{"id":1228,"date":"2020-12-16T08:25:05","date_gmt":"2020-12-16T13:25:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/?p=1228"},"modified":"2020-12-16T08:25:05","modified_gmt":"2020-12-16T13:25:05","slug":"creating-wind-in-the-doldrums","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/2020\/12\/16\/creating-wind-in-the-doldrums\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating Wind in the Doldrums"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Here\u2019s a little grammar rant, which I hope I haven\u2019t delivered before: Whom<\/em> is dying, and I am grieving. The poor pronoun is no longer heard on the airwaves I listen to. I don\u2019t see it in newspapers. In its style guide, an important publisher I know of instructs writers not to use the word in books for children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

English is a living language, which means usage changes. I favor that. I cheer for it. But I\u2019m worried that the moribund state of whom<\/em> is more than the loss of a word, because people may become ignorant\u2013or they already are and that caused its demise\u2013of the difference between subject and object. Whom<\/em> is an object pronoun, the person to whom<\/em> something is done. The doer is the subject pronoun, as in, \u201cWho<\/em> killed chivalry?\u201d The one to whom<\/em> something is done is the object pronoun, as in, \u201cWhom<\/em> did Jack the Ripper knock off this time?\u201d (It isn\u2019t always as obvious as this\u2013all the more reason to know subject and object.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rant over. But if you think whom<\/em>\u2019s death isn\u2019t a tragedy, please argue or at least comsole me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Onto the regular post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On January 31, 2020, I’dratherbewriting wrote, Does anyone know what to do when you don\u2019t know what to do? In my current work in progress, I\u2019ve reached a point where I\u2019m not quite sure where to go with the plot. Everything before this point is fine (as far as first drafts go, at least) and I have a detailed outline for where I\u2019m going after. But I\u2019m currently in the doldrums of my plot. It\u2019s not quite exposition, but I\u2019m not far enough to start building up the tension. Does anyone have tips for how to push through a rough patch in the story?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, I\u2019m having problems with pacing. I\u2019m constantly swinging between feeling like I have too much dialogue or feeling like I don\u2019t have enough. Where is the happy medium, and how do I find it?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two of you weighed in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Melissa Mead: What purpose is the part of the story with \u201cthe doldrums\u201d serving? Does it need to be in the story at all, or can you convey its information more efficiently some other way? Ex, if the evil wizard\u2019s enslaved servant girl is secretly studying his books at night, hoping to find a way to escape, instead of detailing every stolen midnight reading session, you could say \u201cAfter four years of breath-stopping close calls, she managed to levitate that tiresome silver tray as high as the window, and realized that now was the best chance she\u2019d ever have.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christie V Powell: When I\u2019m stuck in a rough patch, I usually take a break\u2013a walk is best, but doing some household chore works too. It helps my brain get moving again. I\u2019ve probably mentioned this too many times, but I love using KM Weiland\u2019s Plot Structure for pacing. The info is free on her blog, <\/em>http:\/\/www.helpingwritersbecomeauthors.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With dialogue, I think the issue is more to do with the quality of the dialogue than the quantity\u2013I mean, people still read screenplays, which are almost entirely dialogue. One of my early readers complained that I had too much dialogue in my first book. The problem was mostly with scenes where the characters were chatting about world details or backstory that weren\u2019t really relevant to what\u2019s going on in the current story, so I shortened or removed those.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m with Christie V Powell on the helpfulness of breaks, and I love to walk. Playing with the dog is good too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This isn\u2019t exactly a break, but sometimes when I\u2019m stuck, I amble on the treadmill in our basement, where there are no distractions, and think about the problem and what I might do to solve it. The slow pace and rhythm of my steps keep me focused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m also with Melissa Mead on hopping over the slow times in a story. If time has to pass before the action revs up, we can just write A month later<\/em> and get to the tension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes I think I have to set everything up before my plot starts moving, which makes for a dull beginning, and the reader may not hang in long enough to reach the adventure to come. We have to begin to introduce it quickly while acquainting the reader with our world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take Melissa Mead\u2019s example: the slave girl to an evil wizard. During the day, she polishes the wizard\u2019s torture instruments. In the evenings, she catnaps. At night, she reads magic books in his library, hoping to find a spell that will get her out of there. For three years, nothing changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We may have to skip some of those years simply by telling the reader that they passed. But what can we do to bring to life portions of this time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the beginning, our crises should be small, compared with the turning point to come, but they need to engage the reader\u2019s sympathy with our MC, whom I\u2019ll call Vicky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naturally, the reader will want to know how Vicky got into this mess. I\u2019m not a fan of flashbacks when they can be avoided, so we can start our story with the origin of her captivity. How did this happen? Time for a list!