The Confabulator Cafe

Tag: interpretation

  • How documentary films show the need to show.

    One of the things I write is scripts for documentaries. If you’ve ever seen a documentary you may have asked yourself “I wonder how much this has been manipulated to bolster a certain point of view?” The answer is, that varies a lot! It ultimately depends on how much the filmmaker tries to “tell” the audience what conclusions to come to. I think at the heart of this question is the matter of showing versus telling and here’s how it applies to writing as well as filmmaking.

    I often hear the writing advice “Show don’t tell.” I agree with this most of the time, in writing and in filmmaking. For example in a documentary it might be easier to interview a subject about an exciting event, but it would be more satisfying to show the audience that event by filming it directly! The pitfalls of telling not showing are clear. But what happens when a movie is all show and no tell?


    When a piece of art is experimental there is more heavy lifting required of the audience and therefore more possible interpretations of the work. This doesn’t only go for films. I can think of examples of writing that are experimental and require some work from the reader. These include the stream of consciousness writing by William S. Burroughs, the postmodernism of Kathy Acker and the babbling prose of Steve Katz.

    In film school I had to watch a lot of experimental films. Some of them were more enjoyable than others, but overall the experience of watching experimental films taught me how to meet my audience halfway. What I mean by this is that I learned to strike a balance between showing and telling, between spoon-feeding the audience a message or leaving everything ambiguous and making the audience do all the work of interpretation. I don’t want to manipulate my audience into seeing only a certain point of view on a subject, but I think relying on audience interpretation too much is an unfair onus to place on people who come to my work with some expectation of being entertained.

    So, mostly show.

  • Handing Over the Keys

    “All meanings, we know, rely on the key of interpretation.” – George Eliot

    The axiom in writing is always “show, don’t tell.” With due respect to the originator, sometimes in writing, you should tell. In fact, that is one of the advantages of prose over screenwriting. In screenwriting, you are forced to show out of an inability to tell without seeming fake.

    The question becomes, how much do you want to leave open for interpretation? If you want your reader to really get your theme, you can hit them over the head with it. I know a writer that once told me you should never leave anything open to the interpretation of your audience. I disagree. I want the reader to think about what I wrote and what it might mean.

    There are a lot of readers out there who like to work a little bit when they read. They like to think about the message of your story and decode the various metaphors. There are some that would rather you tell them. Generally, however, you can tell them your theme without bludgeoning them with it.

    Character is defined by thought and action. Story is essentially putting characters in a situation and seeing what they do. What they do, and what they think about their situation is how the reader gets to know them.

    These days, everyone wants to see action and dialogue. Readers have been conditioned by film to look for those two things.  Still, we cannot forget that prose writing, is in essence an interior art. We have the ability to hear our POV characters thoughts. We should take advantage of that.

    Humans think about what is happening to them. Characters should do the same when there is time to do so, and when it doesn’t slow down action.  Action and dialogue are generally vague conveyors of message. Thought is more specific. The art is in finding the balance between the two.

    Writing is a very personal art, a conversation between two people, the artist and the reader. Trust your reader and work with them. Know the expectations of readers in your genre and write to them, then defy them. Make them think. Make them feel like they are a part of your art.  Some genres allow more introspection than others, so know what your readers’ expectations are. Some allow more telling, while others only want action.

    As you can see, I will not suggest doing one and not the other. I will not say “never” tell. Never doesn’t exist in writing. There is only what works, and what doesn’t. Whatever you do, if you do it well, that is all that matters.

    Show, tell, allow interpretation, or explain it all. What matters is that you keep writing, and you write the way you love.  Personally, I love handing over the keys to the reader and letting them drive awhile.