I have had this question constantly popping into my thoughts when trying to decide on the style, and how to write my novel. Firstly I like the novel that transports you to the exact place and time period the author is trying to express. Where you get to feel, smell, and almost sense you are there. But then you get the advice regarding creative writing that you should "Show don't tell" this is the golden rule to some. Yet I like to tell, I like to describe in detail certain events, or how the people are dressed. I also like to be told the structure of the novel, I know that it is also good to let your reader have their own view on certain aspects of the story. Like a character, you don't have to go into grate depths of depravity to show the bad guy, but you can let the reader build up in their own mind of how deprived the bad guy is. Also Introduction's, I have read many books that have an introduction but yet I have been give the advice that if you need an Introduction then there is something wrong with the novel. Yet if you have an introduction you are setting the novel up, by the very word "Introduction" you are letting the reader get a feel for the novel, without it sounding like "Once upon a time" also you can use a prologue for your novel. This is were I find the advice confusing and contradictory so could somebody please help me.
Writing and reading are very personal things which is why you often find gushingly flattering reviews of utter crap. 'Everybody loves somebody sometime.'
You're right - all the conflicting advice out there is confusing. I have been, and still am, flummoxed by much of it. The two bits I found most useful are:
(i) Read as much as you can of the genre you're writing. See how published writers deal with similar things, such as the level of description, and test how comfortable you are with the way they've chosen to write scenes
(ii) Go with your gut feeling. It's your story, after all, and you must please yourself before can hope to please another reader.
That's what I try to do. If others like what I write, that's brilliant! If they don't, then I must decide if that's important or not.
Best of luck :)
Ah! A college course... That is a little different.
A good tutor should be able to see the merits of an argument or any piece of work that takes a different view from their own - and also, in tha case of writing fiction, use a differnt style or technique - not all tutors are good though...
Therefore one of the people that you should be asking the original question is your tutor - and - with regard to "Show not tell" - what is his/her general opinion and what is their advice. This is not taking an unfair advantage - it's simply practical. You can always work in a different and even opposite way - and be prepared to defend your actions. There is even a case for doing different tasks for the same tutor in different ways - to show that you are developing different concepts/styles.
Tutors are there to teach - not to dictate - you should be able to seek advice.
Let us know how you get on please.
David
It's a huge process of elimination. Or, at least, it was for me. I've taken a few wrong turns with my work because people have told me the wrong thing but what I eventually discovered was that nothing was really wasted because it was always a learning experience and even when advice was spectacularly wrong, it wasn't so wrong they had me rewriting perfection. What I mean is, often they spotted something I couldn't see and even though the wrong advice may have been given, at least they drew my attention to it. I had to spend a lot of time reading about POV when I got criticised for it and it was one of those occasions where we were both wrong. After a lot of research I was able to confidently go back and put it right.
So if someone tells you something and you're not sure you understand, do your homework. Google it, read text books and ask around until you fully understand the subject. In the case of 'show don't tell' I would add that a strong omniscient narrator is exactly the opposite - it's all tell - and if you are using one of those you will need to develop your own judgement. Style is a factor in this and I would say that if your pace and flow aren't too heavily jolted, it's your call. After all, the boundaries of fiction are there to be pushed.