tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13639087.post8391973791436734806..comments2023-11-18T22:19:35.259-05:00Comments on MuseInks: The Secret of SubtextAmi Hendricksonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16113842141579251283noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13639087.post-8701311268817966462011-04-14T12:12:01.808-04:002011-04-14T12:12:01.808-04:00Trudy,
I'll never tell. But I might send a lin...Trudy,<br />I'll never tell. But I might send a link... ;)Ami Hendricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16113842141579251283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13639087.post-403307290658489172011-04-14T10:10:15.986-04:002011-04-14T10:10:15.986-04:00This is a great example, but mainly I just really,...This is a great example, but mainly I just really, really want to know who SHAG and NORM are in real life.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13639087.post-46339643358898032782011-04-01T23:52:23.712-04:002011-04-01T23:52:23.712-04:00Thanks for the comments, kind words, & additio...Thanks for the comments, kind words, & additional observations. <br /><br />I love playing the "What Am I Trying To Keep Secret?" game. Another favorite is "How Much Can I Convey Without Saying It Out Loud?"<br /><br />Here's to writing great reads, Subtext Specs, and the games we play!Ami Hendricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16113842141579251283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13639087.post-69122761885240009812011-04-01T23:12:39.838-04:002011-04-01T23:12:39.838-04:00I *love* subtext. Maybe a bit too much. :) My r...I *love* subtext. Maybe a bit too much. :) My readers don't catch half the stuff going on under the surface. So I always struggle with where and how much subtext to use while still making sure it's not confusing or that important things aren't left unsaid.<br /><br />Thanks for the great article!Jami Goldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00957122956518765455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13639087.post-34226861922038848322011-04-01T20:58:29.724-04:002011-04-01T20:58:29.724-04:00Nice example with a lovely illustration from you o...Nice example with a lovely illustration from you on the ghost that is subtext. But as well as that scene identifies a fact of subtext that you knew, it is after the fact (since the "script" was improvised rather than written.)<br /><br />The trick for the writer is in how to lay the facts info into the script so the actors are able to "be" the subtext. I think of subtext as "what isn't being said" and find it vital to weave the set-up in delicately. (Too many never-shot-a-script gatekeepers presume that only action and dialogue may be written into the script. I've heard dopes complain: "you can't write that she blushes" as if any decent actress can't think of what she needs to in order to blush on cue. If it's important, put it in.] <br /><br />If your example was a script, the writer might foreshadow that gay/partner/parent info into the action earlier in passing for background tension; or set it up just before or during the scene for heightened tension in an action line about The Host (like: "Clueless that he's a gay parent, she..."), or, for a different reaction, saved it for the end of the scene to jolt the reader -- with the same timing in which you sprung the new info on us. <br /><br />Of course, the actors will have read it prior, but when the buyer reads it cold, like we have here, just a line like: "Norm glances at Shag, embarrassed that she didn't know about Shag's children with his gay partner." But better, obviously -- you guys are the writers. <br /><br />The "Subtext Specs" you mention are the POV-glasses of the character. When the writer asks herself, in character, "what am I trying to keep secret, to withhold?" she'll start getting at the subtext of that moment. <br /><br />Thanks for a post I too can send people to for a clarification starter ~! <br /><br />Keep up the good works,<br /><br />~GirlPie@TheGirlPiehttp://twitter.com/TheGirlPienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13639087.post-8673182010846714732011-04-01T19:48:42.108-04:002011-04-01T19:48:42.108-04:00Thanks, Malin.
Glad you found it helpful. Wish I ...Thanks, Malin. <br />Glad you found it helpful. Wish I could invent a pair of "Subtext Specs" to include w/ everything I write. The reader could just put them on and new layers and depth within the work would magically appear. *sigh*Ami Hendricksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16113842141579251283noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13639087.post-81404767456311138882011-04-01T15:34:33.737-04:002011-04-01T15:34:33.737-04:00Great example! :) This is truly something difficul...Great example! :) This is truly something difficult to explain, but you made it much easier - I can just forward people to you henceforth. ;)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14869145555938203736noreply@blogger.com