tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post1928818107461181974..comments2024-03-28T06:05:17.085-04:00Comments on THE READING APE: Dictionary of Fictional Techniques: Proxy Detailingthe Apehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14060965283007759623noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-4581160576568953082011-08-05T18:57:06.842-04:002011-08-05T18:57:06.842-04:00Understood. It's a payoff problem, and I suspe...Understood. It's a payoff problem, and I suspect good writers will do a cost/benefit analysis before naming things. To put myself in his head, I'd wager that he was thinking: People who know, will know, and they'll nod their heads and get it. Those who don't, he's hoping the name - LeBaron - is suggestive enough of pseudo luxury and middle class desire that they'll get a part of the idea anyway. But I guess he missed in your case.Grebmarhttp://grebmar.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-82115517733096253542011-08-05T14:43:20.167-04:002011-08-05T14:43:20.167-04:00The problem is the granular knowledge you need of ...The problem is the granular knowledge you need of mid-80s American automobiles for this detail to mean anything to you. If you are already familiar, it is quite specific. If you are not, it is worse than non-specific, as it creates an awareness in the reader that they are missing out on some intended detail.The Reading Apehttp://thereadingape.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-37860425453157282952011-08-02T17:46:12.866-04:002011-08-02T17:46:12.866-04:00Stephen King would never hesitate to name the make...Stephen King would never hesitate to name the make and model of any car at any time. Grebmarhttp://grebmar.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-78779092644110307222011-08-02T17:44:04.094-04:002011-08-02T17:44:04.094-04:00I'm not sure what the issue is, especially wit...I'm not sure what the issue is, especially with this example. Often lesser writers will use brand names as a shorthand for their own biases, trying to write with a sarcasm that other readers don't get; however in this example it shows something about the character: He buys second-tier luxury items, a concept hard to get across without using specific examples. Also, he goes beyond just the make and model, and tells us it has leather seats and all-power accessories, meaning not only did he get a second-rate luxury item, he splurged on a few frills. And now it's gone, for some reason. <br /><br />On the negative side, you are correct: I have no idea what year this story takes place in. If it's 1986, then this guy just lost a relatively new car; if it's 2000, he's out a junker. <br /><br />There are more problems in this sentence than the proxy detailing, I'm afraid. I'm more intrigued by the weirdness of the last clause, 'trying to match his dog's limp.' What does he mean by match? Imitate? Or keep pace with? How does he creep and match a limp at the same time? And what does it have to do with his lost car? Grebmarhttp://grebmar.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-4281141506580903282011-08-02T06:29:23.254-04:002011-08-02T06:29:23.254-04:00When I come across this device and brand names are...When I come across this device and brand names are included in the description, I always wonder if it's product placement.Bibliophilenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-43483505958766070542011-08-01T23:11:19.032-04:002011-08-01T23:11:19.032-04:00I'm not a big fan of proxy detailing either (a...I'm not a big fan of proxy detailing either (although before now I didn't have a name for it so thanks) as I find a lot of them are culturally and nationally based and as an international reader most of them have no reference base for me whatsoever. Rachelhttp://booksinthesun.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-82348427062768128532011-08-01T21:50:38.799-04:002011-08-01T21:50:38.799-04:00This technique also can reveal a lot about backgro...This technique also can reveal a lot about backgrounds, of the author and the reader. If you're from a different social class, culture, religious group, nationality, things that I might assume you would immediately be able to picture you might actually have no idea what I'm talking about.Robynhttp://kentuckiana-rrr.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-13081900484208028082011-08-01T20:06:00.040-04:002011-08-01T20:06:00.040-04:00Butterfly. From a joke: An Englishman was talking ...Butterfly. From a joke: An Englishman was talking to his friends about how beautiful the English language is. He said, "Just listen to this: 'butterfly'." The Frenchman scoffed, "That is nothing, compared to 'papillon'." And the German asked, "And what is wrong with 'schmetterling'?"clintonknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-2634272224883305092011-08-01T18:34:51.027-04:002011-08-01T18:34:51.027-04:00What's shmettering?What's shmettering?Grebmarhttp://grebmar.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-1137055539407901772011-08-01T13:01:18.438-04:002011-08-01T13:01:18.438-04:00Seems like Chrysler LeBaron convertibles capture a...Seems like Chrysler LeBaron convertibles capture an inordinate amount of placement in fiction. Is it because of the irony that no other make has better done to "convertible" what "shmetterling" does to "butterfly".clintonknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5410373290265879019.post-43220061335580473102011-08-01T09:11:19.792-04:002011-08-01T09:11:19.792-04:00I'm just reading Steven King's On Writing ...I'm just reading Steven King's <i>On Writing</i> and says pretty much the same thing. Descriptions should 'begin with the author and end with the reader'. He's a big proponent of just getting on with the story. Amen, I say.Trishnoreply@blogger.com