I don’t know how many times, during out usual post-movie analysis, I’ve turned to my husband and said, “Why didn’t they explain [insert current subject here]? It would have taken like two lines of dialog to let us know /why/how/a reason for/ this seeming silliness, but as it stands, it makes no sense.

Movies seem to commit this sin more often than books, but maybe that’s because when a book starts seeming absurd I just drop it and start another.

Madeleine Robins has some great advice on this very subject that’s definitely worth reading for those who are writers:

A little handwaving in those first scenes, a sentence of dialogue to smooth over the issues that snagged me, and I would have eased right into the story and enjoyed it. If there’s something that you think is going to snag your audience, address it in some way, then go right on past (“move along, folks. Nothin’ to see here.”)

Read the whole post here.

Sometimes, just a few lines of explanation can make all the difference.

Posted on: Monday, August 15th, 2011 at 12:55 pm
Categories: Writing.
Tags: handwaving in writing, Madeleine Robins, smoothing over story issues, writing advice