by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I was working away on the fourth Memphis book yesterday, writing an important scene for the book.
It’s a scene where a suspect gives important information to my sleuth—information that leads her investigation in a new direction.
The scene was pacing well. I was happy with the scene’s characters, dialogue, and location.
There were two things I noticed, though. One, the scene was absolutely massive. Although it was pacing well, it seemed really dense. Lots of information there for a reader to digest.
The second thing I noticed was that the scene was really too important to have all at once place in the story.
I don’t like to edit as I go, so I put a note to myself in the margin of the story with Word’s Track Changes feature: Split this scene up.
What I’m going to do when I’m editing, is to take that scene and interrupt it. I’ll have the character either hint at the information or try to relate the information—and get interrupted by another event….something that needs immediate attention in the story.
Of course, in my stories, that character might end up dead before he has a chance to say what was on his mind. But that also gives an opportunity to delay the character’s revelation—maybe he told another character his problem or conclusion or insight. Maybe he wrote it down. Maybe he emailed someone. Who did he communicate with in the days leading up to his death?
If this interrupting is done too frequently or in an obvious way, I think it can get frustrating for a reader. But if it’s handled by just introducing another important scene or event, it automatically creates tension and interest: what was that character trying to say? And life, after all, is frequently one interruption after another (at least, mine is. That’s part of being a parent, I guess.)
This approach is one that I’ve been using more of….especially when I see a huge scene that’s composed of dialogue between a couple of characters. It’s almost like a big info-dump. It’s not backstory, but it’s a lot of information to process. Why not break it up? Fracturing the scene creates tension, adds reasonable length to my story, and makes the pace faster.
Do you ever break up important scenes in your book to trickle the information out slowly?
Photo: Leo Reynolds—Flickr
I haven’t split things up yet, at least not conversations, but this is certainly a great method to introduce natural tension. Thanks for the great post! :)
I had to do this in my first and second novel. I had a lot of infodumps or revelations that just happened too quickly, both from a character development standpoint and for the sake of dramatic tension.
Love that tip! Interruptions happen so frequently in real life, they should show up in the story as well :)
Elizabeth – I actually think that’s a terrific strategy. Not only does it accomplish your goals as an author but also it increases the reader’s interest and the suspense. And it really does happen in real life, too. I’m going to have to try doing that – thanks!
Vero–Hope you’ll find it useful. Thanks for coming by!
Paul–I think it’s natural for writers to want to keep readers in the loop. But you’re right–this is an important tool. Good point about character development–maybe we hint at a personality facet that we explain more fully later on.
That’s a great way to handle it. Unless, of course, you are going to kill the character off. I guess you need to figure that out first. :)
I haven’t had to break up a scene – yet. But it’s a good idea.
Great timing. I was working on a scene yesterday, mostly dialogue, that I thought was running too long. The conversation is too important to cut so I’ll probably have to split it.
I have done that because all the clues seemed to come at once. However, I’m like you, I’ll place a marker and come back to it.
actually I have never tried it, but it sounds like a great idea.
Thanks for the tip…
Ciara–Always good to know who my victims are! :)
Jemi–Absolutely! Yes, most of my day is one big interruption. Since you’re a teacher, I bet the same is true for you!
Margot–It’s sort of a natural means to an end. Hope it works for you!
Diane–Thanks for coming by!
LD–Glad it helped! Good luck with the scene.
Clarissa–Don’t you hate that when that happens? One clue always seems to lead to another!
This cracked me up: “Of course, in my stories, that character might end up dead before he has a chance to say what was on his mind.”
This is an excellent idea. One more tool for our quiver!
I recognize this challenge in my writing. One of the first passes I do for revision is to look for places where I have dumped a lot of information into one scene. Then I work it to break up the giant scenes.
I have much the same problem. Killing characters seems to be what I do.
Michael–Hope it helps! Thanks for coming by.
Julie–Lots of unexpected death in my stories!
PA–And when we kill them, it automatically takes the story in a new direction. :)
Good advice – thank you!
I just might introduce an interuption a lot sooner in one section of my WIP that smells a bit like an info dump. ;)