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s generally useful for our MC to have an Achilles\u2019 heel\u2013or both heels\u2013to increase reader worry, so we might make her capture partly her fault. That would go into our list:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Her focus on whatever she\u2019s doing is absolute. She\u2019s unaware of the wizard until he\u2019s halfway through chanting his spell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 She know the wizard is coming and why, but some other crisis is unfolding and she has to deal with it, and she isn\u2019t good at multitasking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 The wizard is an old friend of her family. He\u2019s gone over to the dark side but she doesn\u2019t notice the signs, because she thinks the best of everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your turn. As an early prompt, add three more possibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is exciting! We write the scene of her capture, introducing the reader to the wizard along the way, including his strengths and his Achilles heel. Maybe we jump forward to her exploration of his stronghold and the discovery of the library. This is tense too, because she can\u2019t be caught wandering around.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She finds the library and establishes a safe route to it. Now, the doldrums set in, but we need some action during the three years. First off, can we shorten the time to a month? A month is a great length for ratcheting up the suspense. If she doesn\u2019t escape within the month and reveal his location, then the wizard will have completed his fog machine. The kingdom will be enveloped in darkness, and he\u2019ll be able to get away with his nefarious whatever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if, for plot reasons, we can\u2019t shorten the time, what can we introduce periodically?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can decide that we need, say, four tense scenes in the three years. Two will improve Vicky\u2019s chances and two will make everything more grim. We start another list:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Someone new arrives at the stronghold.
\u2022 The wizard begins to suspect Vicky.
\u2022 Vicky finds a spell that she thinks will save everyone, but it goes disastrously wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your turn for three more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three years end. The reader hasn\u2019t stopped turning pages, hasn\u2019t slept in days. Time for the major crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Onto dialogue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I suspect that this question is best left for revision when we can tell what\u2019s needed and what isn\u2019t, so let\u2019s imagine that we\u2019ve gotten there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019d argue that almost everything in a story should contribute to its pace, dialogue included. I agree with Christie V Powell that dialogue that is mere chatter should be trimmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, I include a lot of talk in my books. Out of curiosity, I scanned two random twenty-page sections of Ella Enchanted<\/em>. Coincidentally, dialogue appeared on sixteen pages of each sample. Sometimes, the dialogue was just a line or two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does dialogue do that contributes to pace? Well, it reveals character, and character is essential to plot. It builds relationships\u2013or destroys them. It advances plot directly, as in the necklace incident when Hattie comes to understand that Ella has to obey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are three prompts. For extra credit, use whom<\/em> in your story, or use who<\/em> in its place and feel good about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Rapunzel is in her tower for three years before the prince arrives. Write three exciting scenes in the tower during that period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Using an expanded list, write Vicky\u2019s capture by the wizard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Write the crisis when Vicky finds the right spell and casts it\u2013but the wizard fights back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have fun, and save what you write!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here\u2019s a little grammar rant, which I hope I haven\u2019t delivered before: Whom is dying, and I am grieving. The poor pronoun is no longer heard on the airwaves I listen to. I don\u2019t see it in newspapers. In its style guide, an important publisher I know of instructs writers not to use the word […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,191],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1228"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1228"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1238,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1228\/revisions\/1238"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gailcarsonlevine.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}