The concept of the rule "Show, don't tell" comes from film making, and states that instead of spewing exposition via dialogue, the audience should see information rather than hear it.
This concept is also praised in video games such as Half-Life and it's sequels where control is very rarely taken from the player, forcing the designers to attempt to grab the player's attention in various other ways.
When applied to writing, however, it's slightly different. Instead of your goal being for the audience to see rather than hear, your goal is to make the audience feel through emotion instead of see by reading words. Emotion and imagination can be far more powerful than any written word, but the issue is that not only is everybody different, and just about no one can relate to every given situation, difficulty arises in that you must create emotion through written word.
For example, This afternoon, after eating lunch and taking the bus home, I was horribly overheated and sweaty. I became parched, so I decided to get water on the way home. After a long, crowded bus ride, the problem only became worse when the Circle K by my house had a problem with their water pumps. Instead of waiting until I got home, I made a different decision. Soda would only worsen the issue, I don't like tea, and I abhor Gatorade, so instead of a beverage, I found an even better, alternative way to cool down and soothe my dry mouth on the way home. I bought a small, circular, plastic package. opening the package was quick and easy, and when I shook a tablet into my hand, it was almost as if I could feel the ice cold sensation on my palm. I popped the tablet into my mouth and bit hard. My teeth immediately broke the tough and rigid tablet into a fine powder, and immediately, my entire face became ice cold. my mouth began to water at the intense flavor, so intense it almost hurt. I chewed and kept the tablet in my mouth as it continued to cool me off. The tingling sensation bordered on true pain as it traveled to my nose. I popped another tablet in. The sensation lingered before I bit through the second one, and as I swallowed the first, my throat was coated with the coolant, and I was now prepared for the hot and dry trek home.
.
Now, without ever having said the word mint, just about everybody could guess what I was talking about. I never said what flavor, I never said what brand, I never said how large the tablets were, or the shape, but still, anybody could form a clear mental picture of the scene.
When going about this method, it definitely helps to make the language more poetic and drawn out. It helps for people to fill in the gaps themselves, and in doing so, they inadvertently place themselves in the position of the subject, and perhaps they think of their favorite brand of mints, or they think of a similar situation that happened to them, etc.
If you hit a wall, think about the five senses: Touch Taste Sight Smell and Hearing
In my example, I "showed" quite a lot, but if I were to have "told", you would have walked away with simple summary of "He was hot, he didn't have water, and he ate a mint". Though this general rule of thumb is not always necessary, or indeed, I believe, possible, it is almost always recommended.
Sunday, September 8, 2019
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Entry #2: The Hero's Journey
Joseph Campbell is well-known for his theory of the "monomyth". A theory that claimed that all stories' hero revolves around a certain pattern. This pattern is known as "The Hero's Journey" or "The Hero With a Thousand Faces".
Here is a comprehensive walkthrough of the cycle, detailing its use in "The Matrix", "Star Wars", and "Harry Potter".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB_Q1gFsvIw\
It's important to note that not all of these steps must be followed, nor do they have to be in a particular order. The "Special World" or "Other World" can be entirely metaphorical. The Inheritance Cycle series, by Christopher Paolini, and one of my personal favorites, is an example of a figurative "Other World".
(Some minor spoilers for Eragon)
The story begins with a young man named Eragon who lives his life as a simple farmer in an ordinary world. Due to outlandish circumstance, he happens upon a mysterious "stone" that hatches to reveal a newborn dragon. A species known to be nearly extinct. He accepts the call to responsibility, and raises the dragon in secret, only to accidentally attract the attention of some menacing figures who call themselves the "Ra'zac" who are acting upon the evil King's orders. Eragon, at first refuses the call to act until the Ra'zac burn his home and kill his father-figure in suspicion of Eragon. He turns to the only man in the village that knows anything about dragons, Brom. In doing so, he meets the mentor that helps him cross the threshold of peace into war by taking him to the rebels known as the Varden.
I could continue, but I'm sure you understand by this point.
