I am struggling to find the balance between action and the MC's internal thoughts. I have a lot of information I want to convey about the society he lives in but I think I'm spending too much time on him thinking about what's going on etc that there's not enough action happening to keep the story moving. I guess the question is how to find the right pace for my book.
If anyone could give me some tips related to this I'd be very grateful.
Posted by arriki (Member # 3079) on :
Read Jack Bickham's SCENE AND STRUCTURE. He talks about this very problem, among others. in that book.
The rule of thumb is that the more internalization you use (inside a character's head stuff) the slower it reads. So, when the story is going along too fast and you need to slow it down, use internalizations.
Internalizations are good in their place. But the story is awful slow if it is shown mostly inside the characters' heads. Not that a great story can't be done that way, just that it is rare that such works out.
Read Bickham. His book should be at the library near you if you live in a good-sized town. It can be gotten through inter-library loan. Of course, the major book stores can order it. It's published by Writer's Digest, so you can probably buy a copy through them.
And, OSC's CHARACTER AND VIEWPOINT is well worth having. It touches on your problem a little.
[This message has been edited by arriki (edited January 24, 2007).]
Posted by Lynda (Member # 3574) on :
It's best to supply information in little dollops along the way, not in info-dumps (which having your MC thinking about the history of his world or problem or whatever would turn into if you're not careful). Have him walk through the city and notice there's a new paint job on the hardware store he frequents, for instance - that gives you a chance to describe the way the shops look and a bit of background about your MC - he likes to work with his hands, so he frequents a hardware store enough that they know him on a first-name basis (perhaps). Maybe there's a lot of racial unrest there, so the last time he saw the store, it had racist graffiti painted on it, hence the new paint job. The MC doesn't have to think "I'm building a boat in the basement, so I need to buy some c-clamps and screws and varnish and . . . " (whatever else goes into such a project). He just notices the paint job, thinks briefly about what caused that paint job and how much nicer the store looks now. Then MC enters the hardware store and Fred, the cashier, says, "Ben, welcome back! How's the boat coming along?" Ben can say something about how nice the store looks and that he's sorry for the problem's Fred's store's had with local gangs, then tell him about his boat. This way, you've given out some local info, some background info on the area and on your MC, and you've had some action happen all at the same time.
Hope this helps.
Lynda
Posted by Max Masterson (Member # 4799) on :
thank you for both posts. Lynda's does help and that book sounds like just what I need. Thanks again
Posted by Lynda (Member # 3574) on :
Always happy to help a fellow traveler! Good luck with your story!
Lynda
Posted by Max Masterson (Member # 4799) on :
I've finally got hold of Orson's 'Characters and viewpoint' so hopefully will be asking less questions lol.