Sacrificial words to reach the next chapter

[stickygirl]

I'm writing a long story that I'd describe as 'kinetic' so far: plenty of things happening and less human interest. The events are needed and they have made the opening chapters quite action packed. I've now found myself in a bind because I know the events that have to happen next, but I doubt they're going to be very interesting to the reader.

I've thought about just skipping the events and simply reporting them, but that feels like a cheat as I work through. So I've decided to write these sequences anyway to get them out of my head, then I can then concentrate on the next section. I know I'll cut the words once I'm safely on the other side of this hiatus, but my brain appears to need this process, so I thought I'd indulge it.

Anyone else experience this? Should I book a therapist now?

 

[Areala-chan]

I think this is a perfectly fine solution. Every writer is familiar with the "Show, don't tell," adage, but I think the better way to read that is, "Show the important bits, tell the not-so-important bits". If your MC has to attend a two-day work conference, but nothing happens there which is essential to push the story forward, it's far better to write something which tells the reader they attended a two-day work conference, and continue the story.

If you're concerned that something might happen while they attend that two-day work conference, on the other hand, by all means, write it out and see where it takes you! If, in the end, nothing happens then you have done the work and know you can safely cut it out, replace it with a simple declaration that the conference happened, and continue with the story.

On the other hand, if something does happen which contributes to the story, you haven't missed an opportunity to show it. I do stuff like this all the time, and it helps.

 

[THBGato]

Oh God. I hate those moments.

A cheat code I used in one story currently on the drawing board is just to have the narrator text his girlfriend (yes, I said "his" - look at me branching out!) a summary of what occurred. They had texted before in the story, so it wasn't a sudden invention, but as people tend to keep things brief in text messages, it allowed me to compress a lot of information into two sentences.

Is something like that an option for you?

 

[NotWise]

I'm writing a long story that I'd describe as 'kinetic' so far: plenty of things happening and less human interest. The events are needed and they have made the opening chapters quite action packed. I've now found myself in a bind because I know the events that have to happen next, but I doubt they're going to be very interesting to the reader.

I've thought about just skipping the events and simply reporting them, but that feels like a cheat as I work through. So I've decided to write these sequences anyway to get them out of my head, then I can then concentrate on the next section. I know I'll cut the words once I'm safely on the other side of this hiatus, but my brain appears to need this process, so I thought I'd indulge it.

Anyone else experience this? Should I book a therapist now?

I dealt with something like that for A Little Dirty, a Little Bit Salty. I had a "meet the family" scene that I felt was absolutely essential to the story. I tried to think my way around it, but I had to write it. It was slow. I knew it was slow. I shortened it as much as I could, but it was still slow. I published it that way.

In retrospect, I should have put the whole thing away until I had a better way to tell the story. It's a good story, but that scene made the story worse. Some readers probably bail out on that scene. I'm not sure now how I'd handle it. I think maybe dealing with those aspects of the story earlier and not all at once would have been a better answer.

When I've hit that situation since (like right now in my WIP), I've stopped until I could find a better way, and I think that's the solution for me.

Maybe that's not for you. Though you probably don't need a therapist now, you could if you write that thing and then can't get rid of it.

 

[TheRedChamber]

You are being vague, I get, because you dont want to explain the whole plot. That makes it hard to comment on, but...

If you are worried its not interesting to the reader, go back and make it interesting. Now, there are cheap ways of doing this- I'm thinking of those episodes of Game of Thrones where they would set long stretches of political exposition during rush hour at the brothel.

At a deeper level, everything in your plot should be advancing the main thrust of the plot (or be fun garnish). Saying the reader is not going to be interested, suggest the reader is not as invested as you would like them to be in the characters and goings on.

 

[AlinaX]

I often do a time skip and have later memories of the skipped events.

 

[stickygirl]

I dealt with something like that for A Little Dirty, a Little Bit Salty. I had a "meet the family" scene that I felt was absolutely essential to the story. I tried to think my way around it, but I had to write it. It was slow. I knew it was slow. I shortened it as much as I could, but it was still slow. I published it that way.

In retrospect, I should have put the whole thing away until I had a better way to tell the story. It's a good story, but that scene made the story worse. Some readers probably bail out on that scene. I'm not sure now how I'd handle it. I think maybe dealing with those aspects of the story earlier and not all at once would have been a better answer.

When I've hit that situation since (like right now in my WIP), I've stopped until I could find a better way, and I think that's the solution for me.

Maybe that's not for you. Though you probably don't need a therapist now, you could if you write that thing and then can't get rid of it.

That's about the sum of it - yes I need to get it out of the way, but I might do what Alinax suggests and have it referred to later in the story.

 

[PennyThompson]

have the narrator text his girlfriend

Who are you and what have you done with T

 

[MelissaBaby]

I think a lull in the action is fine, but you have to maintain some forward motion to the narrative. One method of doing so might be to use foreshadowing, hinting that these more sedate events are harbingers of things to come.

Even to just say, "She returned to her peaceful country home, knowing that her respite there would not last long" or something along those lines.

