posted
So I want to cast a problem I am struggling with out here for any ideas.
My current WIP ((fantasy novel) Curse of Tongues) is ticking steadily along. I've got about 23000 words writtened. My rough plot follows a three act play format:
Act 1: MC meets love interest, gains new powers. Act 2: Bad guy threatens to kill said love interest Act 3: people die, kingdoms fall, loves prevails, etc...
I'm pretty much done with act one, and I know how to begin act two, but between them I am stuck with a boring bit. I am trying to make this part more interesting, but haven't found a good way to do that which contributes to moving the story forward. I think I can use it to deepen my characterization, but I haven't found a good way yet. I am thinking of following the advice of (someone famous... I actually forget who at the moment...) who said that when it gets boring, have disaster strike.
I think that is a great idea, but I don't want a disaster to strike merely to get through this. My best idea so far is to have a band of robbers strike them and steal something important to one of them, and my MC goes out to get it back against the advice of the others.
Here is what is going on:
Two men and two women are traveling to a city (a few weeks away). One woman speaks no English, and the MC is trying to teach her. (I've had a few nice scenes where he tries to teach her, so I don't want to continue with more of that. I don't have many more ideas on how to make it interesting as she learns...) They need to travel for a time, because I want her to speak a little by the time they reach the city (I'm guessing about 3 weeks...)
So I need to kill about 3 weeks. This is a classical era civilation-level technology. Its fall, but not yet winter (and besides, I don't know if a storm would do much at this point.) I've already had one character get sick and recover, so at risk of repetition I don't want more of that.
Anyone have any ideas about stuff that can happen whilst traveling by horse? Or should I bite the bullet and say something along the lines of:
"... and so three weeks passed..."
I really dread doing that, because I feel I'd slip into a tell-not-show mode...
posted
Have them witness a terrible scything accident among the harvesters whose fields they're riding through. Have someone take umbrage at them riding through a particular set of fields that isn't a right of way. Have them shoot a deer only to be caught and get in trouble with the local law enforcement as poachers. Have them run into a band of harvesters headed home for the winter and have some puffing of chests/throwing of insults. Have there be a terrible lightning storm and the roads flood/turn to mud and they get stuck somewhere awkward. Or fall into a sinkhole. Or rescue someone from a sinkhole. Or find a body afterwards. Or...
posted
There's a third choice, and that's to dramatize a summary of the time that has passed.
Here's an example for illustration only, I'm not suggesting that you do this, but it falls somewhere between a baldly stated 'time passed' and a detailed accounting of the entire journey:
Jane looked up at the towering walls of Point B. "I can't believe we left Point A only three weeks ago," she said in accented but understandable English.
Dick was too busy trying to pry himself out of the saddle to reply.
As a reader I appreciate it when an author leaves out the boring parts.
posted
Skadder had linked a blog of some bits of advice from a workshop in a post called good advice. In the blog one of the suggestions says to make a list of 15 things of everything possible that could happen and then go past 15. I just tried it on a story I felt a little stalled on and it worked wonderfully.
Posts: 968 | Registered: Jul 2008
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posted
You might try checking out some of the forums over at Nanowrimo.org - national novel writing month forums have GREAT fun stuff to use for times when your plot isn't cooperating. Then there's always the ever-entertaining Sledgehammer of Death (or some such, I forget the exact term.) Introduce it to your plot when you hit a lull and see what mayhem ensues.
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posted
With stories like The Stand, the story is all about the journey. Think of bad things that could happen, that will make it difficult for the characters to reac their goal, which is a place in your story.
One of the horses could get shot, or sick. You can develop love between the two character's. They're running low on water and have to sneak onto public property to get it. They get shot at doing so.
They have to travel through danger woods. Perhaps a hostile people live there, or dangerous beasts.
posted
Ideally, however, you shouldn't simply pad out a story with random action that doesn't tie in with the larger structure. If you want something to happen during those three weeks, then give it some kind of link to something that has happened before, or something that will happen after. Readers (and reviewers in particular) can and will notice stand-alone episodes. An extreme example, really, is the middle book of the second Thomas Covenant trilogy, in which virtually nothing of long-term significance happens (yes, they discover the Elohim, and yes, they meet Nom the Sandgorgon who is a near-DEM in the third book, and yes, there's a bit of stuff about the Haruchai an their vows. This did not need several hundred pages).
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posted
As a reader, I appreciate shadow subplots, or foreshadowing.
Kingdoms fall... Maybe the travelers stumble into a conflict between major families, each a symbol (by personality traits, colors, or whatever) of each kingdom. The travelers see people fighting in the road, and the MC jumps in to help the family he knows -or- to stop the cruel treatment of the family who lost moments before. -OR- One or more of the families hear that the MC, a man of power, is riding through the region and so they send a representative to insist on the MC's involvement; after the MC's refusal, one of the travelers is kidnapped and held until the MC changes his mind. The resolution follows the same pattern as the novel's resolution -and/or- the MC learns a lesson that he applies to the novel's resolution -and/or- the MC acquires an ally, allies, or weapon against the bad guy.
posted
Aspirit, I like your thinking. Foreshadowing might work well with the mugging I had in mind. The MC is actually an apprentice to a very influential order, so he has "authority" by proxy. But his master is highly regarded, so something like that would work...
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posted
I've seen it done to start the next section (three weeks later), then almost immediately flashback to the 1 or 2 interesting things learned during the last 3 weeks of travel, then continue on.
Otherwise, shouldn't the action be determined by what new facts or characteristics you want to disclose about the MCs? Ways he might do that might suggest the scenes to set up.
posted
Another thought: an appropriate time for a harvest celebration at some prominent agricultural gathering spot, at which any number of things can happen.
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