I've been enjoying Stefan Zweig lately. I suppose Zweig figured he could show, not tell by writing scene where the first person narrator meets someone in the lo

I've been enjoying Stefan Zweig lately. I suppose Zweig figured he could show, not tell by writing scene where the first person narrator meets someone in the lobby of an expensive hotel, who then relates the bulk of the story. In short, Zweig shows someone telling a story ;) Zweig's style to me is almost like a friend retelling a movie or long novel, but to a very high level of detail and with excellent recall for relevant descriptions and quotes, when needed. Sometimes he sets this up through brief shell of a traveling narrator meeting the subject of the story (who then provides the main narration), sometimes he dispenses with this and just relates the story. This technique is used here and there - now that I think of it, "interview with a vampire" works this way. This sort of writing can be very effective. At times, I have to wonder if it isn't a way to break through writer's block or free yourself from the difficulty of writing fiction - you, as a writer, place yourself in the position of a stranger meeting an interesting person, and then you imagine the story being narrated to you. You could keep the shell, or discard it and just keep the inner story as first person narrative.