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How does Chris Fabry show what the story is about so thoroughly right from the start? How can we learn from this?

The tone from the start was one of remembering, living in the past, and a quiet dissatisfaction. Because it was so retrospective I actually had a little trouble figuring out what was going on at first, but as the story went on that seemed intentional. Like the main character thinks about his present life that way too.

It’s a great example of letting the main character tell the story as they would, based on where they’re coming from, rather than the author sticking too much of his personal narration in.

Is Chris Fabry showing or telling? How explicit should authors be in indicating the psychological makeup of their characters and what drives, consumes, and motivates them? Do you suffer more from being “on the nose” or leaving readers in the dark as to what core obsession drives your characters and the logic behind their actions and emotions?

There’s a lot of telling. For the most part, it seems to be the right choice for this story, as it helps create the main character’s mood. There were a few parts where it seemed too rambling, or passive, or told-not-shown, but overall I was still able to get into it with a clear understanding of the characters’ motives.

I definitely suffer from telling too much. I’m trying to be more aware of that, so maybe that’s why I saw a lot of it pretty glaringly when it came up in this story.

Do you do a good job at getting right to the point of what your story is about, or does it take you several chapters to flesh out what’s at stake in the character’s soul?

Usually I have an opposite problem. I get to the point so quickly that it’s unclear why it matters yet, and the pacing of the story is thrown off by my putting too much up front. I’m working on balancing my plot and drawing things out, using themes, and building a deeper story.

Thanks so much @daeus-lamb! This is such a great idea 😀