Iceberg model of culture examples8/11/2023 ![]() ![]() Tolkien can go on for pages describing a setting, especially if it has anything to do with nature. Same with ‘ The Lord of the Rings’ (oh, the blasphemy on my part). It’s like he gave the reader a brief overview (the books are fist thick) of the iceberg that is his story before he flooded most of it and continued to show the top in the rest of the series. It’s long, it’s tedious and there’s no action. ‘ The Name of the Wind series’ by Patrick Rothfuss starts with a 100-page world building and setting experience. The following examples are just minor issues I personally had with their books because the way they described their world or initiated the story was too descriptive. To be honest, it’s hard to fault writers, favorite or not. It’s just that it’s a less immersive and engaging reading experience in my opinion. With some novels, especially in Fantasy and Sci-Fi, authors tend to walk down the treacherous path of endless description. With the iceberg technique, you give the reader the impression that you know it all, that you have the whole iceberg there. You show your reader what’s there on the surface. As a writer you should know the entire story (the whole iceberg so to say). The Iceberg Technique was invented by Hemingway because he wanted his stories to be engaging and immersive. This is just for you to keep in the back of your mind or in a separate file while you tell your story. The part below sea level can be background information, character sketches, history, complete magical systems, technological developments, governmental issues, etc. The part below sea level (which is usually way bigger) is the rest of your fictional world.įor the sake of this article I’ll focus on Fantasy and Sci-Fi. The top ( above sea level) is the part you actually share in your story. Imagine the iceberg to be your fictional world and all the elements in it. So, what is this Iceberg Model used in writing? Icebergs exist both above and below sea-level. Originally, the technique has been coined by Ernest Hemingway. I was using this technique when I started out writing, without knowing what it was called. I first heard of the term in an online lecture by Brandon Sanderson. Most of you probably have heard of this one, the Iceberg Theory. A writer who omits things because he does not know them only makes hollow places in his writing.” – Ernest Hemingway The dignity of movement of an ice-berg is due to only one-eighth of it being above water. “If a writer of prose knows enough of what he is writing about he may omit things that he knows and the reader, if the writer is writing truly enough, will have a feeling of those things as strongly as though the writer had stated them.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |