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Kathryn Flatt

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Blogs by Kathryn Flatt

Critical Passages
6/20/2013 9:32:38 AM

On to a new chapter in "The Janus Rule," i.e., Chapter 10. Another critical scene is underway, but even as I prepared to write this post, the thought hit me: Aren't they all?

I've seen advice to writers in a number of places that anything that does not move the story forward should be left out. Well, within reason, of course. I've read many a book where that advice was ignored. I find it annoying to read a number of pages about something the characters are doing only to find out that it really did not mean anything. It did not supply any new information, either about the plot or about the characters. On the other hand, writers are often told they need to flesh out the characters and add layers of imagery to put the reader in the scene, make the reader imagine what's happening. Conflicting advice? Not really, but hard to explain and execute. Granted, The Muse is hard to defy sometimes. The scene happens in my head and begs to be written down, even though the story will be fine without it. If that's the case, it gets cut during editing. Sometimes, a quick passage can pass the test just as comic relief. The key here is "quick." Okay, I guess this calls for an example.

In "The Dreamer Gambit," one of my main characters, Tabitha, is abducted by bad guys who want to know what she knows. She is then drugged and dumped on the street in a questionable part of town. She needs to be rescued. Two ladies of the evening find her and go through her purse while she lays there in a stupor. One of them has the kindness and presence of mind to call her emergency number which reaches Jack who was off meeting an anonymous contact with vital information. I got to play with a little humor in writing dialog for the two women as well as in their conversation with Jack, but it moved the story forward by solving the problem of how he could possibly find Tabitha in a big city.

In another passage, Jack and Tabitha take a trip out to the suburbs for some R-and-R. They go to a restaurant, they shop, she buys a music box. Over dinner, they discuss some aspects of her case, and Jack reveals some things about his past which help define his character. Basically, I got back to business in the space of a couple of short paragraphs. I believe this passes the test of what to leave in. BUT...and a big one...had I gone on in detail about the town they visited, the people they saw, the antique store and its owner who liked to entertain customers with magic tricks, maybe even inventing some dialog for him, that would have been too much. Creative, pleasant, memorable, full of imagery, but not essential to the plot. By the way, the music box does make an appearance later that opens a touch of conflict which leads to a turning point in Tabitha and Jack's relationship.

It's all about pacing, after all. Too much description or development of inconsequential stuff bogs everything down. For readers like me, it leads to a question at the end of the book, "But what about that business where they...?" If it did not add anything, I wind up feeling duped.

