I have been editing up a storm on my novel. Now of course the rounds of edits are easier and quicker. I most be getting somewhere. I was thinking of making a final checklist for each scene. Do any of you have one? And if so what's in it? Or what should be?
Ex. Purpose-Every scene most further the plot, so whats it there for. Location-basically tells me to set the scene, flesh the details out. Senses-ties in with location, but am I involving all senses? The infamous smell, the pine forest, the dank caves.
You get the idea. Any thoughts?
[This message has been edited by Tiergan (edited July 25, 2008).]
[This message has been edited by Tiergan (edited July 25, 2008).]
Posted by Doc Brown (Member # 1118) on :
Not every scene needs to be heavy in atmospheric details. In fact, some scenes may take place in a character's private thoughts.
But every scene should have rising tension, unless you are at the end of the story. If a scene ends with exactly the same tension as it began then it needs to be re-thought.
Posted by Rick Norwood (Member # 5604) on :
My own feeling is that if you get too analytical, you spoil the story. Just tell the story the best way you know how, putting in all the things that you think will make it a better story. Then, when you read through it, if you ever feel yourself getting bored, throw that part out.
Was it George Bernard Shaw who said that American movies consist entirely of people getting in and out of cars? I used to think I needed to put in the part where the character gets into the car. Now I realize that it is perfectly ok to write, "I think I'll go see Jerry. But when I got there, he wasn't home. I didn't see him again until the following Summer, when he told me he had been kidnapped by aliens."
Cut to the chase.
Posted by RobertB (Member # 6722) on :
I'm not sure you need tension rising in every scene. Let's say you've just put your characters through hell. Is there any reason not to let them chill for a bit, before the next instalment? OK, tension is vital in any fiction, but when it becomes the be-all and end-all, that's unlikely to be a book which is going to be in print in 20 years' time (my personal definition of 'successful').