“I know writers who use subtext and they’re all cowards.”
Seriously, I may put this up on the wall for next month.
One thought on “Quote of the Day, Garth Marenghi’s Wisdom For NaNoWriMo edition.”
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“I know writers who use subtext and they’re all cowards.”
Seriously, I may put this up on the wall for next month.
Comments are closed.
Eh. Depends on the subtext.
First, there are the “things you can’t say”, which generally deserve to be lampooned.
Second, there’s the Marx Brothers/e e cummings route of presenting something that can be taken a number of different ways, and they all work.
Third, unless you’re writing romance or certain types of nonfiction, emotional exhibitionism is not wanted. I’m less interested in your character’s insecurities than I am women’s clothing or soup. And that’s saying something.
Fourth, sex. If I wanted smut, I’d frelling read erotica. (I do realize that publishers demand gratuitous graphic sex scenes. It might have been a selling point when Heinlein was selling “Number of the Beast” to adolescents in the pre-internet era. But I’m sick of walking into moist quivering moaning.)