by Donna Galanti @DonnaGalanti
In becoming an author and reader across genres, I’ve discovered a compelling novel is an emotional experience. If we fall in love with the characters in a book we can forgive some plot errors–but not all–and we can just believe. And if we believe, we stay in the fiction dream. James Scott Bell, in his workshop Structure of a Novel, emphasized this. We need to keep the reader entranced in the fiction dream. But how do we do that? Create a world to support them.
My developmental editor, Kathryn Craft, reinforced Bell’s advice. She advised me that to keep the fiction dream alive we need to have our readers suspend disbelief–and never, ever show our underpants. What does this mean? It means that we must create a world in which a plot point can happen. Don’t create an event just to “show” something.
For example, a scene reveals a daughter’s healing powers. The mother falls from a barn window onto a pitchfork and the daughter heals her.
But, we have no creepy sensation that all was not well:
· There is no violent wind
· No portent of doom
· No anxious horses stampeding
· No prior warning of the pitchfork danger
The world was not created to support the plot point. The author just needed this accident to happen so the daughter’s powers could be revealed. The author showed her underpants. She didn’t cover herself. Literally. That’s just not cool. And it does not create heart-pumping tension and suspense.
In fiction, accidents and coincidence don’t help a plot unless they are carefully contrived and built up. As readers we don’t want to read about a world in where stuff happens just like in real life. We want an ordered world where even if the character didn’t see it coming–we did.
Can outlandish plot points be bought by the reader? Yes, but to accept big jumps in plausibility the reader must believe it was the only one possible way it could go down–and the way the author chose it to.
Authors need to use all the goodies in their writer’s toolbox to create believable scenes that keep the reader invested in the story and the characters’ dilemmas, no matter how outlandish. It’s all about keeping the fiction dream alive.
I want the fiction dream. To read it and write it. I don’t want to see plain old underpants. And as an author, I will keep my own undies tucked away from now on. Thank you very much.
Donna Galanti is the author of the paranormal suspense novel, A Human Element, called “a riveting debut that had me reading till the wee hours of the night” by international bestselling author M.J. Rose. She’s lived from England as a child, to Hawaii as a U.S. Navy photographer. Donna lives with her family in an old farmhouse in PA with lots of nooks, fireplaces, and stinkbugs but sadly no ghosts. Visit her at www.donnagalanti.com
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Blog: http://blog.donnagalanti.com/wp/
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Elizabeth – Thanks for hosting Donna.
Donna – I couldn’t agree with you more about the need for some sort of plausibility in a novel. The writer really does have to set the story up so that the reader can believe the events would really happen given the characters and so on. It sometimes takes extra work setting the scene and building the fictional world you want readers to enter. But the extra work is worth it.
Elizabeth, thanks so much for having me on today! This was a fun post to write and a technique I’m glad I learned. “Not showing my underpants” in writing is such a visual that has stuck with me.
Thanks so much for guest posting, Donna! I think Kathryn put it in a very visual, memorable way! I always enjoy her posts on the Blood Red Pencil blog. And great tips here on creating a world that helps our readers suspend disbelief (and keeps them in the story).
Such a simple thing to overlook. I’m completely guilty of creating events just to have an excuse for a particular plot point to be revealed. I’m making notes for the revision of my current WIP.
Donna, you have just totally validated my own obsessive world-building. I cannot tell you how much better I feel. I am not crazy after all!
It’s adding depth and layers and takes time to master.
Details! Still working on that…
Christine, funny you mention world building related to this as I am rewriting a middle grade fantasy. I need to add richer world building details to make it more plausible – and also not just have events, like a magic power or item appearing, happen just to serve a plot point.
I need to “cover” myself here. You can never do enough world building on the back end – its then up to you to decide how much of those details to include in the book so readers get enough…but not overwhelmed with too much information. Good luck on your book!
Paul, I am guilty of this myself! (see above) The great thing about first drafts is that we can mold them into pieces of art using these kinds of techniques.
Often when fast drafting I find its easy to tend to write the first thing that comes to mind about a scene, action, dialogue event and this is where the tired, cliche can rear its head. So I often put a comment on the side to remind myself to go back and change that later to sound unique and serve a purpose toward a plot point, story arc or character arc.
Yeah, if not for repeatedly telling myself “It’s okay, leave a note and come back to it when you’re editing” I’d never get my first drafts finished.
Great post! I like your underpants analogy. When I was an agent, I noticed that a lot of new writers where so anxious to move their plot forward that they inadvertently left their readers behind with flat scenes where stuff just “happened.” It is so important to practice building the scene; nurture it, nourish it, squeeze every bit of juicy goodness out of it. I’m reminded of a line from Willy Wonka the original, not the Johnny Depp version), when Augustus Gloop got stuck in the chocolate suction tube: “The suspense is terrible–I hope it lasts…” I do believe most readers feel that way, too.
Hi Elizabeth .. another great guest – so interesting to read how novels are ‘created’ put together .. layered into place – so the whole picture is there in front of us as we read through …
I love the tidbits I pick up when I come here ..
Cheers and have good weekends – Hilary