TOLKIEN --- Showing vs. telling.....why did telling work for him
- danger1577
- jerrib
- danger1577
- swest
- chdez1234
- chdez1234
- OrbDawg
- WonderBroad
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» danger1577 - lord of the rings
The most common piece of advice on writing is what? Show the story don't tell the story. So often we hear that exposition should be used sparingly, and showing the story is what involves the reader and makes the reader feel what is happening. Yet in the Lord of the Rings, the story is mostly told. Tolkien himself said "The tale grew in the telling" -- and telling, and telling." Showing wasn't a strength of Tolkien's writing. So why are the books so popular? And why do they seem to resonate so well with us? Is the prevailing advice to "show" bad advice? Or is this advice given with the presupposition that the new writer is not a "great writer" and this skill is beyond him/her, so he should stick to the basics and "show?" Why does telling work so perfectly in these books?-- posted by danger1577
» jerrib - Re: lord of the rings
In response to message posted by danger1577:I wonder what Tolkien would say to this question?
It amazes me how great the movies are, fashioned after the books. Little did Tolkien know that someday his books would be a big hit in the movie world. I guess I'd like to answer your question with a question:
How did such a great writer inspire those in the future movie industry to "get it right?"
-- posted by jerrib
» danger1577 - Re: Re: lord of the rings
In response to message posted by jerrib:I think the people involved in making the movie "got it right" because the books meant something to them. The older actors and most important, the director, Peter Jackson, read the books when they were younger. Perhaps they felt a connection to the characters, and to "get it wrong" would be to betray those characters. Though they were not real, they seemed real, as they had an affect on us the readers. Could you portray a friend incorrectly if you were making a movie of his life? What woman does not want to bEowynyn oArwenen? What man does not want to bAragornrn oTheodenen? How could Peter Jackson betray himself by incorrectly portraying his role models?
-- posted by danger1577
» swest - Lord of the Rings
Since Tolkien created a whole other world, he had to do a lot of description which, I think, normally falls more into the category of telling rather than showing. I'm not sure how you can show a scene. It has to be described or told about. On the other hand, characters' actions have to be shown rather than told.Probably the reason his books were never made into a movie before our times is just that need to show his world. Special effects finally caught up to his vision of how it was.
I'm not endorsing the following site but am submitting this web address as an example of some of the ideas as to why these stories have such appeal. It is found at http://www.sacredmysteries.com/JayTolkie... Tolkien seems to have tapped into something, although I believe he said it was not an allegory.
-- posted by swest
-- posted by chdez1234
» chdez1234 - Tolkien's Lord of the Rings
Excuse my stupidity, but I still don't understand why Tolkien's Lord of the Rings was a success when he did not show but told his story. We're supposed to show, instead of to tell, don't we? Can anybody help me out of my stupidity? Thanks.-- posted by chdez1234
» OrbDawg - Telling vs Showing
Hypothesis: Telling in written literature is narrative. You can show through telling. Tolkien was a storyteller. This is oral story telling. There is an incredible difference. Oral cultures of the past mastered the art of story telling. We struggle to ressurect it because we understand movies and those of us who are more literary based thinkers understand the written form, and we spend little time developing our sense of this form of delivery. Explore oral story telling and by listening to an experienced story teller grip you with a tale. It's an experience you will never forget. A story told right will draw you into that world before you know it. Such is the power of telling.I'm deliberately confusing telling and showing because it has helped me alot to throw off instructions like "...show, don't tell." They can cause writer's block. Other times, they can be helpful. They are meant to help you. If they don't, throw them in the corner or out the window. You can always dig 'em up later.
If you don't like that, take a blank page. Write the word showing on it. think of a situation in your head and try to show it with words. If you can't think of anyway to do that, tell it. Look back at what you wrote and try to develop literary techniques like developing characters, setting, mood, drama. If you keep working at it, you will be so into that situation or scene, you will be able to tell people what's happening in the scene as if it were happening right now, vibrant, real. Look at the work Tolkien put into developing his world in which his characters lived and breathed. And yet so much is left to your imagination. I love that kind of story. It's not for everyone. I believe I understand Tolkien.
Conclusion: Tolkien's works show. They don't tell. You could also say that he shows you the world in which the story is taking place by telling you about it. That's nota crime. It was incredibly affective You could also say that by indirectly telling you about the story of the elves and all these other races he was able to interweave them into a grand unified theme which has the same uncanny sense that we get from life. Was there a purpose all along? How is it possible? He understands drama and his world creates the same kind of drama we find in our world like war, political injustice, death, etc. so we can feel his character's fears and fatigue in the face of terrible misfortune.
So be careful of following advice too closely. You may miss the forest for the trees. Open your mind and write what pleases you and what your mind sees and you won't have to worry about telling too much.
Tell me if that's useful.
T.T. OrbDawg
-- posted by OrbDawg
» WonderBroad - Re: Telling vs Showing
In response to Telling vs Showing posted by OrbDawg:Tolkien did both showing and telling in LOTR. He didn't choose one over the other. The story is so huge that both approaches work--and they are, in my opinion, both necessary.
-- posted by WonderBroad
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