And so we arrive at the last “episode” of this perhaps too long essay on visual writing.
In previous instalments I discussed how to achieve a visual effect by using the present as the central tense of narration, by prioritising pace over ornament, and by thinking of dialogues as a plot-building device. In this final part I will discuss the notions of the narrator as a camera and the use of “props”, as I feel these two are interlinked.
I will cut to the chase (a maxim of visual writing if there is one) and make things simple: the narrator as a camera and the use of “props” are just my way of referring to an extreme awareness and conscious use of the diegetic / narrative space. Or to make it even simpler: it means being able to visualise the space in which the narration takes place, to the smallest of details, so that I can direct the readers’ attention towards different elements of this space (both characters and objects).