Cinema of the Mind Reflection

When reading a work of fiction, there is an accompanying film projected onto a metaphorical screen inside your mind. You can “see” the characters enjoying a Sunday picnic in the park, you can “hear” the boy yell to his mother from the top of the staircase, you might even be able to “smell” the cherry pie being baked in the back of the cafe. The beauty of books vs. film, however is that the movie in your mind might be different from the movie in someone else’s. Fictional books allow for this sort of interpretation. However, they must not be vague or there could be no movie at all. This is the role of concrete, significant details. The author must describe things in such a way that the reader can “see”, “hear”, and “smell” everything that the characters are experiencing. The author must also manipulate the plot in such a way to keep the projector rolling at a steady pace. If the plot is too quick, it could appear comical. If the plot is too slow, you might as well give your brain a remote to turn the movie off. Ultimately, writers of fiction and writers of movies can learn a lot from one another and should view each other’s work as though it could teach them something about their own.