Jeffrey wasn't a very bright kid when it came to solving daily life problems. He never imagined something big could happen in his life, as big as what I'm about to tell you. Let's just go back two days in time.
Jeffrey loathed his semester ending exams, wondering why he never studied throughout the semester.
"What? Prepping without me, eh? And you're my best friend. Cool." said Archie.
"Just trying to catch up, Arch", Jeffrey replied.
"Just go home, take a good nap and study with a peace of mind. You will make it."
"Did you finish your portions?" asked Jeffrey.
"Not yet" he replied. "You should calm down, Jeff. Go, give it a break."
"I just hope I'll pass, Arch."
Wasn't that paragraph way too bland? Of course that was the storyline! Then why does it seem so plain?
Let's try to add something more to it.
Bashing his head against the textbook, Jeffrey suffered the agony of the impeding disaster - his semester ending exams, wondering why he never even peeked at his textbook throughout the semester.
"What a rare sight to be seen!" exclaimed Archie, spotting Jeffrey from across the hall. "Prepping without me, eh? And you're my best friend. Cool."
"Just trying to catch up, Arch", Jeffrey sighed, with his head resting on the table.
"Don't wreck yourself, Jeff. Just go home, take a good nap and study with a peace of mind. You will make it."
"Did you finish your portions?" asked Jeffrey, while lifting his head just enough to see Arch in his periphery.
"Not yet" he replied. "You should calm down, Jeff. Go, give it a break."
"I just hope I'll pass, Arch. I just hope."
Didn't that make the paragraph much better? You could now picture the behavior of both characters. Jeffrey seemed to be slacking off under stress, and Archie appeared to be the confident guy who was optimistic about the future. Let's go ahead with the story now!
Seven days passed, the exams were over, the evaluation was due and sitting outside the dean's office were Jeffrey and Archie, unaware of why they were called.
"You two, come inside", the dean called.
They silently complied.
"I have received your test scores. Looks like both of you have aced the test. Perfect scores."
Jeffrey shifted eyes from the dean to Archie, looking in amazement.
"Are you confident that you two achieved these by putting your own efforts?"
Jeffrey's face drooped like a flower that was not watered for days.
"Yes, sir", Archie replied with a wave of confidence.
"I'm just curious. What were you boys doing in the college administrative block one day before the exam?"
Jeffrey lost his senses as he felt a heavy stone of accusation being thrown at him.
"We were just studying for the test, sir! In the library, sir!" Archie defended.
"I am not accusing you of anything, boys. It's just that the office lock was found tampered the next day. Sadly enough, the camera recording the view of the room with the question papers was dysfunctional. I hope the culprit surrenders before he/she is caught. You two may go now."
"Sir", they replied in unison.
Turning towards Jeffrey with eyes locked on him, Archie turned back to leave the room. Jeffrey followed him out, towards the canteen.
"I know that you stole the question paper! You were the one who needed it, weren't you?" accused Archie.
"I never said anything like that!", replied Jeffrey.
"You're lying", Archie screamed.
"I don't know what you're saying, Arch. I really don't."
Can you make a certain guess about who stole the paper?
Well, unless you're Sherlock, you most probably can't. Why?
Let me narrate the paragraph again, with a hint of detail this time.
"I know you stole the question paper! You were the one who needed it, weren't you?" accused Archie as he rammed Jeffrey back with his hands.
"I never said anything like that!" Jeffrey exclaimed with a tone of surprise.
"You're lying!", screamed Archie in his face.
A drop of sweat trickled down Jeffrey's brow, while he tried to not look into Archie's eyes. "I don't know what you are talking about, Arch. I really don't", he said, with a quivering voice.
Doesn't this change make Jeffrey look like the culprit? There were just small additions that did not alter the dialogues, but since they described the situation better, they completely enhanced your perception of what's going on. Beautiful, isn't it?
