I ran across some unusual and, to me, kind of shocking advice about writing novels the other day. It was offered by Megan Davidson, Staff Editor at SterlingHouse, which is a vanity press about which there are several warnings on the internet. But the legitimacy of the company is not the point of this post; rather, I'm referring to the fact that she is strongly telling novelists NOT to write cinematically. Here is part of what she says:
"What is Cinematic Writing and What are its Hallmarks? The cinematic point of view is an attempt to mimic the point of view of a camera, as well as the general style of a movie, in written form. Such a POV is usually not well suited to a novel, as it adds a great deal of distance between the reader and the characters, and draws attention to the fact that writing is an artifice. These factors inhibit the writer’s ability to create three-dimensional characters capable of influencing the events of the plot. We strongly do not recommend the cinematic POV for the beginning novelist. Fortunately, it has a number of specific hallmarks, which are really filming techniques, adapted to writing; these can be easily recognized and avoided. The result of the following techniques is to give POV to the eye of an invisible camera, not to a character or narrator.
1. Zooms – Cinematic writers might “zoom in” on some detail, such as a character’s face, to describe it intensely for no apparent reason. “The lines on her face tightened as her lips inched upward into a smile.” [JW: of course I agree that nothing in your novel should be there for no apparent reason, but sometimes there is a very good reason for "zooming in."]
2. Pull backs – In this, the opposite of a zoom, the POV seems to draw back from a scene to reveal a foreground, a middle ground and a background. “The old man stood by a hut, surrounded by brush and weeds, with tall pines rising in the background. The Rocky Mountains loomed in the distance.” [JW: Yes, not a thrilling example, but surely there are times when it makes sense to put your character's position in the setting into perspective?]
3. Pans – POV might pan across a scene as a movie camera would, from left to right or top to bottom, as the camera records the setting. “The waterfall began at the top of a high cliff. The splashing water hit a large boulder about halfway down the precipice, then plunged into a pool at the base of the cliff.” [JW: Again, not great writing but I don't see anything wrong with the principle when setting a scene.]
4. Cuts – Scenes shift abruptly from one to the next, without transitions, or bridges, which help readers comprehend a new setting. Cutting to scenes works in a movie, where visual images provide a continuum, but not in a novel. " [JW: In some of best thrillers I've read, the authors use this technique to great effect.]
She goes on for a while more. Of course everybody is entitled to an opinion, but I can't help worrying about the beginning writers who will--in MY opinion, anyway--be misled by this kind of advice.
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