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Implicit vs. explicit questions

Ireth

Myth Weaver
What do people think of using implicit versus explicit questions? I have a scene involving the former in my main WIP, which gave my beta some trouble. An implicit question, for those who don't know, is one in which the question is derived mostly from tone of voice and body language, rather than spoken word. Example:

Implicit: "Apple?" Bob offered, holding one out to Alice.
Explicit: "Would you like an apple?" Bob offered, holding one out to Alice.

Now for the context of my scene: the secondary protagonist, a human named Vincent, has made a deal with a Leannan Sidhe named Lenore, in which he agreed to sing for her and let her consume part of his energy if she would answer one important question (relevant to Vincent's quest to find his kidnapped daughter) per stanza that he sings. The song (seven stanzas long) is done, and here is the question scene, from the POV of Vincent's brother Dom (who has just found Vincent and Lenore after getting lost and being separated from Vincent).


"[irrelevant stuff snipped out] Now, question one: What is the name of Madoc Morfryn's son and heir?"

"Prince Fiachra,” said Lenore, sullen. She folded her arms. “What sort of question is that?"

"Where does he dwell?"

Lenore's eyes narrowed. "Why so curious?"

"I'm the one asking the questions. Answer, please."

"Caer Celynnen," she said after a pause.

Dom smiled. Finally, a name for their destination. That would be useful.

Vincent smiled too, and posed the next question. "How can my brother and I get to Caer Celynnen from here?"

“I can’t imagine why you’d want to. His Majesty wouldn’t take kindly to you intruding on his stronghold.”

“We have business with the prince,” Vincent said calmly. “Please tell us how to get to Caer Celynnen.”

She sniffed. “Find the place where winter never thaws, and holly is a guardian.”

Dom frowned. “And in plain English, that means...?”

“You aren’t part of the bargain,” she sneered at him. “I gave your brother my answer already.”

“And I’m asking another question. We’re in this together, so you’ll have to deal with both of us.”

Lenore maintained a frigid silence.

Vincent sighed. “Fine. Will you please clarify your previous answer, then, Lenore?”

“No.”

He frowned, but nodded. “Well, I did ask. Alright, next question. In which direction is Caer Celynnen from here, and how long will it take Raoul, Chim and me to get there?”

“That’s two questions,” Lenore objected.

“Which brings me up to six, still well within our bargain. Now, the answers...?”

“Caer Celynnen is north-north-east of here,” Lenore said, her gaze hard. “As for how long, I can’t possibly tell you. Time means little in Faerie, especially to us Fae. Traveling with one of us is one thing; traveling with iron is another thing entirely. Too many variables, no single answer.”

“I suppose that’s fair enough. Last question, then--”

“No. You asked your seventh before I answered the fifth and sixth.”

Vincent’s brows furrowed. “I don’t recall anything of the sort.”

Lenore snorted, then took on a Glamour to mimic his face and voice for a moment. “‘Now, the answers...?’” Dropping the illusion, she added, “If that wasn’t a question, I don’t know what you’d call it.”

Dom cringed along with Vincent at Lenore’s creepy-as-hell display. He watched Vincent carefully, wondering whether he’d risk pressing the issue or not.

NOTE: 'Raoul' is Dom's alias while in Faerie to avoid speaking his true name in front of the Fae. Not an error.

I'm hoping you all can see the problematic part of this. I do wonder whether to make Vincent a little more aware of the ambiguity of his words; immediately following this segment he just sort of shrugs it off, not wanting to make Lenore angry at him since she is quite capable of rendering him helpless or even dead. What are people's thoughts on this?
 

Trick

Auror
Totally get it. I would hang a lantern on it - show Vincent as peeved about her interpretation of what counts as a question and have her response literally be something like, "You didn't say explicit questions only, Vincent, you just said 'questions.' So, implied questions count. Better luck next time."
 

Russ

Istar
Great scene. Had no trouble following it.

