Intelligent Story Telling: The Importance of Dumb Conversation.

One thing I hear from several other creators is that they hate small talk. Why discuss recent events when you can have long arching arguments of philosophy? To be fair, I have been known to enjoy both, but the reason of this writing is to endorse dumb or surface level discussion and reflection. Humans naturally discuss things at a surface level. The norm is to be privative and reserve deep conversation until we are already intimate with the other member of the discussion. There's a whole discussion on psychology and philosophy in that, but that's for another moment.

If one does not participate in small surface level discussions then one cannot accurately describe the way humans talk or act. As a creator, this is incredibly important as your characters will be entirely unrelatable without it. Creating characters that exist solely in a realm of esoteric reflection, while entertaining for a single art piece, does not make for good literature or genre work.

One also misses out on opportunities for creative inspiration when foregoing small talk. A good chunk of my own work comes from moments where I'm having a surface level discussion about a sporting event, comic, or any sort of culture and it makes a connection with a thought I had earlier today in the shower. The combination of ideas blends to create a prompt that I need to write and get out of my system.

That all being said, if you were to sit down with me at a BDubs and ask about my thoughts on compression versus decompression storytelling, or first person versus third person narration in comics or genre work I'll talk with you until dead Cthulu rises from his dreams in R'lyeh. But  just don't be snooty about small talk. - Cheers.

Flashbacks: Why? And Don't.

Something I've noticed grow increasingly annoying, and problematic from a critical standpoint are flashbacks. The flashback is a technique used by writers who don't feel like judiciously revealing information through dialogue or scenery. That being said a brief flashback to a vivid detail to capitalize on a poignant moment can make a piece all the more beautiful.

The issue arises when writers feel like telling their story through flashback. A graphic novel I recently read features a five-page flashback with two possible three panels worth of important information. The rest of the information was revealed through dialogue shortly before or after the flashback and made the waste of valuable page space rather saddening.

Ask yourself before incorporating a flashback, "Can this information be revealed naturally through any other method?" And for the love of all that is good and holy keep it contained to a flash of a detail in a single scene. It's a FLASHback, not a backstory. - Cheers