Comments on: Just Because

By: Sara

Sara — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 02:28:21 +0000

Thanks! Yeah… those questions kinda make it uncomfortable to write, but they do make it interesting:)

By: Suzanne Casamento

Suzanne Casamento — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 18:37:37 +0000

Such a great post. I’m dealing with about 1,000 Jut Becauses right now. Your post gives me hope that in the end, giving them all a “why” will pay off. ; )

By: Lee Wind

Lee Wind — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 12:56:12 +0000

Great post – and I gotta give it up to you for finding an actual Star Trek red flags and gold lame image! Wow!
Namaste and a Hug,
Lee

By: Edith Cohn

Edith Cohn — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 12:24:33 +0000

Sometimes in setting up a world you can get away with it–but I think you’re right that it’ll probably always enrich the story if you answer “why.”

By: Sara

Sara — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 06:25:38 +0000

Interesting thought… that the lack of explanation can make us think harder. I’m with you on this with some stories. Like in magical realism… often times the author never addresses whether magic is really happening or not. That is for you, as a reader, to decide. But other times, it’s just laziness, hoping that the reader with go with you wherever you are going, even if you don’t fully build the bridge for them to get there.

By: Dan and Megan

Dan and Megan — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 04:55:13 +0000

I agree–readers aren’t stupid. Just like sci-fi, fantasy and vampire stories all have to explain their rules and then stick to them, so do all stories have to make clear _why_. Or not. In Act 5, Gertrude drinks the poison intended for Hamlet. Why? I’ve been teaching it for a decade, reading it for longer, and I can’t decisively arrive at a conclusion. Strangely, it only makes me look for more clues the next time I read it. Or wish to heck Shakespeare had left behind some friggin’ journals. Alas…