Quote:
Originally Posted by pseudoclever
Ah, the old 'exact height vs. comparisons' debate. If you don't mind, I'll throw my 2 cents in 
You're right, sometimes it doesn't make sense to throw around hard measurement numbers. And you're right, it's easier to visualize heights if you say things like 'she was a head taller than me.' For SOME people. But there are rather a lot of people out there who want to know those numbers, I guess because it makes the whole thing more real for them.
In the end, writing a story and completely refusing to use numbers would be like painting a picture and deciding not to use any red. It might be fine, and maybe the picture doesn't call for it, but you shouldn't be afraid to use it where it belongs. |
I agree, pseudo, that leaving out numbers for its own sake is fishy. It should always fit the context. If the protagonist is slowly growing over the course of a few days, then it would make sense for numbers to get stated because I imagine she would probably want to know. At the same time, when the girl grows suddenly and she is able to suddenly say, "Oh my god! I'm 6'4!" it doesn't work as well for me.
A favorite strategy of mine (or, at least, the one that I used in my story) was to establish the heights of other non-growing characters and then use the relative height comparisons until the girl can actually measure herself in a proper context.