Many people already know of this practice of testing the "Hero's Journey" formula by plugging in various other stories, yet it is still quite fun to Dig Deeper into the formulation of your favorite stories. In doing so, you might notice that Luke Skywalker, Frodo Baggins, and Eragon, all begin as simple men who work in a field, that, by the request of a wise and powerful white-haired mentor, who then go on a quest to overthrow an evil ruler with a strong liking to the colors black and red, eventually receiving a blue, magic sword that puts them above others.
This is not exclusive to books or movies, as well. This same logic could be applied to video games.
Let us choose Samus Aran of the Metroid series, a character and setting vastly different from what one might consider when thinking about a "myth":
A young girl is with her parents on an alien world, when suddenly, they are attacked by a faction known as the Space Pirates.
She is overwhelmed by a wish to fight these invaders, but must refuse until she is strong enough.
She is taken in by the only survivors of the attack; a wise race of alien mentors known as the Chozo
The Chozo train her to be a great warrior, a skill she uses in the Galactic Federation before becoming an independent bounty-hunter.
She is finally in a position to strike back against the Space Pirates that had attacked her.
She is given "supernatural help" by way of ancient Chozo technology stolen and stored by the Space Pirates.
She encounters the very creature that personally killed her parents, Ridley, and defeats him.
Fully armed with ancient and new technology, she faces the commander of the Space Pirates, Mother Brain, and destroys her.
Samus narrowly escapes the detonating planet and returns to a more quiet life traveling the stars until she is needed again.
I could have even stretched the formula over the entire Metroid series, instead of only the first game. That is how powerful this formula can be.
Personally, I find this exercise not only tremendously entertaining, but also good practice for analyzing material, or writing it yourself. If one wishes, they could attempt to write a story that deliberately straddles this formula, for the sake of a consistent theme, or one could avoid the pattern altogether, and create a story that breaks the formula. One way or the other, it is a very helpful tool for writing fiction.
Here is a comprehensive walkthrough of the cycle, detailing its use in "The Matrix", "Star Wars", and "Harry Potter".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB_Q1gFsvIw\
It's important to note that not all of these steps must be followed, nor do they have to be in a particular order. The "Special World" or "Other World" can be entirely metaphorical. The Inheritance Cycle series, by Christopher Paolini, and one of my personal favorites, is an example of a figurative "Other World".
(Some minor spoilers for Eragon)
The story begins with a young man named Eragon who lives his life as a simple farmer in an ordinary world. Due to outlandish circumstance, he happens upon a mysterious "stone" that hatches to reveal a newborn dragon. A species known to be nearly extinct. He accepts the call to responsibility, and raises the dragon in secret, only to accidentally attract the attention of some menacing figures who call themselves the "Ra'zac" who are acting upon the evil King's orders. Eragon, at first refuses the call to act until the Ra'zac burn his home and kill his father-figure in suspicion of Eragon. He turns to the only man in the village that knows anything about dragons, Brom. In doing so, he meets the mentor that helps him cross the threshold of peace into war by taking him to the rebels known as the Varden.
I could continue, but I'm sure you understand by this point.
Many people already know of this practice of testing the "Hero's Journey" formula by plugging in various other stories, yet it is still quite fun to Dig Deeper into the formulation of your favorite stories. In doing so, you might notice that Luke Skywalker, Frodo Baggins, and Eragon, all begin as simple men who work in a field, that, by the request of a wise and powerful white-haired mentor, who then go on a quest to overthrow an evil ruler with a strong liking to the colors black and red, eventually receiving a blue, magic sword that puts them above others.
This is not exclusive to books or movies, as well. This same logic could be applied to video games.
Let us choose Samus Aran of the Metroid series, a character and setting vastly different from what one might consider when thinking about a "myth":
A young girl is with her parents on an alien world, when suddenly, they are attacked by a faction known as the Space Pirates.
She is overwhelmed by a wish to fight these invaders, but must refuse until she is strong enough.
She is taken in by the only survivors of the attack; a wise race of alien mentors known as the Chozo
The Chozo train her to be a great warrior, a skill she uses in the Galactic Federation before becoming an independent bounty-hunter.
