Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Fun with Polls Definition of Introspection

Stories without introspection *do* exist--they're written from "dramatic POV", meaning that what we're doing is watching what's on the screen in front of us.

My professors recommend that the actual action be more than the introspection, as reading 25+ pages of introspection is *boring*. I've seen a few stories like that in class, and they've been recommended as cures for insomnia.

Laura

I don't understand why anyone would want to read anything from the "dramatic point of view." How on Earth would you know what the characters are thinking? You can only see so much on the screen/stage. The reason I write is because I wanted to explore what the characters were thinking during a specific moment on the show. I think 25+ pages of introspection can be absolutely rivoting, depending on the situation. It allows the reader to better understand the characters through their thought processes.

I guess I don't understand this because I am not a creative writing major . I am proud that I'm not -- I like biomedical engineering so much more .

- LauraA+

Well, my opinion is that both posts here indicate a simple, universal truth - tastes differ. Some like introspection, some don't and there's room for all opinions.

What's boring to one reader is, as LauraA points out, fascinating to another. This applies not just to introspection, but practically every genre and style of fanfic imaginable. Some of us don't like first person pov stories. Some of us don't like children appearing in fanfic. Some of us don't like deathfic. And the list goes on...

My advice, for what it's worth, would be to read what pleases you and avoid what doesn't. Life is way too short for anything else.

And, as a rider to that - write what pleases you too. Unless you're getting paid for it and have paymasters to please. Writing as a hobby should be all about having fun with it.

LabRat

I voted that I prefer introspection as part of the narrative (as a opposed to when the charatcter "thinks") but I find I appreciate a balance between the two.

And as for the second question, I chose that it depends on the author. Some authors do an excellent job with introspection - telling me enough to help the story without being endlessly repetitive or going on about minutea. However, this was a mixed vote - I find it essential to the story for me to enjoy it. And of course, the story itself lends to whether or not high levels of introspection are needed. In an action-packed adventure, I don't need to know how Lois is feeling when the bad guy whips out a gun and sticks it in her face. But upon the morning of her wedding to Clark, some good old musings are great.

I think it is actually quite a challenge for a writer to be effective at writing a story without too much introspection, using the description of action and dialogue to tell the reader what the characters are feeling. For example, if I read:

"Lois screamed, a high pitched wail. "Stop!!""

I pretty much know what she's feeling (and this is a really easy example.) I myself am trying to work on converting introspection to action and/or dialogue so that I don't end up with ten pages of nothing going on.

But that being said, I also find as a writer that it's what I imagine a certain character might be feeling at a particular point in time or after a certain event that actually inspires the story. I write a story so that I can be introspective. I love to see the action on TV, but I really want to know what the character was feeling at the time. I haven't yet had an idea that was solely action driven - such as, I really want to show Lois and Clark going waterskiing.

I think Roger summed it up best for me:
Very interesting topic
Lynn

Well, sure, if it's characters I don't know, making decisions about things that don't interest me... that would be excruciatingly dull. And I have my limits on how much I want to hear about L&C's thought processes, too, believe me -- as some authors out there know But my limits aren't pushed very often. When those limits *are* crossed, I might think the rest of the story is interesting enough for me to skim past it -- I can think of a perfect example but I'm not sure the author would appreciate me mentioning it. <g> Sometimes I roll my eyes and close the file <g> I guess I need to resort to my Trusty All-Purpose Answer to this type of question: "It depends."

That said, I've noticed that professors tend to have a bias against "genre" stories (romance, sci-fi, mystery... fanfic) in favor of what they call "real literature." So I'm not at all surprised at this recommendation.

PJ
who thinks "literature" is a *great* cure for insomnia!