Writing with Technical Possibilities

There are many art forms, each with their own respective quirks, qualities, and methods to make things happen.

My favorite art form is music, but in the second place is storytelling in multiple formats. What sets writing apart from other formats is the ability to let the reader imagine things in their mind, to set up a story of their own making, if you will.

There’s a reason many people say the book is better than the movie or game.

Fiction writing lets you get into a character’s psyche, their viewpoint, and there might even be a hint of omniscience in the narrative at certain points to wrap things up in a nice bow of story.

You can do things with words that storyboards made into a film can’t quite capture—the flow, the rhythm of the words as they dance across the page and paint a solid canvas of possibilities.

Every art form has its own story to tell, and methods by which they are told. Some of my favorite music is instrumental, without lyrics to convey the story of the song. This is how sound works, and the medium of structured sound offers untold potential for bringing emotions to life.

In a book, you don’t have sound to compliment it, at least not generally.

But if you fall in love with writing, you can make the reader fall in love with the words on the page as well. The story is the important thing, the main essence of the art, but using words in an elegant ballet doesn’t always hurt the story either.

There’s direct prose, and then there’s elegant prose. What we want to avoid is purple prose, though I don’t think the rules in writing are as set in stone as many people seem to believe. If you want to violet things out, that’s fine with this writer. Yes, I just used a color as a verb. That’s what we get to do with writing. Know the rules, then break them.

What we do with the words is just as important as the words themselves. When you fall in love with writing, you know when to use elegant elements, and when to tone it down. Some stories require a more realistic approach, but in worlds of fanciful settings, the writing can explode with diverse eloquence rarely needed in a grittier tale.

But what about when the fantastical meets the practical and grounded?

Do you go in one direction or the other?

Maybe you split it fifty-fifty, or you choose to enhance the words in a detective story.

That’s the beauty of the technical aspects of the art form.

Just as musicians often shift time signatures and keys, we as writers know when to use our instruments (pens and keys) in the way that is most fitting.

Sometimes that means using onomatopoeia to begin a story, and going with it to set the scene. Other times, that means capturing the stars to set the tone and flair.

But whatever it may be, let it be with all intention, purpose, and true understanding of the craft of words.

Because the words we use are deadly weapons, beautiful landscapes, and cosmic timescales in an ever-growing spirit of artistic endeavor.

Here’s an example of more toned-down prose from my upcoming novel, Lowella: