Exposition vs Dialogue

So, instead of writing, I wasted my Sunday watching Jessica Jones on Netflix. No, actually it WASN'T a waste.

I spent the time introducing a friend to the character. Something I never did when the source material Alias was published. The on screen adaptation was a much better product than the comic. But I think the greatest benefit was what *I* learned from the Netflix series.

Unlike (too) many "crime procedurals", the series had a wonderful balance of expository dialogue and natural conversation. Of course, a  visual medium has an easier time *showing instead of telling*, but many creators seem to forget that. Comics, Graphic Novels, Movies and Television often stick us in an observation booth watching characters speak to *US* rather than each other. I don't need you to give me a step by step breakdown if it's not natural. Put in the effort to make the information conversational, exclude it or give me a nice editorial popup/addendum.

Of course, the problem of providing your reader information becomes magnified in the prose medium.What's the best way to describe settings, provide backstory or share informational tidbits? These are some of the questions I'll be asking myself, this weekend, as I do a second pass on many of my earlier scenes, trying to remove POV narration where possible and replace with natural dialogue.

NANOWRIMO

November has been branded National Novel Writing Month by a number of writers. The annual effort involves aiming for a minimum of 50,000 words put on paper for your novel.

Now, I was unaware of this until Nov 2nd, but truly believe the push/goal will serve as much needed motivation. So, I signed up. Turns out 50 hour work weeks don't become more seldom just because you need spare time. Still, I'm not planning to sacrifice quality for speed. I've found myself going over the first few pages of chapter one.

My philosophy is pretty simple: "there is writing, there is creative writing and there is good creative writing." My goal therefore is better quality than Brian Bendis' "hack-writing" in Uncanny X-men #600. Ideas are great. But it takes effort (as well as skill) to execute an idea. The less skill you have, the more effort it requires. "Hack writing" is exemplified by rushed low-quality work done to fulfill "quantity over quality".

Writing, the final act of putting words on paper, takes a lot of effort. There will be corrections, and expansions and edits. But, the most important precursor is the effort put into the creative ideas. Fleshing out characters, create plots, expanding plots, doing research, etc. etc.

So, I'll continue to ensure that my "creative ideas" don't suffer from "rushed low-quality writing".