Mirror, Mirror

July 8, 2021 4:39 am Published by EverEden Leave your thoughts

Mirrors are lazy, and usually result in an info dump that requires no skill and no art.

 

I used it in Red Cowboys,

Twice

 Mirror Scene #1 

Justification: By the time you reach the scene, you already know physical characteristics about Agent Trent Starr (even if you haven’t read King of Spades.) You know the shade and length of his hair, his eye colour, his fitness level, the style of clothing (uniform set up,) his general disposition mentally. There’s not much need for a mirror scene if I’d wanted it to aid in a description of this character.

I don’t count it as a traditional, frowned-upon “mirror scene” much because the reflection comes as a part of his environment, not the focus. The whole scene is a stream of consciousness the reader follows, the sleepy-to-awake realisation of how Agent Starr came to be in his current environment. I wanted it to sneak up on the reader as it did for the character.

I’m okay with a mirror in the general vicinity and the subject happens to catch an aspect they’ve just acquired…or if it’s a passing observation like it would be IRL. Eg: I don’t pass a mirror in a flash and think about my ” long, flowing, raven locks” or my “mostly-symmetrical, age-defying” features. (Ooh la la!)

I pass it and if I think at all, it’s “Ahh shit, I got a new zit,” or “Wow, I sure look like trash today.” *carries on scrubbing the mould in the nearby shower*

Agent Starr realises he’s in the driver’s seat of a car he doesn’t remember entering. Don’t use a mirror as a tool because you don’t know what to say.   He happens to catch his reflection in the confusion. The only mentions about his characteristics are in passing, he notices his skin looks pale before the narrative moves onto his current addiction and his whereabouts. Because by then, it’s just incidental, an observation among a lot of other revelations in the moment.

I’m okay with this. I believe in having an element where it’s “flat” sometimes (for lack of a better term.) Where it just is, as if it was a film. Some pieces may come together later.

You don’t know shit. You just see some shit. That shit could mean something but it’s your problem, you figure it out.

If I’ve written something “flat,” –between us, it’s probably not very important, otherwise I would have elaborated, but it may serve as something you later realise was linked to something else too. Because easter eggs are fun.

 

Mirror Scene #2

Justification: Have you ever tried to stitch up an injury by yourself? Sometimes you need a mirror.

This could be seen as a semi-lazy, semi info dump. (OMGZEZ Faux pa!) It contained fleeting mention of the multitude of past injuries the character already had. His observations culminated, within a line or two of narrative, into focusing on the injury he had to attend to – the reason for being in front of a reflection in the present. Yes, there is a mirror – he glances at his body, but it’s while he’s utilising the mirror for an actual reason that pushes the story. This is okay with me.

*The characteristics are not taking 56 pages of excessive similies and metaphors to talk about his cheekbones and the mirror is not the sole tool for describing this person because by the time it’s mentioned in the book, you basically know everything about him.

2. You also learn, in this barely there mirror glance at his body, that he doesn’t remove certain articles of clothing because of insecurities about the scars underneath. This deliberate tightrope walk above a stereotypical info-dump is to juxtapose his attitude towards the other scars mentioned. It also makes you wonder just how bad unseen one is if you already know he has bullet wound and surgery scars. This was done to draw attention to inconsistencies and scattered thinking in a highly stressful situation on account of his mental illness and past.

Just use Skynet Google to see the results you get if you ask the biased oracle about using a mirror in your story. I didn’t find an article or blog post from anyone claiming it was okay to do this. Here’s one. Cos fuck em.

The truth is, you probably won’t do it well.

Did I do it well? *shrugs* S’okay.

We all sneak info sometimes, and sometimes we get carried away thinking that the reader has to know. They have to know WHYYYYY! “It’s important because I’ve personally thought about it for months until this point!” Which is why your info-dump accidentally runs into pages, and then you’re crying while you murder the shit out of your darlings in the edits. Don’t use the mirror thing if you can help it.

If you use it, make sure it’s not all about describing the character, things you should have explained another away prior. My first mirror scene (the rearview glance, Red Cowboys)  was add to the shock of being in a car without remembering how. You’re going to see the rearview, the steering wheel, the windscreen etc all of which follow (in quick succession) after the mention of the mirror. Have you ever accidentally seen yourself in a mirror? eg you wake up and you have a mirror across from your bed and catch yourself. Sometimes it startles, you because your brain registers that there is a person right up in your face. oh wait! It’s just my reflection.

The rearview is not the focus and the scene could have started with a glance to the steering wheel first instead..but this guy is tall and logistics and physics dictated he was probably going to wake up looking at himself almost level with that mirror.

I have excuses reasons f or my mirror use! Make sure you have good ones too, and do not go overboard. That’s why it’s a no-no. Too many people have used it over hundreds of years and now everyone hates it.

 

 

 

TLDR:

*Do whatever helps you sleep at night.

*General rule though, don’t use a mirror to describe characters.

*However, rules are made to be broken…

*So if you do it, do it well.

*Don’t blame this post if you fuck it up.

 

K thx bye.

 

 

 

 

 

Cowboy.” 1, Traditional animal herder who tends cattle on ranches usually in the North American region.

2, Derogatory term describing someone who is reckless, ignores potential risks, irresponsible or who heedlessly handles a sensitive or dangerous task.

 

 

 

 

 

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All content is no copyright infringement intended. All posts are opinion only and are subject to change due to experience, kicking ass and learning how to adult more effectively. If you don’t like it, don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya. Elements of original content may be reproduced with expressed permission from Ever Eden.

 

Tags: Agent Trent Starr, author, character description, cliche, faux pas, IRL, king of spades, lazy writing, let me explain, Mirror, mirror mirror, mirrors, Murder your darlings, trent starr, whatever helps you sleep at night, write advice, writing rules