Chris
 

Finally, if there's no STORY to how they get to the mountain, you might find that it works leaving out how they get there... I mean, you don't ever read about the Hero going to the bathroom, yet you know he has to. The reader will understand that somethings are left out.

Myself, I'd like to see them face some unexpected danger in this mystical forest.

Moving scene-to-scene without clumsily shoving people where they're not ready to go can be difficult. This is true for your forest and mountain but also for emotional and conversational transtitions.

If anyone's got techniques they use for this hassle, I'm all ears!
 

JOHN
 

If scenes of any significant length are going to take place in the mystical forest, I suggest that something should happen to change one or more of the characters. This could be a physical change, a mental / psychological change, or a discovery about themselves.

Perhaps someone tries to be a hero by slaying a frightening creature, only to find that it was friendly. Afterwards they are filled with self-doubt and regret, but they have learned their lesson and later get the chance to redeem themselves.

Perhaps someone discovers a magical item that tells them something shocking about themselves. They may also receive a non-magical epiphany.

Perhaps a character dies, or recieves a scar or other permanent reminder of the forest. A wounded character may also find healing in the mystical forest.

Perhaps a character discovers some new magical property, potion, herb, hotspring, toothpaste, or whatever.

Finally, you might have NOTHING happen in the mystical forest, but do as Chad suggested and have the characters discover some interesting nooks and crannies. Then, when you write the next book in this series and your characters desperately need a twig from a mystical tree, they know where to find it.

What is the role of the mystical forest, anyway? If you did not have a plan for it, why not make it an ordinary forest and have the characters walk through it in one paragraph?

[This message has been edited by Doc Brown (edited January 17, 2002).]
 

Don't write a scene to fill space; the purpose of scenes are to screw your characters.
 

I love it... That's the perfect way of looking at a scene!

If your characters aren't getting screwed, it's a borning scene. I use the Harrison Ford version of "The Fuguative" as something to strive for, for example.
 

Second, many of you have asked why it's a mystical, magical forest instead of a normal one, and, while nothing important has happened yet, it will. Two (or three, I haven't decided) of my characters, who have yet to be introduced, are from this forest. Also, they are going to encounter a few monsters they must defeat. (Note to Doc Brown: I love the idea of killing an innocent monster and then being filled of regret and self-doubt. May I use that?)

In short, the forest is an integral part of the story, and yet, it is a small part.

Thanks again,
Chris
 

More immediate is having the monster's death adversly affect someone still alive who is innocent, say a village full of nice but wimpy people that relied on the monster for protection from bad guys, or something (they can tell you how nice and innocent the monster was, if you like).

I would like to point out, as an alternative to tormenting your characters, you could have them solve problems so successfully that the readers are awed (or at least impressed) by them. To do this effectively in writing, the solution must have a strong intellectual element, though it needn't be entirely theoretical (of the magic questioner variety). Also, torture must be at least partly mental, since pages of screams of pain interspersed with graphic descriptions of physical damage will not impress most people literate enough to read it. The torment should induce at least some form of dilemna, and something conceptual (that the audience can care about as much as the character) should be put at stake. This could be conceptual in the sense of simply not being immediately present (such as the continued existence of the character or someone else important to the story) or in the sense of being a thought or belief or attitude that the character has (like in 1984, Whatisname gives into the party in the end).

But I wish, for the most part to second the advice given (even my criticism is only by way of a clarification, not a contradiction).
 

It could be good to preface it with one of the forest-native characters anticipating the chance to see a special forest animal. "I can't wait for you all to meet my favorite animal, the root-hog. Root-hogs are chubby, cuddly, fuzzy, and very affectionate. Plus they eat bloodbugs. Without Root-hogs the forest would be overrun by bloodbugs. Root-hogs are the most revered ceatures in the mystical forest. We even give each one of them its own name."

Twenty pages later, one of your non-forest dwelling characters is saying "Boy, that was close! Hey guys! Come look at the ferocious, shaggy monster I just killed . . ."

Go for it, cvgurau.
 

JOHN!