resticking the label on the tail of the donkey

[wytchcroft]

Something a little unexpected; -

In responding to the writing prompt: "Your character is ashamed", i discovered a weakness in my scribblings.
Yes, another one.

This time however the problem stems from what i usually regard as a fairly positive side of my personality; the real discomfort i have with labels. 

Reading through my junk i see such frequently recurring descriptions as 'almost as if embarrassed', or worse 'embarrassed seeming', also the likes of  'he ran a nervous hand through', 'she cut across the corridor striking a defiant pose', yadda bla.
In effect, refusing to actually state anything!
e.g. She was embarrassed. He was afraid. They carried with them a burden of shame etc.
   
i tend to dislike being told how or what i feel at any given moment and try not to be presumptuous about the emotions of others. BUT (d'oh!) this is probably one of the ways in which i lose narrative coherency - and lose the reader!

There are some emotions that i know i struggle to understand as a person and inhabit as a writer, shame, perhaps, being one of them. Yet all the same, if asked, i would have no hesitation in pointing at given characters in my fics and saying “Yes, I think Karin carries a lot of what she thinks of as shame, yes Eva struggles with her self esteem, and bitterness, Leb has resentments, Marina has survivor guilt” and so on.  

i guess it's all part of the eternal ‘show Vs tell’ dynamic, but it could even be seen as authorial evasion - ok if the narrator is a character but otherwise, again, it's just beating round the bush.
i suppose the risk is of going too far and denying the reader their freedom of thought and response - many great discussions have, after all, come from giving opinions on the motives and behaviour and emotions of characters in books and films. All the same, i tend to think that may only apply to an experienced and talented writer - and to pretend otherwise probably just puts the cart before the horse (insert alternative hoary cliché here!).
   
With that in mind, i shall return to my response attempt...

Any thoughts?

Comments

[wytchcroft]

it's like real life - we don't get to see inside of people we have to empathise and, deduce! LOL :)

but in fiction this depends on whether the reader is sufficiently interested in the characters.

i don't like the idea of telling the reader everything: "I smiled broadly because i was so very happy, once i had been sad but now i was no longer upset and feeling guilty" etc.
except that actually, that's not necessarily a bad thing, it certainly might suit certain types or genres of story.

and i imagine an omniscient yet anonymous and constantly tight-lipped third person narrator could be annoying to some people!

well, these are just thoughts... but i might try re-balancing some of what i'm working on...

it is a bit of a tightrope to walk on as a writer, LOL!

and thank you as ever for the compliments :))