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More Blogs by Kathryn Flatt
• The Why - Thursday, November 14, 2013
• Point of View Can Be Tricky - Wednesday, November 13, 2013
• More on The Name Game - Tuesday, November 12, 2013
• Updates and A Bit of News - Monday, November 11, 2013
• Updates and Miscellany - Friday, November 8, 2013
• The Name Game - Thursday, November 7, 2013
• Too Much Too Soon? - Wednesday, November 6, 2013
• OMG I'm Writing a Cozy - Tuesday, November 5, 2013
• Lo and Behold - Monday, November 4, 2013
• Still Two Worlds at Once - Friday, November 1, 2013
• Feel the Power - Thursday, October 31, 2013
• Gone and Done It - Wednesday, October 30, 2013
• The Final Edit? - Tuesday, October 29, 2013
• News and Updates - Monday, October 28, 2013
• Useless Words - Friday, October 25, 2013
• Decisions, Decisions - Thursday, October 24, 2013
• Planning Ahead - Wednesday, October 23, 2013
• Updates et al. - Tuesday, October 22, 2013
• Spreading My Name All Over - Monday, October 21, 2013
• Uncertain Ground - Friday, October 18, 2013
• Packaging - Thursday, October 17, 2013
• Meanwhile, Back at the Manor... - Wednesday, October 16, 2013
• The Promotion Engine, etc. - Tuesday, October 15, 2013
• I Know I Shouldn't But... - Monday, October 14, 2013
• Miscellany - Friday, October 11, 2013
• Progress! - Thursday, October 10, 2013
• Publicity, Etc. - Wednesday, October 9, 2013
• When Will It Ever Be Done? - Tuesday, October 8, 2013
• The Quest for Perfection - Monday, October 7, 2013
• Word Pictures - Friday, October 4, 2013
• Trying to Stay Focused - Thursday, October 3, 2013
• Moving Forward - Wednesday, October 2, 2013
• The Blahs - Tuesday, October 1, 2013
• Plot Change Already? - Friday, September 27, 2013
• Fun Stuff - Thursday, September 26, 2013
• Busy, Busy - Wednesday, September 25, 2013
• On Many Fronts - Tuesday, September 24, 2013
• Another Milestone - Monday, September 23, 2013
• When Is It Enough - Friday, September 20, 2013
• Proofing One More Time - Thursday, September 19, 2013
• Feeling My Characters - Wednesday, September 18, 2013
• New Book and Other Progress - Tuesday, September 17, 2013
• Another Pause - Monday, September 16, 2013
• Back On It - Sunday, September 15, 2013
• Editing Is a State of Mind - Thursday, September 12, 2013
• In a Slashing Mood - Wednesday, September 11, 2013
• Joliet Author Fair and Updates - Tuesday, September 10, 2013
• Miscellaneous Updates - Monday, September 9, 2013
• Still Editing - Friday, September 6, 2013
• Editing, The Next Phase - Thursday, September 5, 2013
• Ain't That The Way It Goes - Wednesday, September 4, 2013
• Time Off and New Perspective - Tuesday, September 3, 2013
• Potpourri - Friday, August 30, 2013
• New Book Planning - Thursday, August 29, 2013
• More Paper Editions - Wednesday, August 28, 2013
• Progress and Updates - Tuesday, August 27, 2013
• Trying to Stay Focused - Monday, August 26, 2013
• Transitional Phase - Friday, August 23, 2013
• Updates and Stuff - Thursday, August 22, 2013
• Polishing - Wednesday, August 21, 2013
• We Have A First Draft - Tuesday, August 20, 2013
• Almost There - Monday, August 19, 2013
• Great Guns - Friday, August 16, 2013
• Blog Traffic, Reviews, and Progress - Thursday, August 15, 2013
• About Plausibility - Wednesday, August 14, 2013
• Torn - Tuesday, August 13, 2013
• All Mapped Out - Monday, August 12, 2013
• Always Looking Ahead - Friday, August 9, 2013
• Reading in the Modern Age - Thursday, August 8, 2013
• Time Line Time - Wednesday, August 7, 2013
• A Pacing Quandary - Tuesday, August 6, 2013
• Changing the Story - Monday, August 5, 2013
• More Progress - Friday, August 2, 2013
• Delicate Balance - Thursday, August 1, 2013
• Getting Organized - Wednesday, July 31, 2013
• Dark and Gloomy - Tuesday, July 30, 2013
• Wouldn't Ya Know It - Monday, July 29, 2013
• Boom - Friday, July 26, 2013
• Throwing Dirt - Thursday, July 25, 2013
• Giving in to Distractions - Wednesday, July 24, 2013
• Feeling the Pull - Tuesday, July 23, 2013
• "Resistance" and "Dabblers" - Monday, July 22, 2013
• Turning Point - Friday, July 19, 2013
