There are many kinds of novels, narrative ones that go on about telling a story, and some other insidous ones that let you make out what the story is. The latter ones, it seems to me are more of a challenge to write. Being a storyteller is easier because all of us are born with a narrative trait. It is one of the things we need to survive. Thinking in abstract terms to reach an end however is not natural. I’m not talking about being deliberately vague, it’s much more than that. Leaving things out certainly helps the story in some fashion, but things that must be described must be.

One of the best examples of authors who do it the narrative way are fantasy writers – from Tolkein to Jordan, and scifi writers – from Asimov to Clarke. They aren’t in any way “lesser” than authors who do it the other way. Neo-gothic novels (like that of King) that employs noirish elements to bring out the plot, or alliterative language plays of Indian authors like Rushdie or Roy use language in another way altogether. I suppose, in the end, it depends on how you use the language, not how you classify it. It doesn’t matter: I love all people who write.