”They come in a wide variety of exuberant, unimpeded circumlocutions, vertiginous perturbations and buoyant agitations” I phrased in my previous blog entry.
After checking on all the words I do see the image described in my head, but I can’t help asking myself: where is the limit? Is the writer crossing the line here?
When writing a movie script you should impress with your language without the reading noticing. You should write to give a smooth read and yet create sparkling images full of life and inspiration. You should not in any way give the reader a bump on the road with a difficult word.
Yet, “difficult words” tend to be very descriptive. On the other hand the magic of reading a screenplay falls the second I need to check “perturbations” up.
While writers of novels sometimes get praise for their rich language, I don’t think I screenwriter will ever get any diploma for the same use of words. We have to create magic in other ways.
Image used under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
Image edited by the writer.
2 comments:
Here I am, Desiree, trying to renew the habit of reading the people I enjoy!
This is a good post. The issue is real. A few weeks ago, I emailed a blogger who writes wonderful essays and asked him about the use of a single word. I can't remember the word itself just now, but it stopped me in my tracks. It was a perfectly good word, but in context it felt pretentious, out of place, "too fancy". It made me think about his language rather than what he was saying.
I like to remember that words can be windows, or words can be bricks. Bricks have their use, but not if they are blocking the view!
What a wonderful way of putting it.
I think the balance is delecate and difficult. I want my langage to be rich and yet easy to read.
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