A Conversation for Writing Right with Dmitri: 'Splaining, and How to Avoid It
Ex/Splaining
SashaQ - happysad Started conversation Jan 30, 2020
"Now, it occurred to me that in this day and time, we as writers have a peculiar problem: we're not sure when and how to explain things."
Yes. I guess one tactic with references is to choose carefully, so that those 'in the know' can get it but if you don't know what the reference is, then it doesn't matter. Eg the 1980s Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy TV series features a cameo by Douglas Adams where he is a businessman who goes to the beach, takes his clothes off and walks into the sea, which is a reference to the 1970s series The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin, but is what it is at the same time. Whereas if you drop the word 'frood' (say) into a sentence, then the uninitiated reader will struggle, unless an explanatory footnote is provided 
Peer Review helps with this, that different readers bring different knowledge of pop culture etc so will be able to point out references that don't make sense in the context of an Entry, enabling clarifications to be made
I enjoyed the Hee Haw montage 
impressive raspberries!
Key: Complain about this post
More Conversations for Writing Right with Dmitri: 'Splaining, and How to Avoid It
Write an Entry
"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is a wholly remarkable book. It has been compiled and recompiled many times and under many different editorships. It contains contributions from countless numbers of travellers and researchers."