Writing the in-between bits

[Empathy001]

I've been having trouble writing slower sections of my novel. I can write the big, dramatic moments with no problems; but the slower, less important moments were my protagonists and their allies get to rest and regroup without any groundbreaking information being revealed or life-changing actions happening is proving more difficult. I'm worried just jumping from big-action-scene to big-action-scene with only a paragraph or two of "downtime" is going to be bad for everyone-- including readers.
I think part of the root of this issue is because when I write, I have a handful of really cool scenes in my head that are usually the concept that sparked the story into being, so trying to make scenes that don't add to that are difficult. Transitions themselves aren't really the problem, in my current mind, trying to give the characters a moment to breathe is.

any tips?

 

[pmmg]

I find that I like writing the slow scenes more. Those are the scenes where the characters reveal themselves the most. They make relationships and become more cemented to each other in the conversation they have, the touching moments between them, and in finding real affection for the others of their group. I hesitate to use the word intimate, cause that might construed as they all have sex, but those are when all the intimate moments happen, and makes the characters more relatable and understandable.

I actually find writing the action scenes a little boring comparatively. They take up a lot of space, and much of it is lather rinse repeat.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

This is extremely common. And for reasons. The exciting parts are fun, and the fun and the neat and the cool feel good to write. And then somehow we convince ourselves that the rest is boring.

This couldn't be further from the truth.

 

[Mad Swede]

It's odd, but in many ways I find writing all those in-between scenes the most satisfying. For me those in-between scenes are when the setting itself comes alive and where the characters themselves develop.

 

[Incanus]

I'm thinking of an Alfred Hitchcock quote: 'Drama is life with the dull bits cut out'.

I would hesitate to include scenes where no new info is presented, or no changes occur. To my mind, having a 'slow' scene doesn't mean it can't add to the plot, or characters, in some way.

For my current WIP, I'm building up the narrative over multiple passes (I'm still in the first pass, but near the end now). I've been using the 'in late, out early' style of presenting scenes, so the plot is very tight at this point. Something of significance happens in pretty much every scene or chapter. I will almost certainly expand the scenes later, or add more scenes, but mostly for exposition purposes.

All that said, I don't actually have very many fight scenes in the story, maybe 5-6. I'm relying on mystery and drama, largely.

You might not need very many scenes of characters resting or regrouping, unless there is some good story reason to include them.

 

[Penpilot]

So I use the scene sequel formatting when I design my scenes. Another way to label them is Action scenes and Reaction scenes. You're having trouble with the reaction scenes, and those IMHO are the most important. They give the action scenes context and meaning.

When you don't have or have poorly written reaction scenes, you end up with a Michael Bay Transformers movie. Stuff happens, and it sort of makes sense, but there's no soul to it. You'll probably have more emotional engagement with a bowel movement before a Transformer's movie.

Action scenes tend to be simpler to write, because characters are doing things. They need to fight this guy, goto this place, and/or overcome this obstacle.

Reaction scenes tend to be harder because you have to deal with emotions, reasons, and consequences. Dealing with these things is what makes characters grow and change. These are the scene where we get to understand the characters and why they are the way they are, why they do the things they do, and that's why we care.

 

[The Dark One]

I understand that fantasy readers like really long books which probably necessitates some padding but I just can't write like that.

There is no padding in my work. Every scene must achieve certain things which add to the plot or deepen the characters or both. If a scene doesn't do that it is unnecessary and gets cut - or changed.

That's not to say the scenes all have to be action-packed. Developing scenes where the tension/intrigue is slowly rising are crucial to a satisfying story. If you are truly in control of the levers of your story you ought to be understanding exactly what is needed and why in each scene. You'll enjoy the writing/editing more and the big payoff scenes will be even more fun to write.

 

[Chessie2]

I've been having trouble writing slower sections of my novel. I can write the big, dramatic moments with no problems; but the slower, less important moments were my protagonists and their allies get to rest and regroup without any groundbreaking information being revealed or life-changing actions happening is proving more difficult. I'm worried just jumping from big-action-scene to big-action-scene with only a paragraph or two of "downtime" is going to be bad for everyone-- including readers.
I think part of the root of this issue is because when I write, I have a handful of really cool scenes in my head that are usually the concept that sparked the story into being, so trying to make scenes that don't add to that are difficult. Transitions themselves aren't really the problem, in my current mind, trying to give the characters a moment to breathe is.

any tips?