Although one might argue..."And now the answers..." is a command or demand or instruction rather than an interrogatory...:)
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
Great scene. Had no trouble following it.

Although one might argue..."And now the answers..." is a command or demand or instruction rather than an interrogatory...:)

Yeah, that's what my beta reader had issue with. She said that she would have mistaken that phrase for a command if I hadn't put the question mark there. Which is, as detailed above, the whole point of the question being implicit.
 

X Equestris

Maester
Perhaps you should drop the "now". It makes it read less like a command. Maybe even go with "And the answers are?" or something along those lines.
 

Ankari

Hero Breaker
Moderator
I didn't take it as a command or a question, but as a request. The ellipses could easily substitute the word"please." After all, that is what an ellipses is used for, to replace a cut out word.
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
I didn't take it as a command or a question, but as a request. The ellipses could easily substitute the word"please." After all, that is what an ellipses is used for, to replace a cut out word.

True, but for the purposes of the scene, it would function just like the line "Will you please clarify your previous answer, then, Lenore?" On further thought, "And in plain English, that means...?" is also the same sort of thing.
 

Trick

Auror
What if you put in a moment of silence, with Lenore not answering, and then Vincent said it, like this:

“That’s two questions,” Lenore objected.

“Which brings me up to six, still well within our bargain."

Lenore stared blankly at him for a long moment.

Vincent's patience started to thin. "The answers...?”

I think that is a slightly better implicit question. It implies: "(What are) the answers?"

"Now, the answers...?" Does sound a little like: "Now, (give me) the answers."

EDIT:

This whole thing makes me think of Darby O'Gill:

"I wish I could come with ye." Said King Brian.

"I wish you could too." Said Darby.

"Three wishes I'll grant ye, great wishes an' small! But you wish a fourth and you'll lose them all!"

And King Brian tossed Darby from Death's Carriage, saving his life.
 
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Laurence

Inkling
Expanding on Trick's idea, you could go for something more obvious albeit a less forgivable slip up on Vincent's part:


Lenore stared blankly for a long moment.

"You hear?"
 

La Volpe

Sage
I also had no trouble following the scene.

Lenore seems like a jerk, to be honest, but I'm guessing that's the point? I.e. she has a very loose definition for 'question', and at the same time, she's being purposefully vague on her answers or just refusing to answer them until prodded more. So the only thing that bothered me here was that Vincent doesn't call her out on it. E.g. she counts "Now, the answers...?" as a question, but the only reason it is asked is because she isn't answering the questions. In fact, he doesn't even seem bothered by the fact that she does this.
 

Holoman

Troubadour
I suppose I read it as if the tone of voice ascended at the end as it does when someone asks a question like this. But I did actually have to go back and re-read it, which I never really like doing in a book.

If I were Vincent I'd be a bit annoyed, firstly by her simply answering 'no' to one of the previous questions because he slipped up, and then with her insistence that that was a question. But if the text has a question mark then it seems it clearly shows the reader that it was said as a question. I would argue the point though with her that it wasn't an explicit question so didn't count.
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
Yes, Lenore is intended to come off as a jerk. I never said she was nice. XD As for Vincent being annoyed or not, as I mentioned before, getting upset with Lenore would be a dangerous thing. I could have him annoyed but not outwardly showing it, though. Throughout all this I'm reminded of Bilbo's riddle contest with Gollum, and the whole "Ask us a question" bit.
 
This is a very interesting and odd case.

"Now, the answers...?” mirrors the opening "Now, question one" in construction and also, in meaning, his later "Answer, please." And neither of these are questions. So there is an echo happening, of a sort.

Also, I'd have a question about whether asking the same question twice would count as a separate question rather than a mere reiteration of the same question. He asked two questions desiring their answer, so if "the answers...?" is a question, it's just seeking the very same answers as those two and might be thought of as a reiteration of those rather than a new question. You had said he agreed to sing if she'd answer one important question per stanza, but that was a summary and not the actual passage. Maybe seeing how the deal was made, its exact wording, would be helpful.

