Re: Incluing and Out

In article <Ec2%j.3465$fk.2034@trnddc06>, clough@xxxxxxxxx says...
Graham Woodland wrote:

Exposition between characters, or directly at the reader by a
conversational narrator, can obviously do characterisation. They can
also add a coarser (but not thereby worse!) bit texture to the feel of
the story, or can blatantly foreground selected matters that are not
*supposed* to be any more subtle than Chekhov's gun over the
mantelpiece. Do you really want your big loud bangy space opera to come
on subtle as a seventh-degree sobbet? Get out that twelve-foot length
of clue-by-four -- go on, you know you want to!

You are not referring, are you, to the dreaded "As you know Bob"?

Ex: "As you know, Bob, our good spaceship is powered by the
less observable principles of the second law of thermodynamics."

I think it has its place. If you have invented a cool FTL drive whose
workings will interest many of your readers, 'As you know, Bob' may be
as good a way as any to inform them that the following passage will be
interesting to those who like such things, and may safely be skipped by
others.

On the other hand, if some plot detail turns on a special property of
your space drive - for example that time will start running backwards
for those near the engine room in the event of an emergency stop - it
would be best to find a way of foreshadowing it that will access all
readers.

- Gerry Quinn

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