Jon K. Hayashi wrote:

A writer can do a lot less with prose than with a script as 
well.  It depends on the writer.

This is true of any format and is not relevant to the discussion.

The script format assumes more on the part of the reader.  
The reader usually has to ferret out motivations and such 
based on the characters actions.  In the prose format its 
usually spelled out.

Here's a generalization if I've ever seen one.  Ever read "Dubliners"? 
It's written in prose format, and *nothing* is spelled out - you have to
ferret out *everything*.  Likewise, stuff like DnR spells out
everything, even in script format.  It's not the format that decides how
much is spelled out, it's the writer.

And what good is doing a lot more when that extra bit doesn't
mean anything?  Sure, you can describe a scene as "the morning 
was cold, the windows covered with a sheen of ice crystals 
sparkling in the winter sun, as Akane woke in her bed." (bleah!)
but you could also impart the same information by the line
"Ranma kicked Genma into the block of ice that was the Tendo 
carp pond. Genma's lips froze against the ice and he was forced 
to carry the carp pond to breakfast."

These are both examples of bad writing, not related to the form they're
told in.

In the first example, you could have replaced it by "Akane woke 
up.  It was cold outside.".  But you implicitly get that from 
the fact that Genma's head was frozen to the carp pond.  Usually,
Akane waking up is not that important to the story.

In the first example, you get a lot more *feeling* out of the
description, a much better sense of how the cold affects the house and
the people inside (although it could be done a lot better).  That's why
the "extra bit".  True, sometimes less is more, but sometimes less is
less, too.

Other people whose opinions I've read seem to prefer novelized
prose to scripts generally. Prose stories tend to do better in the
best of rec.arts.anime.creative voting too.

But how much of that is due to the perception that prose stories
are the "norm"?  Because we're already indoctrinated that prose 
stories are the way books are written, the assumption becomes 
that (fan) fiction should be done in that way as well.  That isn't
necessarily the case.  What matters, really, is developing and 
using a style (whether its one or a combination) that the writer 
is comfortable with.

I won't argue with the last statement, which is true.  If the writer is
good enough, they are able to overcome the limitations of script format,
like Biles, Weinberg, and the DnR authors are able to.  Still, I cannot
help but feel that their stories would be better if they would write
them in prose format.

And while the fact that 99% of stories are written in prose format
rather than script format isn't, in and of itself, proof that prose
format is better, it's surely a good indication.

Writers get paid by the word.  I get paid by the hour (and not 
for writing fanfiction).

Again irrelevant.  I don't get paid either, yet I choose to write in
prose format.

On the other hand, as a writer, writing prose is a lot more work than
doing a script. While narrative prose writing is a great way to tell
any story, scripts do work pretty well for certain genres. So there is
nothing wrong IMHO with a particular story being done as a script if
the writer feels that novelization wouldn't add much in the particular
case.

Writing well in script format is much harder than writing in 
prose.  The script style forces the writer to be specific and 
descriptive at the same time, and not fill the story with 
information/description/whatever that doesn't add much (IMO).  
Prose writers can ramble at times and lose focus. And who really
cares how many hot dogs Kodachi can eat in an hour, anyway?

I don't know the purpose of the last line, so I'll ignore it.  I've seen
script formats that are filled with a lot of unnecessary dialogue.  This
is mostly because the writers can't make simple prose descriptions of
thoughts and emotions, so fall back on verbosity of the characters to
overcome that. So while bad prose stories are filled with unnecessary
descriptions, even good script stories are filled with excessive
dialogue in an attempt to overcome the limitations of the medium.  IMO
as well.

Writing in script demands more on the end of editing.  Since 
the object is to tell the story the most effectively, every 
word increases in importance. Details that are described carry 
more implication than they would in prose format, since they 
wouldn't have been mentioned unless they were necessary.

This I disagree with.  I agonize over every story I write, and usually
send them off to pre-readers to pore over.  And I disagree with the
phrase "most effectively"; you're revealing your bias here.  It's my
opinion that prose tells the story "most effectively".  Judging by the
comments I've seen here, most of the FFML seems to agree.

Check out my prose stories some time, Jon.  They are *very* minimal in
descriptions.  I don't think I ever mention what anyone is wearing
unless it's important.  I don't describe things in any kind of detail. 
People who are unnecessarily descriptive are writing bad prose, true. 
But that's not because they choose to write in prose; it's because
they're writing badly.  The format has nothing to do with it.

Dialogue and action that occur at a fast pace (and I would say 
normally as well) definitely work better in script format because
you can envision it happening.  You can run it through your mind,
or even out loud (which some writers obviously fail to do at times,
in regard to dialog).  That being said, emotions and thoughts and 
motives work better using the prose style.

You *can* write good, snappy dialogue in prose format, and actions can
be written well in prose as well (ask Fleming or Ludlum).  Again, it's a
function of the writer, not the format.

And you've hit the nail on the head as to why prose format is better
than script.  Emotions, thought, and motivations are *much* easier to
convey in prose format.

Script format assumes that there will be a visual and/or audio medium to
accompany the dialogue and stage directions.  There, you depend on the
actors (voice or otherwise) to convey the emotions and feelings. 
Without such accompaniments, script format comes across as incomplete,
the feeling that something is missing - which, of course, it is.

You want to do lemon scenes?  Do them in prose - you're typically
dealing not only with action but also emotions.  You want to do 
snappy dialogue or a fight, do it in script - the format doesn't 
detract from the flow of the story, yet it still remains clear 
exactly what's going on.

Well, this I won't touch on, only to comment that I have yet to see a
script lemon.  Then again, I don't read many lemons, so who knows what
people have tried.  :)

JK

All just my opinion, of course, and is meant in no way to be a flame.

 
-Richard
sterman@sprynet.com

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All my fanfics can be found at:   
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