So, the new novel. Old question, many forms: what do you do when a character or his narrative becomes didactic?
Sub-Question: What if your two main characters are anthropology graduate students, whose thesis projects present a great deal of their character foundation? What if the second tier of main characters is made up of a controversial professor and a young man living with HIV, who is still coming to terms with the reality of his infection?
So, basically, when is didactic... not didactic? Or is it enough to simply expose your characters' academic beliefs in an entertaining way?
Here's the direction I'm leaning: if you have to do it to tell your story, then do it. Just sell it. If didacticism (a loathe reflex of junior writers) is what the story calls for, then didacticism is what you have to write.
Snag 368: What if nobody gets it?
I see nothing wrong with didacticism. Moral platitudes are a perfectly usable conceptual framework.
Simple? Maybe. But effective, like the ramp.
Posted by: truecraig | October 04, 2006 at 09:56 AM