I was talking to a writer yesterday and she was going on and on about a recent book she had read. No, this was not a talk about how good the book was, but the flaws that were in the book. And it all came down to what the author put in the book. Essentially, there were pages and pages of things that did nothing to advance the story.
In this case, the author clearly stumbled across a ton of great historical research and clearly was very excited. At some point, this author must have felt it was going to create some great world building. Unfortunately, all it did was slow down the book. This was information that might have been summed up in a single sentence and it could have kept the story going.
One thing you have to do, on a regular basis, is to stop and ask if it is really necessary to do this? Is the scene, character, plot element, world building, etc., necessary to advance the story to that final point you have planned? If not, keep it out of the story.
Now, does it mean you can't maybe add it later? No. Keep the information. Hold on to it. There might be a way to drizzle that information into the story in bits and pieces. Still, even if you decide to do that, you have to ask yourself if it is TRULY necessary!
Just a reminder for Thursday.
This made me laugh. My beta readers have been peppering me with the "curse of knowledge" complaint. "Just because you know this, don't assume everyone does. You're going to have to explain why..."
ReplyDeleteMuch of it really is stuff I thought everyone knew. Apparently not. Then there are the things everyone "thinks" they know, but is not correct.
It's interesting trying to weave it in without turning it into a history lesson.