Thanks! I'm not so sure about the genius part, but I'm working on trying to shorten the paragraphs.:-)
Speaking of genius...I hadn't thought of it that way but that is a great point about the balance of everyman and hero. It is great the way JKR does it--and it may be instinctive almost at times. Part of it is maybe the use of the tight pov where we feel how Harry feels, and Harry rarely feels special--but at the same time it's not totally fake because I think we see Harry sometimes taking things for granted. So it's not like he's really walking around being overly humble like a saint. He gets impatient, he snape.
if you say 'Ginny shouted, beside herself', that conveys just as much as if you say 'Ginny had gone red in the face, was swaying agitatedly and so on and so forth.') JKR does not shy away from exploring more detailed descriptions, in fact, she gives almost painstakingly exact accounts of what are arguably less important elements of the story (the Twins' joke shop etc); however, when she thinks such attentions might distract from a central conflict or pivotal scene, she abandons them in favor of brevity- using fewer words to show the same thing, then moving along.
Right--the story and the pace is all-important at all times. There are times where she will really focus on details in the setting, for instance. The first time we see the MoM is like that, I think. It sweeps you along--and obviously that's working!
And there is something fun about being able to extrapolate things like "Ron makes a mean egg sandwich" from a text. I think fandoms really rely on that kind of wiggle room.
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Re: Greetings and...yes....continued
Date: 2006-12-14 02:23 am (UTC)Speaking of genius...I hadn't thought of it that way but that is a great point about the balance of everyman and hero. It is great the way JKR does it--and it may be instinctive almost at times. Part of it is maybe the use of the tight pov where we feel how Harry feels, and Harry rarely feels special--but at the same time it's not totally fake because I think we see Harry sometimes taking things for granted. So it's not like he's really walking around being overly humble like a saint. He gets impatient, he snape.
if you say 'Ginny shouted, beside herself', that conveys just as much as if you say 'Ginny had gone red in the face, was swaying agitatedly and so on and so forth.') JKR does not shy away from exploring more detailed descriptions, in fact, she gives almost painstakingly exact accounts of what are arguably less important elements of the story (the Twins' joke shop etc); however, when she thinks such attentions might distract from a central conflict or pivotal scene, she abandons them in favor of brevity- using fewer words to show the same thing, then moving along.
Right--the story and the pace is all-important at all times. There are times where she will really focus on details in the setting, for instance. The first time we see the MoM is like that, I think. It sweeps you along--and obviously that's working!
And there is something fun about being able to extrapolate things like "Ron makes a mean egg sandwich" from a text. I think fandoms really rely on that kind of wiggle room.