She is finally in a position to strike back against the Space Pirates that had attacked her.
She is given "supernatural help" by way of ancient Chozo technology stolen and stored by the Space Pirates.
She encounters the very creature that personally killed her parents, Ridley, and defeats him.
Fully armed with ancient and new technology, she faces the commander of the Space Pirates, Mother Brain, and destroys her.
Samus narrowly escapes the detonating planet and returns to a more quiet life traveling the stars until she is needed again.
I could have even stretched the formula over the entire Metroid series, instead of only the first game. That is how powerful this formula can be.
Personally, I find this exercise not only tremendously entertaining, but also good practice for analyzing material, or writing it yourself. If one wishes, they could attempt to write a story that deliberately straddles this formula, for the sake of a consistent theme, or one could avoid the pattern altogether, and create a story that breaks the formula. One way or the other, it is a very helpful tool for writing fiction.
Entry #1: Digging into other blogs
It may very well be hypocritical to say, but I have never been one to enjoy most blogs.
All too often, they are the same forms of propaganda that push an agenda, rather than effectively deliver important information.
To show why, I will be "reviewing", so to speak, other blogs of various context.
To begin with the most popular blog site (As of August, 2019), The Huffington Post
https://www.huffpost.com/
Firstly, to identify the blog as any one category of "professional" "corporate" "personal", etc. would be inconsistent at best. With so many writers for one blog, there are many articles that follow a proper professional tone, many more that follow the "casual/professional" category, as does mine, but still so many that follow a personal tone.
Scrolling through a site like this tends to give me a sort of emotional whiplash. They push dozens of topically relevant articles, which itself is fine, but then you're cascaded with divisive politics about gun control, immigration, or freedom of speech, only to be bombarded with the Amazon rain forest's burning, then: Wacky 250 pigs bust out of enclosure and cause shenanigans! Only to return to the likes of "politics blamed for mass shootings".
Some would argue, and I would agree, that such a diverse collection of information would be good for a news blog like The Huffington Post, but in doing so, it eliminates the existence of a core theme apart from the aforementioned divisive politics, and with dozens, or hundreds, or thousands of journalists writing articles for one site, it can create a very exclusive audience.
Next, Business Insider
https://www.businessinsider.com
Starting with the "Tech" tab, we can see many articles involving technology, to be sure, but right off the bat, we see many, many titles that connect vague themes of technology to politics. They barely try hide their obvious opinions of political figures. To its credit, beyond the eye-catching titles, the articles seem to adhere to a much more professional, objective tone. Most of my complaints are to the tune of the above comments on The Huffington Post, albeit to a far lesser extent. Not much more to say on that front.
Last, and possibly by a great bias, not least, the "Nerd's News" site, Kotaku
https://kotaku.com/
As I said, my enjoyment of the Kotaku site is certainly biased, although that doesn't take away from the fact that the issues I had with The Huffington Post and Business Insider are next to non-existent here. The tone of writing is far closer to a personal style, but still remains a more professional air. Articles span the likes of "I loved X while playing Y" and "Interesting facts about Z". In a breath of fresh air, instead of annoyingly political titles, I see titles like "Brand new Halo action figures", or "New Joker movie shows promise despite fan apprehension", to paraphrase.
As a gaming-centric blog, there is a more traditional game review tab that displays the top 12 games for a given console. Concise, it details a quick summary of a game, and has a pros-and-cons bit that accentuates who would or wouldn't enjoy the game based on their expectations for said game.
In the end, my general opinion on most blogs has not changed, however, I urge others to Dig Deeper when reading articles. If the article is supposed to have a professional, objective tone, try to see if you can determine the author's opinions and if they affect the author's final judgments. If you can, chances are they may be acting on some ulterior motive.
All too often, they are the same forms of propaganda that push an agenda, rather than effectively deliver important information.
To show why, I will be "reviewing", so to speak, other blogs of various context.
