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Q&A How can I convey something without going into details?

I am considering writing a novel in which society has fallen into a perverse pit of debauchery. This is necessary to the novel, but it also presents some problems. I want the reader to know just ho...

4 answers  ·  posted 9y ago by Thomas Myron‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Question fiction style
#4: Attribution notice removed by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-12T17:48:59Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/19554
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T04:45:01Z (almost 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/19554
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by (deleted user) · 2019-12-08T04:45:01Z (almost 5 years ago)
I am considering writing a novel in which society has fallen into a perverse pit of debauchery. This is necessary to the novel, but it also presents some problems. I want the reader to know just how bad things are, but at the same time, I want to avoid writing about them.

I don't want to simply say, "things are bad," and leave it at that. I need to _show_ just how bad things are, so that the reader will understand the true state of society.

I also do not want to describe how bad things are, because 1) I simply don't want to write about such things, and 2) I don't want my novel to be adult-only. I want everyone to read this.

**How can I describe how terrible things are, and yet not actually describe it?**

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2015-11-01T01:12:28Z (about 9 years ago)
Original score: 6