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Illusionary Depth
5 years ago
There's a concept in writing that tends to separate out the good writers from the... less than good writers. It comes down to depth. Most people have heard of character depth. The concept that there's a lot more to the character than what the reader sees. The whole reason we had those awful Star Wars prequel movies is because George Lucas did something really cool: he worked out the backstory for a character to gain an understanding of what drove one of his major villains. It takes the one dimensional character from the pages and puts her into three dimensions. Just about anyone that's read more than ten book reviews has probably heard of character depth.
Fewer have heard of illusionary depth. This is a concept similar to character depth, but applies more to the world at large. There are many great examples of this in literature--the penultimate (at least in my opinion) is found in Tolkien. According to one of his letters, when he was writing a scene in Moria, some unexpected words ended up on the page. Aragorn tells the hobbits that Gandalf can find his way from just about anywhere and he compares the Maiar to "the cats of Queen Beruthiel." Tolkien says that this is one of only two places where he didn't know the background story when he mentioned it. The reader is given a reference as if it's something that's considered common knowledge in the author's world, but isn't told enough to make anything from the reference. So all the reader knows from that reference is that there was a Queen who had some cats and her cats were known for always being able to find their way home. By not telling the reader any more than that, Tolkien has created "illusionary depth." It's a great technique in writing that can be overused, but usually is used less often than it could be.
There are a few examples in my own writing. One of the big ones in the first two books is the battle of Altaza. It's a defining moment in Sajani's life, but all you know is that her mother lost her life there making a very heroic stand. Fugitive's Trust gives you more information, but there's still a lot of the story that hasn't been told. Historical references are one of the more common methods of creating illusionary depth. I've even seen it used effectively in non-fiction or mainstream fiction.
Another method is used when dealing with the vykati (wolf-folk). The wolves are very different culturally and it's shown through their idioms. A few examples: "solid colored pelt," "pelt of a different color," "fetching from the deep current," and "right past my ears." In context it's pretty easy to figure out (it has to be or the author fails). There're also common phrases: "fewer than could be counted on one paw without using your thumb" and "wolves don't blush and neither do vykati." I wish I'd never created that last one, but that's another story. Remind me if I forget in the future. :P
In addition to idioms and catch phrases, the vykati have a very complex method of self-government. (Not created by me). I could write a couple novels full of information on these things, if I bothered to actually know everything behind them. Instead, I conserve words and give the reader just enough to show that the world has more to it than I can fit on the pages.
It's amazing how engaging a small reference like that can be. You find out that Belitha's father was the one that found the ancient spell of spirit binding. As you read the next 1000 pages, you're secretly wondering if you'll ever be told what that spell does and if it might be important later in the story. In Faux Scent you learn that a section of the Vhykar forest was cleared when a powerful druid tried to turn the plants against the wolf-folk of Vharkylia. The spell failed and the druid was killed. Does it have anything to do with the story? Maybe... Is it a McGuffin or is it just illusionary depth?
There used to be a video where my publisher talks about it for like an hour. This is the condensed (and much less boring) version. I'll take a leaf from the publisher's social media manager and end with some questions. What are some cool examples you've seen of this? What do you write into your stories to add depth? There are other methods of adding depth that I didn't touch. Can you name a few?
Fewer have heard of illusionary depth. This is a concept similar to character depth, but applies more to the world at large. There are many great examples of this in literature--the penultimate (at least in my opinion) is found in Tolkien. According to one of his letters, when he was writing a scene in Moria, some unexpected words ended up on the page. Aragorn tells the hobbits that Gandalf can find his way from just about anywhere and he compares the Maiar to "the cats of Queen Beruthiel." Tolkien says that this is one of only two places where he didn't know the background story when he mentioned it. The reader is given a reference as if it's something that's considered common knowledge in the author's world, but isn't told enough to make anything from the reference. So all the reader knows from that reference is that there was a Queen who had some cats and her cats were known for always being able to find their way home. By not telling the reader any more than that, Tolkien has created "illusionary depth." It's a great technique in writing that can be overused, but usually is used less often than it could be.
There are a few examples in my own writing. One of the big ones in the first two books is the battle of Altaza. It's a defining moment in Sajani's life, but all you know is that her mother lost her life there making a very heroic stand. Fugitive's Trust gives you more information, but there's still a lot of the story that hasn't been told. Historical references are one of the more common methods of creating illusionary depth. I've even seen it used effectively in non-fiction or mainstream fiction.
Another method is used when dealing with the vykati (wolf-folk). The wolves are very different culturally and it's shown through their idioms. A few examples: "solid colored pelt," "pelt of a different color," "fetching from the deep current," and "right past my ears." In context it's pretty easy to figure out (it has to be or the author fails). There're also common phrases: "fewer than could be counted on one paw without using your thumb" and "wolves don't blush and neither do vykati." I wish I'd never created that last one, but that's another story. Remind me if I forget in the future. :P
In addition to idioms and catch phrases, the vykati have a very complex method of self-government. (Not created by me). I could write a couple novels full of information on these things, if I bothered to actually know everything behind them. Instead, I conserve words and give the reader just enough to show that the world has more to it than I can fit on the pages.
It's amazing how engaging a small reference like that can be. You find out that Belitha's father was the one that found the ancient spell of spirit binding. As you read the next 1000 pages, you're secretly wondering if you'll ever be told what that spell does and if it might be important later in the story. In Faux Scent you learn that a section of the Vhykar forest was cleared when a powerful druid tried to turn the plants against the wolf-folk of Vharkylia. The spell failed and the druid was killed. Does it have anything to do with the story? Maybe... Is it a McGuffin or is it just illusionary depth?
There used to be a video where my publisher talks about it for like an hour. This is the condensed (and much less boring) version. I'll take a leaf from the publisher's social media manager and end with some questions. What are some cool examples you've seen of this? What do you write into your stories to add depth? There are other methods of adding depth that I didn't touch. Can you name a few?
As for the blog, I'd be honored to write some stuff for it. Some of my previous journals are writing advice. Just give me a topic and I'll run with it.