To begin with the most popular blog site (As of August, 2019), The Huffington Post
https://www.huffpost.com/
Firstly, to identify the blog as any one category of "professional" "corporate" "personal", etc. would be inconsistent at best. With so many writers for one blog, there are many articles that follow a proper professional tone, many more that follow the "casual/professional" category, as does mine, but still so many that follow a personal tone.
Scrolling through a site like this tends to give me a sort of emotional whiplash. They push dozens of topically relevant articles, which itself is fine, but then you're cascaded with divisive politics about gun control, immigration, or freedom of speech, only to be bombarded with the Amazon rain forest's burning, then: Wacky 250 pigs bust out of enclosure and cause shenanigans! Only to return to the likes of "politics blamed for mass shootings".
Some would argue, and I would agree, that such a diverse collection of information would be good for a news blog like The Huffington Post, but in doing so, it eliminates the existence of a core theme apart from the aforementioned divisive politics, and with dozens, or hundreds, or thousands of journalists writing articles for one site, it can create a very exclusive audience.
Next, Business Insider
https://www.businessinsider.com
Starting with the "Tech" tab, we can see many articles involving technology, to be sure, but right off the bat, we see many, many titles that connect vague themes of technology to politics. They barely try hide their obvious opinions of political figures. To its credit, beyond the eye-catching titles, the articles seem to adhere to a much more professional, objective tone. Most of my complaints are to the tune of the above comments on The Huffington Post, albeit to a far lesser extent. Not much more to say on that front.
Last, and possibly by a great bias, not least, the "Nerd's News" site, Kotaku
https://kotaku.com/
As I said, my enjoyment of the Kotaku site is certainly biased, although that doesn't take away from the fact that the issues I had with The Huffington Post and Business Insider are next to non-existent here. The tone of writing is far closer to a personal style, but still remains a more professional air. Articles span the likes of "I loved X while playing Y" and "Interesting facts about Z". In a breath of fresh air, instead of annoyingly political titles, I see titles like "Brand new Halo action figures", or "New Joker movie shows promise despite fan apprehension", to paraphrase.
As a gaming-centric blog, there is a more traditional game review tab that displays the top 12 games for a given console. Concise, it details a quick summary of a game, and has a pros-and-cons bit that accentuates who would or wouldn't enjoy the game based on their expectations for said game.
In the end, my general opinion on most blogs has not changed, however, I urge others to Dig Deeper when reading articles. If the article is supposed to have a professional, objective tone, try to see if you can determine the author's opinions and if they affect the author's final judgments. If you can, chances are they may be acting on some ulterior motive.
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Introduction to "digging"
To begin, allow me to introduce myself. You could describe me with many, many words, but I believe, to be concise, you only truly need one.
Nerd. The kind of nerd that would conjure images such as this:
However you want to spin the word; nerd, geek, four-eyes, book-worm, or whatever else, I enjoy writing, science, movies, books, video games, etc. I especially enjoy over-thinking the things I see, hear, and read. In other words, I enjoy "Digging Deeper". The purpose of this blog is to express this joy and, hopefully, pass it on. I'm unsure of the general topics that will be discussed on this blog, as it is an ongoing assignment. That being said, I don't plan to be politically divisive, and I hope I will have a chance to analyze movies, tv, books, etc. and pass on some writing techniques that I have been taught from some amazing teachers.
Academically speaking, I mainly enjoy Chemistry, which is why I'm seeking a degree in chemical engineering. When it comes to entertainment, as I have already said, I enjoy reading, but more so movies, and even more so video games. I like to write as a hobby, which, I hope, will assist me with this blog. For those who are interested, I have a research paper that I wrote for my senior year. One I am especially proud of:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1debVwDf5mT9OImmSRCkQsDlVUnC25-7uFAVrbIxkx0k/edit?usp=sharing
When it comes to criticism, I'm fully open to it, as long as it is in some way constructive. If the comment is simply "You suck." than there isn't much I can do to improve. If said comment were more like "I don't like your use of cringy stock photos" than I can work with that. In short, be civilized, and your voice will be heard.
That's about all I wanted to cover, so I hope to hear from some helpful voices in the coming weeks!
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