Mascara and story-telling
Years ago I went to a big 40th birthday party for a friend. Eat, dance, eat, dance. The party’s over and I walk over to my friend who threw the party for her husband. It was probably midnight.
“I have to tell you something,” I said. I held her elbow and turned her toward me. “You forgot to put on mascara.”
“What?” She touched her eyelashes. “Oh crap!” She laughed. “Why did you wait til the end of the party to tell me? Why didn’t anyone else mention it either — or still?”
I didn’t go into the fact that undeniably I was the better friend of everyone else in the room.
“I didn’t have mascara in my purse and didn’t want you to feel self conscious about it – you look great.” She did. She just looked like she didn’t have eyelashes.
We laughed about it then and we laugh about it still. And every time there’s an event I give her the thumbs up – which means – yes, you are wearing mascara.
So when it comes to story telling – how do you decide which details to reveal early on and which one can wait til later?
Kurt Vonnegut said, “Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages.”
I like surprises, so I’m not sure I completely agree – although things that fall out of the sky don’t work for me – so really – the signs are usually there if I choose to see them. Maybe that’s what he meant. I’ll never know!
What do you think? Do you agree with Vonnegut?
Would you tell your friend about the mascara at the beginning or end of the party?
Uh, er, I probably wouldn’t notice at all, given that I haven’t worn mascara in… oh, fifteen years, LOL. I woulda looked at you in complete astonishment and asked, “Why would I wear mascara?”
I’m on Vonnegut’s side, but that’s no surprise since I walk around saying that the beginning is the ending and the ending is the beginning. But there is suspense, I think. Something keeps us reading. But all surprises, in my mind, must be rooted in the beginning.
I’m w/Natasha – I probably wouldn’t notice the lack of mascara. However, since I’m writing mysteries these days, I can’t possibly give it all away in the beginning. It’s fun to throw crumbs (clues, hints) throughout the story, though, so that if you go back and look, you say, “Aha! I should have figured that out!”
First of all, I would be the friend to drag her in the bathroom and help her put it on at the BEGINNING (and if I had no mascara would run to the store for her IF it was an important thing to her, which from your story, it was). So beginning.
That said . . . I think Lurker Monkey’s response yesterday on my blog, which is that the voice should infuse your WHOLE story is how I feel. You may not know where the book is going (i.e., I don’t know when you start Freudian Slip that you have ANY idea where it is going), but you KNOW what KIND of story it is, you KNOW these characters. Not everything about them. Not how they are going to change, but you fundamentally know them enough that you want to stick around.
Funny!
And you were a good friend.
For the most part I think, yes, the writer should be up front. But how do you know on the big stuff? For instance, there’s this *thing* about my MC’s life that I don’t want to give up until later. I build up to it, drop hints that could seem insignificant. The reader is engaged the whole time, and then when the detail is admitted, everything fits, and it’s like they knew all along. (That’s my ideal vision, anyway.) And I’m holding off in telling this detail early because I don’t want to — please forgive the phrase — blow my wad too soon. Ya know? But is that right? I guess it’s writer’s choice, largely dependent upon the story you’re telling.
I like to hold out and drop subtle hints that lead to a reveal. I like the tease, what can I say? Same when I read, if it’s all dropped in my lap, why keep reading?
As for the friend, I’d probably think she did that on purpose and not call attention to it. Unless I knew that was something she’d NEVER do. Then I’d probably be like Erica and go buy some for her!