It might help you to find a story structure/outline style that you like and find user-friendly. A "map" of sorts to help you connect the dots. Do it enough times and those in between scenes, which should also help forward your plot, will fall into place. Good luck.

 

[Prince of Spires]

You don't necessarily have to write the slow scenes. Will Wight described his writing style once as Epic Fantasy with all the boring bits taken out. In case you don't know him, he's one of the best selling indie Fantasy authors. And his books really do read like epic fantasy with the slow bits taken out. They grab you on page 1 and drag you all the way to the end at breakneck speed without any time to breath. They're also great books and, judging by his success, plenty of people agree.

In my opinion, if you don't have anything to write, then don't write it.

Of course, it's hard to judge if your books need the bits in the middle. The only way to tell is to hand the books to several beta readers and ask them. If they really like the books and keep asking for more, then you're fine. If they tell you that the characters are lacking or the story needs something more then you need to put in those slower bits. It's something only readers can really tell you.

Now if you find that you need those bits, then you've gotten some good advice here already. The main thing for me would be outlining. This doesn't have to be a 40.000 word description of everything that happens and what the thoughts of all your characters are. It can just be a few lines like "I need character A and B to have an argument while they travel to Y". Or you could draw up a table with the main characters and what they should achieve or what the reader needs to learn about them during a chapter or scene.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Now if you find that you need those bits, then you've gotten some good advice here already. The main thing for me would be outlining. This doesn't have to be a 40.000 word description of everything that happens and what the thoughts of all your characters are. It can just be a few lines like "I need character A and B to have an argument while they travel to Y". Or you could draw up a table with the main characters and what they should achieve or what the reader needs to learn about them during a chapter or scene.

This. Listen to Prince.

Team Lowan would outline breakfast, given a chance. And that goes a long way to making the actual writing not only faster, but mistakes are easier to catch early. We ask every chapter, every interaction, what do we need you to do, here? How can you justify your existence, and why do you get to appear on stage when so much of the story leans hard on subtext and character discussions and choices.

If the answer is, "Oh, nothing, really. I just felt like some fluff was in order," then no, this scene doesn't belong on stage. Fluffy feels is really great, and by all means write it, but unless it has strong, plot-centric stuff in it, tell it to go get some popcorn and then go back to watching the rest of you work.

So, the Question of the Day is, What do you need this character/dialog/chapter to do so the plot can move forward? If it can't answer to your satisfaction, it's a Darling. You know what to do with those.

You start a blog.
This Blog is Terribad - A. E. Lowan
Reading Order for The Books of Binding - A. E. Lowan

Will Wight described his writing style once as Epic Fantasy with all the boring bits taken out. In case you don't know him, he's one of the best selling indie Fantasy authors. And his books really do read like epic fantasy with the slow bits taken out. They grab you on page 1 and drag you all the way to the end at breakneck speed without any time to breath. They're also great books and, judging by his success, plenty of people agree.

As someone who also writes lyrical Urban Fantasy at a breakneck speed, this is very encouraging. lol Urban Fantasy with words that cut and imagery rife with symb- and break's over, we're running, again!

We've had three readers so far tell us that they've nearly gotten fired because they were trying to finish a Book of Binding in the employee parking. My dad hand sold a ton of copies to healthcare professionals. He was one himself, and he was also doing poorly and in and out of hospital, so he just started chucking Faerie Rising at anyone who saw the little flyer I left by his hospital bed to show him. I am also of the belief that if I only use 5 words when I could have used 10, someone from the Writer's Guild is going to some have a "chat" with me and they might consider revoking my Guild Membership Card.

 

[pmmg]

For me, the rough is the outline.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

For me, the rough is the outline.

Totally. Our last outline clocked in at over a hundred pages. But really, no matter if it's planned or pantsed, we all do roughly the same amount of work. We just do it at differing points in the novelling process. I've got to know, in lavish detail, where I'm going to to write my way there. Since I'm the drafter, Team Lowan spends some quality time catering to my needs. I'm so spoiled. I love it.

