I dug through the archives and pulled out a long-time favorite. Hope you enjoy!
I just spent the entire weekend having long, contentious arguments with Captain Obvious.
Who is Captain Obvious?
Well, it’s simple really.
Captain Obvious stops by for a visit every time I read a sentence, paragraph, or, regrettably, sometimes even a page, where I’ve told my reader repeat, or unnecessary information that doesn’t move the storyline along.
Here’s a snippet of a recent conversation…
“Hey!” yelled Captain Obvious. “You’ve told them that already!”
“But, no, you don’t understand,” my stammering protests fill the air. “These words—they’re so beautiful, so brilliant; I simply can’t bear to send them away.”
“Loser!” Captain Obvious charged forward with the harsh truth, completely oblivious to my tender fragility. “There’s only so many times you have to tell the reader that people on the Oregon Trail who don’t have water ARE THIRSTY, AND LOOK FOR IT A LOT!”
Regrettably, Captain Obvious is usually right.
Highlight. Delete. Move on.
How about you? How do you deal with the big meanie who tells you when your writing isn’t working?
ramblingsfromtheleft said,
October 9, 2012 at 9:42 am
Christi, I deal with the two sides of me … the mean, sarcastic me and then the optimistic, dreamer me. When they get into an agrument all bets are off as to which of them is going to win. Depends on how strong I am on any given day. It’s like having stereo speakers in my head
Love Captain Obvious !!
christicorbett said,
October 9, 2012 at 10:31 am
Florence,
So do you have names for those two sides? I love the image of a mean you on one side and a nice you on another, both with huge speakers over their heads (an ode to the movie “Say Anything”), trying to get you to listen to their particular reasoning.
Now Captain Obvious is taunting me with how my lack of research on a particular item is resulting in a massive rewrite of a major storyline in my current WIP. And much to my chagrin, he’s right…again.
Thanks for visiting,
Christi