Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Or maybe look at a story by Faulkner

 Joe Murray, the old editor in East Texas, used to point to a line in Faulkner’s story “The Bear.”

At one point, the boy who is the hero of the story gets close to the bear. Faulkner could have just said that the bear was very, very close.

Instead, he has the boy kneeling to examine a track. The boy can tell the track is fresh. But then he notices that the track is gradually filling with water. He watches the water seeping in. The bear was there just seconds ago — he hasn’t been gone long enough for the track to fill with water.

That’s the kind of detail that lets a reader feel the boy’s wonder and fear.

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