To be thought of as a separate question rather than a reiteration, then the idea of "question" must be interpreted literally by Lenore. Any question, merely because it is a question, is a separate question. This is fairly common in this sort of thing (genies, fairies, other supernatural beings who grant wishes or answers to questions.) That's the trickiness of such beings. But, being implicit rather than a fully stated question vies with that idea of literalness.

None of this matters much, because such beings are typically tricky and Lenore is no different. She's fully capable of interpreting things however she wishes, and, besides, Vincent recognizes the dangerousness of the situation and is too cautious to call her on it. Reading the passage, I thought it was very clear, like others, and even though I have some quibbles about Lenore's interpretation (as outlined above), my quibbles are irrelevant. We are supposed to have quibbles, since we are in the same position as Vincent. That friction between interpretations is sort of the point, right? I might consider writing it so that she presents a very real threat, or shows her claws subtly, right after mimicking him, just to reinforce the idea that debate with her would be more costly than losing out on getting another answer to another question.
 
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Ireth

Myth Weaver
Thanks, FifthView! Since you asked, here's the passage involving the deal, from Vincent's POV:

[snip] "I am in need of a few things myself. Perhaps we can work out a deal?"

“A deal?” Her voice came from inches in front of his nose, and he fancied he saw her eyes gleam. “What sort of deal?”

“I need information,” he said. “I’m looking for someone specific, and anything you can tell me on how to find them will be an asset. I’ll trade you that information for a song, from which you may partake of my creative energy. In moderation, and without physical contact. I'll ask you one question per stanza, which you must answer truthfully. If I end up with more questions, I’ll sing you another. Does that sound fair?”

Lenore was silent for a while; Vincent hoped she was considering his offer. At last she said, “As you wish. But I want the song first.”

“Of course.”
 

Laurence

Inkling
I have an issue with the fact that Lenore is dangerous to annoy and that calling her out on anything annoys her. If this is the case, why is she answering his questions at all? If she is bound to answer the questions and she doesn't want to then why not just beat him up until he asks a bunch of quick, insignificant questions?

I guess I feel like whether she's physically bound to answer the questions or not, she needs to get more enjoyment out of tricking Vincent.
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
She is bound to answer his questions per the terms of the deal. She also agreed to refrain from physical contact with him, which rules out the possibility of her beating him up (not that she's inclined to in the first place). Why do you feel she needs to get enjoyment out of it? She's already taken his energy, and she's put out that he refuses to sing his questions so she could take more energy, which happens immediately prior to the above excerpt.
 
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Laurence

Inkling
She is bound to answer his questions per the terms of the deal. She also agreed to refrain from physical contact with him, which rules out the possibility of her beating him up (not that she's inclined to in the first place). Why do you feel she needs to get enjoyment out of it? She's already taken his energy, and she's put out that he refuses to sing his questions so she could take more energy, which happens immediately prior to the above excerpt.

Ah I gotcha. What I was saying was if the above weren't true then she'd have to get some enjoyment out of her trickster behaviour to be doing it.

Seeing as what you stated is the case, my question instead is, why does Vincent have to tiptoe around her? It sounds like he's relatively safe - or can she go after him in the future?
 

Ireth

Myth Weaver
Ah I gotcha. What I was saying was if the above weren't true then she'd have to get some enjoyment out of her trickster behaviour to be doing it.

Seeing as what you stated is the case, my question instead is, why does Vincent have to tiptoe around her? It sounds like he's relatively safe - or can she go after him in the future?

Yes, she can go after him in the future. (She actually ends up trying to attack his daughter in another scene, which doesn't end well for either of them.) It's a good idea to be cautious around any kind of Fae regardless of the situation, with or without a promise of peace. In Vincent's case, she can easily take his energy without touching him, which is how she did it during his song. It's just more effective when physical touch is involved. A lot of Leannan Sidhe use sex as a quick way to get a lot of energy from their victim at a time.
 
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