-l.png)
Needless to say, this idea can be extended to a complete story, where presenting simple and minor details might change the direction of the story majorly. Do you know what made the difference? The macro in micro.
Jeffrey loathed his semester ending exams, wondering why he never studied throughout the semester.
"What? Prepping without me, eh? And you're my best friend. Cool." said Archie.
"Just trying to catch up, Arch", Jeffrey replied.
"Just go home, take a good nap and study with a peace of mind. You will make it."
"Did you finish your portions?" asked Jeffrey.
"Not yet" he replied. "You should calm down, Jeff. Go, give it a break."
"I just hope I'll pass, Arch."
Wasn't that paragraph way too bland? Of course that was the storyline! Then why does it seem so plain?
Let's try to add something more to it.
Bashing his head against the textbook, Jeffrey suffered the agony of the impeding disaster - his semester ending exams, wondering why he never even peeked at his textbook throughout the semester.
"What a rare sight to be seen!" exclaimed Archie, spotting Jeffrey from across the hall. "Prepping without me, eh? And you're my best friend. Cool."
"Just trying to catch up, Arch", Jeffrey sighed, with his head resting on the table.
"Don't wreck yourself, Jeff. Just go home, take a good nap and study with a peace of mind. You will make it."
"Did you finish your portions?" asked Jeffrey, while lifting his head just enough to see Arch in his periphery.
"Not yet" he replied. "You should calm down, Jeff. Go, give it a break."
"I just hope I'll pass, Arch. I just hope."
Didn't that make the paragraph much better? You could now picture the behavior of both characters. Jeffrey seemed to be slacking off under stress, and Archie appeared to be the confident guy who was optimistic about the future. Let's go ahead with the story now!
Seven days passed, the exams were over, the evaluation was due and sitting outside the dean's office were Jeffrey and Archie, unaware of why they were called.
"You two, come inside", the dean called.
They silently complied.
"I have received your test scores. Looks like both of you have aced the test. Perfect scores."
Jeffrey shifted eyes from the dean to Archie, looking in amazement.
"Are you confident that you two achieved these by putting your own efforts?"
Jeffrey's face drooped like a flower that was not watered for days.
"Yes, sir", Archie replied with a wave of confidence.
"I'm just curious. What were you boys doing in the college administrative block one day before the exam?"
Jeffrey lost his senses as he felt a heavy stone of accusation being thrown at him.
"We were just studying for the test, sir! In the library, sir!" Archie defended.
"I am not accusing you of anything, boys. It's just that the office lock was found tampered the next day. Sadly enough, the camera recording the view of the room with the question papers was dysfunctional. I hope the culprit surrenders before he/she is caught. You two may go now."
"Sir", they replied in unison.
Turning towards Jeffrey with eyes locked on him, Archie turned back to leave the room. Jeffrey followed him out, towards the canteen.
"I know that you stole the question paper! You were the one who needed it, weren't you?" accused Archie.
"I never said anything like that!", replied Jeffrey.
"You're lying", Archie screamed.
"I don't know what you're saying, Arch. I really don't."
Can you make a certain guess about who stole the paper?
Well, unless you're Sherlock, you most probably can't. Why?
Let me narrate the paragraph again, with a hint of detail this time.
"I know you stole the question paper! You were the one who needed it, weren't you?" accused Archie as he rammed Jeffrey back with his hands.
"I never said anything like that!" Jeffrey exclaimed with a tone of surprise.
"You're lying!", screamed Archie in his face.
A drop of sweat trickled down Jeffrey's brow, while he tried to not look into Archie's eyes. "I don't know what you are talking about, Arch. I really don't", he said, with a quivering voice.
Doesn't this change make Jeffrey look like the culprit? There were just small additions that did not alter the dialogues, but since they described the situation better, they completely enhanced your perception of what's going on. Beautiful, isn't it?
-l.png)
Needless to say, this idea can be extended to a complete story, where presenting simple and minor details might change the direction of the story majorly. Do you know what made the difference? The macro in micro.
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