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Pay no attention to that author behind the curtain!
If I've done a good job I will remain invisible. I'll be a name on the cover page, but the characters will have a life of their own. My favorite critique comments are the ones where the crit partner is speaking directly to my character. I'll paraphrase my favorite: "No! No! No! No! Don't do it!" Then I know I've done my job.
So how? How do I take it from forced to engrossed? The first step is identifying the "device". One way is to have critique partners look at it. I wouldn't have seen it on my own. Another is to put the book away for a while so you can see it with fresh eyes. You hear these things over and over because they are so important. And they work.
The next step is to ask yourself what would make that action feel natural. Remember it's key to understand that your character is used to her life. That she knows the contents of her room for example, or that her brother is going to be annoying. It may be a surprise to the reader, but it isn't necessarily to your character.
Also, remember there's no such thing as coincidence. If you're writing a mystery, the killer should be someone we know, but that doesn't mean the MC should realize that. It's too convenient. There has to be a reasonable explanation.
Have you run into this problem? How did you handle it?
Lately, I've been forced just to put words on the page, but at least I'm doing that. The rest of it is going to have to wait.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes...there are no coincidences...ever!
Handling it? Basically I'm just going to run and hide. I promise to hold back the tears, though.
When a critique partner told me I needed to let my story grow more organically, I struggled with what to change and how to do that. When you know your story, inside and out, it's hard to see it doing something differently. For me, letting the story sit until I wasn't so tied up with those characters and their every decision was the answer. BUT IT'S SO HARD. When you want to be making progress, but you need to just let it sit. Well, my story sat. I changed things. Now it's sitting again. But I do get to work on something else in the meantime!
ReplyDeleteSometimes when crit partners question motivation, I think that can indicate a plot device has been used (sometimes even the writer doesn't see it - as you said!).
ReplyDeleteGreat post!
Dean - There, there, don't cry. :D The first step is definitely just getting it down.
ReplyDeleteBarbara - It IS hard, but the best thing to do is exactly what you said - work on something else. At least it is for me!
Susan - Thanks. :D Yes, I think it's often a subconscious fix that we don't even want to acknowledge. But at some level you KNOW.
I wish I had a critique partner :< I live out in the middle of nowhere and people here don't even know what "HobbyLobby" is or...possibly how to read. D: I'll have to venture back to the city and start harassing people to read my work. ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat post, though! Thanks! I'll definitely have to be on the look out for that after my WIP sits during NaNoWriMo
You caught this very same thing in my manuscript! The other day I hemmed and hawed before finally deleting a certain moment. You called it "forced goodness," and you were right. Hopefully I was able to show the "good" without this little beat. So yes, I know exactly what you're talking about!
ReplyDeleteLisa, I think letting a novel sit before a final read/edit is so crucial. We get so used to the rhythm of our own words and we fill in the gaps on the page without even realizing it. A good critique partner is gold!
ReplyDeleteAnd Dani, no reason you have to venture into the city. I live out in the wilds. Connect with people online. Critiques don't have to be done face to face!
YES! Man, this can be such a challenge. Sometimes it's about not embedding too many clues into the story to give it's importance away, sometimes it's about creating enough set up and logic that it fits seamlessly into the story.
ReplyDeleteAgain, tho, this is why having critique partners is so important--they don't know about the author's motives and so they will be the best judge if our shoes are showing beneath the curtain's hem. :)
Angela @ The Bookshelf Muse
Critique partners and editors are so critical to help point out when things feel forced. I've been sending out chapters of my WIP to a group of readers and one commented that one plot direction seemed way too convenient. I typically write 2-3 scenes in one chapter, and it turns out the scenes in question were back to back, making the "set-up" feel forced. I'll have to reorder the scenes and pull the first scene back to a prior chapter so my evil machinations are not so obvious. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThis is something I'm paranoid that I'm doing. Good idea to rely on your readers to point things out. That has happened to me before. Mostly because I haven't brainstormed of other possible scenarios that might be more likely to happen and don't feel forced. I went with what was convenient to my plot.
ReplyDeleteDani - What Susan said! Find someone online. Take your time and connect with other writers, test it out until you find the right crit partners! :D
ReplyDeleteJulie - I didn't even realize that. LOL!
Susan - that was a hard lesson for me to learn!
Angela - I love it when you build on my metaphors!
Jennifer - Thanks so much! Isn't it great when you figure out how to fix it?
Stina - This is one of those tougher to recognize things that creeps up on you. I know how it feels!! At least we can commiserate.
Dani - Don't despair! A great online site for getting critiques is critiquecircle.com. it has been invaluable to me!
ReplyDeleteGreat advice, Lisa! And if Dean checks back to read the comments, I'd like to say there's a difference between sitting down and forcing out words and forcing a writer's device. I have to force words all the time, I think most writers do. :)
ReplyDeleteI was just talking to someone about this. It is so hard, especially in early drafts, to see when you're doing this b/c you're trying to make the story work.
ReplyDeleteYou know what I think is really cool? How you guys talk to each other in the comments too!!! :D
ReplyDeleteI'm facing that very problem. I'm jotting down the major scenes and turning points as I go. When I finish this draft, I'm going to look at moving some of the 'set pieces' around to make them flow from one to the other.
ReplyDeleteAt the moment it's less river, more locks and weirs. And that aint natural.
I created a HUGE plot issue for myself in my first MS. I used a coincidence as the basis for the plot. So, yeah, that one's on the shelf at the moment :)
ReplyDeleteCoincidence is such an easy trap to fall into. I plead guilty. Thank goodness I have eagle-eyed crit. partners:)
ReplyDeleteThat's something really hard to pick out on our own unless we are looking for it. I'm pretty sure I fall into it too. I think along with that comes the character reacting instead of acting!
ReplyDeleteGreat advice! Hmm, how HAVE I handled it? Not sure, but next time I'll try to figure out how to make it feel natural by depending on my knowledge of the MC.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Sometimes it means you have to dig a little deeper into the character's head to know what motivates him/her.
ReplyDeleteIdentifying the device, excellent advice! I've had this problem before too and that really brings it into perspective and simplifies it. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteLike Vicki above, that's what I'm asking myself right now... um, how did I handle it? and then, probably won't know until I've had critters get through the entire manuscript. Invaluable aren't they, those critters?
ReplyDeleteI've had critique partners tell me that something in a story felt too convenient, which I think is rooted in the same thing you're talking about. You're absolutely right that we never want a reader to get pulled out of the story because they start sensing that the author is pulling the strings. Easy, right? Ha!
ReplyDeleteYes - I've been trying to make my MC more sympathetic which is really hard since she's an assassin. I added a scene immediately after a kill to try to show/reveal why she's an assassin and it was way too heavyhanded. I rewrote it and am almost read to send it to a reader to see if it's better.
ReplyDelete