Wednesday, July 14, 2010

The Journey

As you begin to tell your story, the first thing you'll find is that story telling is not about giving away information but about withholding it; the information itself is never as important as the path you take in disseminating it.

Noah Lukeman, literary agent and author
The Plot Thickens
chapter 4, pages 81-82

17 comments:

Travis Erwin said...

How very true and something I often fail at.

Tamika: said...

I've been gone for a while, and I love the look of your page!

Thanks for the inspiring quote~ I'm soaking up all the writing encouragement I can these days.

April Plummer said...

Ooooh, I like that. I've never looked at it that way, but think of all the power we have of writers, to actually withhold information to manipulate the reader...wow.

Jill said...

Love the quote! Great way to look at it!

Wendy Paine Miller said...

I LOVE this new look--probably one of my favorites yet. Why does this not surprise me.

And I think this quote is the answer to my One Question Friday last week...why I chose those books. It's what I didn't see...why I chose them.
~ Wendy

JLC said...

Very true. JJ Abrams discusses this on TED. He calls it a 'mystery box'. Its always a great idea to keep the reader guessing until the end.

patti said...

SO TRUE!! Have been checking out a few literary novels lately and noticed this!

Great post, Janna.
Patti

Slamdunk said...

Spot-on advice. Storytelling is certainly an art--one that I need to better understand the mechanics and practice more frequently.

Mary@GigglesandGuns said...

The quote is a definite keeper.
Storytelling is an art form. You may learn to do it but true talent is a gift.

Giggles and Guns

Cindy R. Wilson said...

GREAT advice, and so appropriate for the issue I'm dealing with on my current manuscript.

Susan R. Mills said...

So true, so very true.

Christine said...

so what she's saying is comparable to advice mom's give their daughter's about sex and relationships-- "why buy the cow if you can get the milk for free". We should give them just enough to make them want more...hahaha! Great quote, thanks!

Jeanette Levellie said...

I love Noah Lukeman. Have you read his excellent book, The First Five Pages?

I'd never heard this quote; thanks for sharing.

I start a fiction editing class tomorrow; I'm excited to learn more about this genre that's heretofore intimidated me!

Christine said...

I don't know why I said Noah was a "she"...although it could be interesting as a girl's name. Hmmm...

Deb Shucka said...

I like this. It makes me think of lace - the holes are just as important as the thread.

Southpaw said...

Oh isn't that the truth!

Karen said...

I like that quote and advice alot! Thanks!