Vaporo
Inkling
Lately, I've been writing some important character introduction scenes, but something about them just didn't sit right with me. I couldn't quite figure out why. They seemed serviceable enough for a first draft. But then, it hit me. The character introductions were literally just that: character introductions. Basically just exposition on who the story will be about. Nothing really happens that affects the plot, nor is the reader's understanding of the setting expanded on.
As an example, one scene has two characters riding in a wagon delivering bags of flour to their home. When I wrote it, I had no plans for the scene to have any greater significance other than to introduce the main characters. The scene felt rather clunky until the end when the two new characters encounter another of my main characters arriving in town. While the scene still mostly feels clunky, I felt like that last part redeemed it somehow. Even though the encounter was entirely random and unrelated to what was going on between them, it at least felt like the scene went somewhere.
However, that got me thinking. Does every scene have to advance the plot? Is it really so bad if a scene is just there to introduce a character, so long as it doesn't feel forced or artificial? And if it is, can it really be fixed by something as simple as ending with a random encounter with another character? What are your thoughts?
As an example, one scene has two characters riding in a wagon delivering bags of flour to their home. When I wrote it, I had no plans for the scene to have any greater significance other than to introduce the main characters. The scene felt rather clunky until the end when the two new characters encounter another of my main characters arriving in town. While the scene still mostly feels clunky, I felt like that last part redeemed it somehow. Even though the encounter was entirely random and unrelated to what was going on between them, it at least felt like the scene went somewhere.
However, that got me thinking. Does every scene have to advance the plot? Is it really so bad if a scene is just there to introduce a character, so long as it doesn't feel forced or artificial? And if it is, can it really be fixed by something as simple as ending with a random encounter with another character? What are your thoughts?