 

[NotWise]

I think a lull in the action is fine, but you have to maintain some forward motion to the narrative. One method of doing so might be to use foreshadowing, hinting that these more sedate events are harbingers of things to come.

Even to just say, "She returned to her peaceful country home, knowing that her respite there would not last long" or something along those lines.

Making it humorous helps, too.

 

[KittyOfSteele]

You may try to introduce the events through the characters instead of making use of an information dump?

"How come am I finding out about this now?" said Bob

Alice raised an eyebrow and flicked her hand. "Dude, you took a 30-day holiday to a place that can only be reached out with homing pigeons!"

"Oh, shut up!" Bob crossed his arms. "At least I went to an island instead of burning my entire mortgage in the stock market."

"How did you know?!"

 

[iwatchus]

You may try to introduce the events through the characters instead of making use of an information dump?

"How come am I finding out about this now?" said Bob

Alice raised an eyebrow and flicked her hand. "Dude, you took a 30-day holiday to a place that can only be reached out with homing pigeons!"

"Oh, shut up!" Bob crossed his arms. "At least I went to an island instead of burning my entire mortgage in the stock market."

"How did you know?!"

Bob isn't short for Robert Jordan, is it? And just where did he cross those arms?

 

[KittyOfSteele]

Bob isn't short for Robert Jordan, is it? And just where did he cross those arms?

Bob is someone I just came up out of thin air. He was a headless dead man, without pants and a shirt, with his hands in his pocket and a evil smile.

Shoutout to the sole reader who understood the reference.

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

(yes, I said "his" - look at me branching out!)

This is the highlight of my Saturday so far, lol

 

[Djmac1031]

There's obviously no hard fast rule to any of it. But I myself am a big fan of skipping ahead to get to the good parts.

And I dont just mean sex. I just mean some parts of a story are more interesting than others, so if I can speed pass through the less interesting but still necessary parts I'll do it.

 

[Actingup]

This is the highlight of my Saturday so far, lol

Just catching up on this useful thread - lots of great ideas from terrific authors. It feels to me that a @THBGato story with boyfriends in it should break some arms agreement or be subject to anti-trust proceedings of some kind. The power unleashed…

 

[stickygirl]

I'll just throw this in as well... I decided it might be fun for one of my MCs to keep a diary. I don't know if I'll include it in the final cut, but it might be a way to develop the character. It also means the diary can be written in 1st person, which will make a welcome break to all this god-like voyeurism.

 

[TheRedLantern]

I know I'll cut the words once I'm safely on the other side of this hiatus, but my brain appears to need this process, so I thought I'd indulge it.

Anyone else experience this? Should I book a therapist now?

Great topic idea. I'm glad I'm not the only one that looks for these mental hacks to get past obstacles our brains put in our way.

I am your twin in this respect. In my first draft, I have to get it ALL down on paper. Some of it is boring AF and reads only slightly worse than the untranslated parts of the Necronomicon (the rest is often pure gibberish), but until it's written down my brain thinks it "didn't happen" and won't keep going.

Fortunately cutting words is my love language.

 

[NotWise]

I'll just throw this in as well... I decided it might be fun for one of my MCs to keep a diary. I don't know if I'll include it in the final cut, but it might be a way to develop the character. It also means the diary can be written in 1st person, which will make a welcome break to all this god-like voyeurism.

One of my characters in my WIP keeps a journal. I haven't done much with her writing, and I don't intend to. The fact that she keeps a journal is all I need.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I'm more likely to skip to the next bit I want to write, and then worry about joining the two together. Often one sentence will do it.

 

[stickygirl]

Great topic idea. I'm glad I'm not the only one that looks for these mental hacks to get past obstacles our brains put in our way.

I am your twin in this respect. In my first draft, I have to get it ALL down on paper. Some of it is boring AF and reads only slightly worse than the untranslated parts of the Necronomicon (the rest is often pure gibberish), but until it's written down my brain thinks it "didn't happen" and won't keep going.

Fortunately cutting words is my love language.

Welcome to my world. Yup, my brain gets ticked off unless there's a resolved flow to the plot but as KQ says...

I'm more likely to skip to the next bit I want to write, and then worry about joining the two together. Often one sentence will do it.

often if I've written boring nonsense, I can wield the hatchet and in one sentence 'poof' it's gone... BUT I still have to go through the process.

 

[alohadave]

I've thought about just skipping the events and simply reporting them, but that feels like a cheat as I work through.

Do readers need to witness the events? Does telling them advance the story so that they are not bogged down with another scene?

Telling is perfectly valid, and is not a cheat. You do not need to show everything that happens.

 

[stickygirl]

Do readers need to witness the events? Does telling them advance the story so that they are not bogged down with another scene?

Telling is perfectly valid, and is not a cheat. You do not need to show everything that happens.

Yeah, I agree and I'm more than happy to cut unnecessary scenes. It must just be another quirk of mine ( and RedLantern )that I still need to have walked the path before putting up a diversion sign to the short cut.