Evee
asked
P.W. Catanese:
What do you do when you've hit one major event in a story but there is a lull before something else happens? How do you transition, while still keeping the story interesting? I don't know if that question makes sense.
P.W. Catanese
That question makes all kinds of sense and I know exactly what you are talking about, Elena.
My first thought is, I bet you are writing a single point-of-view story. In the books I've written that jumped from one character's POV to another, those lulls were easy to address. I would just switch over and see what someone else was up to - even the villain who would otherwise be plotting and acting "off-screen." This is trickier when you are planted in one POV.
If nothing important happens in between the events, the solution might be easy: Just skip all that stuff. Don't write it. It wasn't important. End the chapter, and when the next chapter begins, time has gone by and the next important thing happens. This might be the most likely fix!
If it is something your reader needs to know, then go ahead and write it. If you think it lacks entertainment value, but it's still essential information, then write it but make it as succinct and interesting as possible. Your readers aren't just there to experience the big events. They are there to get to know your characters, live in this world, etc.
You're in charge of this little universe that you've created. If you have a lull, think of something surprising, fascinating or dramatic to put into that lull. I had this very issue in the first draft of the book I am writing now, the follow-up to DONNY'S INFERNO. My characters had just uncovered some crucial information, and they had to wait for someone to show up to tell him. I could have made the time pass with a chapter break but I wanted the feeling of "waiting" to be part of the scene. Then I realized it was a perfect time for one character to tell a quick story from her past that would give the reader a lot of insight into her personality.
Most important: Don't stop writing the story when a "lull" has you stumped. Skip to the next scene and go on from there. When you finish and you read your story, you may find that it worked just fine without whatever you might have written. Or your wonderful brain may have solved the problem for you while you had it on the back burner.
Happy writing!
PWC
My first thought is, I bet you are writing a single point-of-view story. In the books I've written that jumped from one character's POV to another, those lulls were easy to address. I would just switch over and see what someone else was up to - even the villain who would otherwise be plotting and acting "off-screen." This is trickier when you are planted in one POV.
If nothing important happens in between the events, the solution might be easy: Just skip all that stuff. Don't write it. It wasn't important. End the chapter, and when the next chapter begins, time has gone by and the next important thing happens. This might be the most likely fix!
If it is something your reader needs to know, then go ahead and write it. If you think it lacks entertainment value, but it's still essential information, then write it but make it as succinct and interesting as possible. Your readers aren't just there to experience the big events. They are there to get to know your characters, live in this world, etc.
You're in charge of this little universe that you've created. If you have a lull, think of something surprising, fascinating or dramatic to put into that lull. I had this very issue in the first draft of the book I am writing now, the follow-up to DONNY'S INFERNO. My characters had just uncovered some crucial information, and they had to wait for someone to show up to tell him. I could have made the time pass with a chapter break but I wanted the feeling of "waiting" to be part of the scene. Then I realized it was a perfect time for one character to tell a quick story from her past that would give the reader a lot of insight into her personality.
Most important: Don't stop writing the story when a "lull" has you stumped. Skip to the next scene and go on from there. When you finish and you read your story, you may find that it worked just fine without whatever you might have written. Or your wonderful brain may have solved the problem for you while you had it on the back burner.
Happy writing!
PWC
More Answered Questions
Louis L.
asked
P.W. Catanese:
What is your favorite book that you wrote? Mine is the Thief and the Beanstalk.
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