rara-avis@icomm.ca wrote:
>I've always thought that when a writer makes his/her
points clear only
>through dialogue, he/she is just not competent. This
is a rash
>exaggeration, but this is how I feel about these
matters. The points
>should be made through some other devices, plot,
atmosphere, the
>relations between characters, et cetera.
> But in the hands of a good writer, dialogue can, and
should,
> deliver plot, atmosphere, the relations between
characters, et
> cetera.
> Read the dialogue of someone like Elmore Leonard or
George Higgins
> (or even Robert Parker) and you can see what
dialogue can do...
Agreed. Of course, it doesn't have to be an either/or thing.
But someone who can make all their points through dialogue,
and do it using naturalistic and non-expositional dialogue,
is not only competent but skillful.
Those of you who scorn it--try it sometime. It's -not-
easy.
> And maybe it's a cultural thing, but like Marianne,
I think the
> idea of a Rolls-Royce pick-up is a hoot.
Yah, me too. Of course, I started reading the McGee novels
when I was only 14, over 20 years ago. I don't know how I'd
react to them if I came to them cold, now.
jess http://www.geocities.com/jjnevins/pulpsintro.html
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