The Intimacy of Books

Something I've been thinking about lately is the difference between Theatre and Movies in terms of drama. In theatre, you have to be very expressive, almost to the point of melodrama, because your audience is potentially fifty feet away and straining to hear what you're saying in the first place. With movies, you can be up close and personal, showing every solitary tear sliding down the cheeks of celebrities.

I've been comparing the differences in the way broadway interprets a song in comparison to its movie counterpart, and I must say, it's very interesting to me. Oftentimes I'll like the instrumentation better in the movie version, but I'll like the vocals better in the broadway. I realize it's a rather sweeping statement, but things just seem to be put in much more expressive ways in theatre, because if you aren't over the top, then no one will catch what you're doing. A friend of mine said it this way, you basically have to pretend you're manic-depressive, either at the height of happiness, or in the depths of despair, and be able to switch from one to the other at the drop of a hat (not her exact words, but still).

How might this apply to the medium of books? When I think of theatre, movies, and books, I see them on a scale of intimacy. I see theatre as being the farthest away, movies the next closest, and books as being the most intimate.

Theatre

First off, in theatre you're distanced literally from the audience. Especially if you're in the cheap seats, you're not going to have an easy time catching all the little nuances and exchanges happening on-stage. There's no camera to show you what to look at specifically, and unless they use monologues and/or soliloquies, you don't get any inside glimpses into any one character's head.

Movies

In movies, you're one step closer, because you can see up close and personal how characters react to certain things and the feelings are more easily conveyed. Having said that, actors are put under even more scrutiny when the audience can see everything. In this medium though, it's still hard to get into a character's head without distracting the audience from the story.

Books

In books, you can get right inside the character's head, and indeed, in many cases you never leave. The whole story-world is rooted in one or a few character's perspectives. Rarely do you see objective, unlimited third person POV's anymore (I certainly don't see them). Readers don't really notice when you use interior monologue. It's not distracting at all to hear a character's thoughts on what's going on, and in fact, sometimes it's awkward if we don't get that. What's cool is that in books, authors get to play with so much more than just simply what they thought.


In books, you can write about the feelings of dread welling up like an acid being pumped into someone's stomach. You can talk about a character's whole being going limp as he watches the love of his life walk out on him. Things movies and theatre can't touch. But what does that say about audience expectations?

If in theatre you expect people to go over the top, and for movies to be a bit more down to earth in terms of performance techniques, what does that say about authors? For me, it means that my descriptions have to be bang on. It means that there is very little room for exaggeration and hyperbole when it comes to a character's thoughts and personality. If I'm going for a realistic portrayal of life. I need to know what I'm talking about, and I have to be believable.

When other styles of storytelling go about portraying 'real life' they have a significant advantage in that they can show real life almost instantaneously, and there's often room for exaggeration. They also have visual cues that give the audience instant setting and information on character. Books can do a lot more, for sure, but the question is, are you willing to wait for it? There's such a fine balance between telling what your reader needs to know and telling them what you want to show. The nice thing about novels though, is that you can do it. You can go deep with your protagonist, you can really delve into their psyches, but it takes effort, and it take skill. Something that you have to keep working at all the time.

What style do you prefer? Up close and personal? Or a bit more distant and dramatic? Does it depend on the genre? Share your thoughts!