What a great conversation. An agent once asked for my manuscript (the first draft) and said he loved my writing but it was too "cerebral". I wasn't sure what he meant at first, but I think "too quiet" might be a better description. I love Bryan's idea that the unreliable narrator is "the window into the room".
Ah yes! Often "quiet" does mean a very interior plot, much of it taking place in the character's head or emotions, instead of things happening in the real world. The trick is to try to take what's happening in the character's head and dramatize those interior conflicts so that they are reflected by his/her/their current situation, external life, and events.
What a great conversation. An agent once asked for my manuscript (the first draft) and said he loved my writing but it was too "cerebral". I wasn't sure what he meant at first, but I think "too quiet" might be a better description. I love Bryan's idea that the unreliable narrator is "the window into the room".
Ah yes! Often "quiet" does mean a very interior plot, much of it taking place in the character's head or emotions, instead of things happening in the real world. The trick is to try to take what's happening in the character's head and dramatize those interior conflicts so that they are reflected by his/her/their current situation, external life, and events.
Love the idea of flipping an enforced break into a positive.