if I haven't said something in so many words people won't know that I thought it. But with fic its harder. For example in fic form close third POV sometimes have very clear ideas exactly what the other characters are thinking but of course I can't just come out and say it.

I guess that's food for thought.

Comments

[enemyofperfect]

This is such an interesting question to consider! I think I tend to enjoy fiction that has striking visual description and metaphors, as long as it isn't layered on so thickly that I start to feel lost and overwhelmed. I also enjoy prose that conveys a lot about the character's (or writer's) personality and opinions, which I think is often achieved by describing things in very subjective terms. And especially in non-fiction, the word "lucid" often comes to mind when I'm really impressed by the sentence-level writing of a piece, but it's hard to unpack what I mean by that. I guess that things are expressed clearly and simply -- with eloquence that doesn't need to be ornate.

[forestofglory]

Thanks this is super useful food for thought.