 

[Jackarandajam]

I'm starting to think of a fiction novel as an extremely specific question illustrated in as few words as possible, concluded with a symbolic answer.
You want people to ask themselves the question and ruminate on it, so you make it interesting with action, but in the slow bits you really double down on the question.

Taking LOTR for an example, the ring is the evil in everyone. How do you defeat that? Tolkien suggests the sacrifice of the purest innocence could defeat it, and spends his trilogy presenting how a cast of characters deal with the evil in them. Each character contemplates that evil and presents their version of good.  The question isn't really answered because the ring is only a symbol of it, the question is only asked.

Look at your conflict, figure out your question, use your characters to symbolize different aspects of it. Use the slow bits to tighten the parameters of the ultimate question by answering outliers.

For instance, Tom Bombadil took care of the side question, "what if someone was so purely good they were transcendent of desire?" He was still willing to help those within his sphere of influence, but lacked any desire to sacrifice outside of that for his perception of justice.
Galadriel dealt with the issue of a powerful good not willing to be tempted out of her responsibility by the possibility of more power.
All of the conversational, or slow bits, in LOTR, hit the same question of the evil of the ring vs. the good of the character in the scene.

Something to consider, anyway.

 

[Papa_Kronus]

I've been having trouble writing slower sections of my novel. I can write the big, dramatic moments with no problems; but the slower, less important moments were my protagonists and their allies get to rest and regroup without any groundbreaking information being revealed or life-changing actions happening is proving more difficult. I'm worried just jumping from big-action-scene to big-action-scene with only a paragraph or two of "downtime" is going to be bad for everyone-- including readers.
I think part of the root of this issue is because when I write, I have a handful of really cool scenes in my head that are usually the concept that sparked the story into being, so trying to make scenes that don't add to that are difficult. Transitions themselves aren't really the problem, in my current mind, trying to give the characters a moment to breathe is.

any tips?

I like this problem. I think to write anything we have to first make sure it's authentic. Authenticity and relatability is what makes or breaks any fiction for me. I don't know about you but I never lived through any period of my life where it was all big explosive dramatic climax after big explosive dramatic climax. So, of course, it's not even a question (as far as I'm concerned) that we have to include the downtime activity in any grand adventure tale we're spinning, as those are the scenes that provide the essential authenticity and relatability to any story, no matter how wild or whimsical the premise might be. If the quest concerns the retrival or delivery of an aeons-old magical artifact with the potential to shake the entire earth to it's core, then most of that story would involve going towards or coming from somewhere. That is what we would expect to happen, so it would be quite jarring if we just read the next chapter and found ourselves at the edge of Mount Doom. Sure, it's dramatic... but where is the struggle? Struggles in life hardly have to be big and explosive, conversely so; they mostly involve anxious anticipation and boredom. I've lived through some quite dramatic (one might say traumatic) events in my life and most of it was waiting for the police to get there, making sure everyone is feeling okay and answering questions from the authorities. The sprinting to safety part of it only lasted an entirety of 4 or 5 seconds.

So, to give you some tips, I would say definitely focus on making those scenes authentic as a first priority (as you should do with any scene). Try to relive a time where you were on a long journey, or a time period where no one around you could take their mind off the problem or task at hand. What did you talk about during the pauses or breaks? How was everyone's mood? Did anyone keep making jokes to try and lighten the mood? How did the 'atmosphere' feel? Was it heavy and broody? Was it anxious and suspenseful? Or was it simply a time to rest and catch your breath, trying to take your mind off of things?

If you are writing a medieval style story with a long journey, go on a similar (albeit much shorter and safer) journey yourself. If you have parks near you, go there and start walking until you feel like collapsing and then sit on a bench by a lake or upon an old log and observe how you feel. Think about your characters, their goals and struggles, and imagine how their mind would be working right now. If you have friends, do it with them. Friends are always good resources on character building. Really live through that moment as long as you can, and if at the end all you get are a few sentences or minute observations, put them in your writing. Anything that is lived is authentic and relatable in my book.

To write anyone convincingly, you have to at least take a few steps in their shoes. So start walking.