In the chapter “Details,” Prose examines the impact of minor details on the entire story. I found this piece very insightful, as it opened attention to the aspects of a work which are often the most captivating, although their importance is often overlooked. The chapter opens with a few paragraphs describing the intense power of storytelling, and the importance of details to the impact of the story. When describing a story told by a woman who lost her leg to disease and then made up a very believable alternative story about her loss, Prose says that her friend told her “that the whole reason the class believed the woman’s story – a gothic tall tale about a gangrenous cat bite – was entirely because of the detail about the father’s love for steak and the mother’s passion for tofu.” This idea rings true that it is the smallest, most human, most relatable details that define characters and create depth to a story. This chapter has inspired me to make an effort to notice these details in the stories I read, and to watch for opportunities for details in the stories that I write.
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Yes, it is interesting how storytelling is such a craft. In Clarissa Pinkola Estes' book, Women Who Run With The Wolves, she describes the learning process of how to tell stories- how to cater to the audience to get just the right effect through emphasis, omission, etc. of nuances. It's like watching a movie when you catch a small detail and it ends up being central to the unfolding of the plot.
ReplyDeleteI found the idea that we are willing to suspend our disbelief for the sake of a detail wonderful. Discovering devises for furthering one's technique in a craft can be inspirational, like learning a new picking style on guitar or developing a new stroke with a brush.
ReplyDeleteFrancine Prose’s “Details” really has some great examples of why detail is so vital for a writer. The examples really made me examine (in a way I haven’t before taken the time to examine) how little details are such important components of a story. Even in a fictional story, there is a need for truth to make the story believable.
ReplyDelete-K. De Melo
Reading this post, I summed up that details are he icing on the writers cake. They finish and fine tune the piece, and without it the writing is just a block. I'm glad you posted this for the class. The "most relate-able details" rings true.
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