• The Importance of Setting - Thursday, July 18, 2013
• Who's Who - Wednesday, July 17, 2013
• The Dreaded Gerunds - Tuesday, July 16, 2013
• Excited - Monday, July 15, 2013
• Busy Day - Friday, July 12, 2013
• New Energy - Thursday, July 11, 2013
• My Fickle Muse - Wednesday, July 10, 2013
• Getting Down and Catching Up - Monday, July 8, 2013
• Uh-Oh - Thursday, July 4, 2013
• Muse Takes A Holiday - Wednesday, July 3, 2013
• Best Laid Plans - Tuesday, July 2, 2013
• Changing It Up - Monday, July 1, 2013
• What Happens Next? - Friday, June 28, 2013
• Getting Organized - Thursday, June 27, 2013
• Bogged Down Again - Wednesday, June 26, 2013
• How Many Webpages? - Monday, June 24, 2013
• Sometimes It's a Struggle - Friday, June 21, 2013
• Critical Passages - Thursday, June 20, 2013
• The Story Invents Itself - Wednesday, June 19, 2013
• A Simple Conversation - Tuesday, June 18, 2013
• Back On It - Monday, June 17, 2013
• Reminiscing - Thursday, June 13, 2013
• New Look - Wednesday, June 12, 2013
• Digging for Details - Tuesday, June 11, 2013
• Plot Coming Together - Monday, June 10, 2013
• This and That - Friday, June 7, 2013
• Back Story - Thursday, June 6, 2013
• Fast Typing but Longer Thinking - Wednesday, June 5, 2013
• A Name Change and a Dilemma - Tuesday, June 4, 2013
• Freedom, Promotion, and Progrss - Monday, June 3, 2013
• Story Conflict and Notes on Rejections - Friday, May 31, 2013
• In the Name of Promotion - Thursday, May 30, 2013
• Organic Development - Wednesday, May 29, 2013
• We Have A Corpse - Tuesday, May 28, 2013
• The Creative Groove - Sunday, May 26, 2013
• Unstuck - Friday, May 24, 2013
• Writing and Promoting - Wednesday, May 22, 2013
• Updates and Progress - Tuesday, May 21, 2013
• Aaannnd...Action! - Monday, May 20, 2013
• Little Scenes - Sunday, May 19, 2013
• The Purpose of the Scene - Friday, May 17, 2013
• Ah, Proofreading - Thursday, May 16, 2013
• More Books and About Suspense - Wednesday, May 15, 2013
• Day By Day - Tuesday, May 14, 2013
• Progress and a Gotcha - Monday, May 13, 2013
• Oh, To Be Able To Type As Fast As I Think - Friday, May 10, 2013
• Characters, Archetypes, and Stereotypes - Wednesday, May 8, 2013
• Series Update - Monday, May 6, 2013
• Back in the Saddle - Friday, May 3, 2013
• New Faces and Old - Tuesday, April 30, 2013
• A Working Title - Monday, April 29, 2013
• Keeping A Good Attitude - Friday, April 26, 2013
• Slow going - Thursday, April 25, 2013
• Last Thing I expected - Wednesday, April 24, 2013
• Pulling It Together - Friday, April 19, 2013
• Nature Intrudes - Thursday, April 18, 2013
• Don't Be Afraid to Just Say It - Wednesday, April 17, 2013
• Grunt Work - Tuesday, April 16, 2013
• Editing Continues - Monday, April 15, 2013
• Narrative in a Sequel - Friday, April 12, 2013
• Anachronisms - Thursday, April 11, 2013
• Dealing With Structure - Wednesday, April 10, 2013
• Payday! - Tuesday, April 9, 2013
• What's Next - Monday, April 8, 2013
• We Have A First Draft - Saturday, April 6, 2013
• Busy Morning - Friday, April 5, 2013
• Scattered - Thursday, April 4, 2013
• It's All Coming Together - Wednesday, April 3, 2013
• The Home Stretch, Sort of - Tuesday, April 2, 2013
• Nailed It - Monday, April 1, 2013
• Who's The Hero? - Friday, March 29, 2013
• Back to Writing - Thursday, March 28, 2013
• Advertising Day - Wednesday, March 27, 2013
• Couldn't Put It Down - Tuesday, March 26, 2013
• Crunch Time - Monday, March 25, 2013
• Flying Over Hurdles - Friday, March 22, 2013
• Zowie - Thursday, March 21, 2013
• A Battle of Words - Wednesday, March 20, 2013
• For the Love of It - Tuesday, March 19, 2013
• The Good Stuff - Monday, March 18, 2013
• You Know It Don't Come Easy - Friday, March 15, 2013
• The Ever-Present Promotion Quandary - Thursday, March 14, 2013
• Quite A Day - Wednesday, March 13, 2013
• On the Right Track - Tuesday, March 12, 2013
• Nine To Five - Monday, March 11, 2013
• Who Are These People - Friday, March 8, 2013
• Time On My Hands - Thursday, March 7, 2013
• Let It Flow - Wednesday, March 6, 2013
• Getting Into It - Tuesday, March 5, 2013
• Discovering Characters - Mine - Monday, March 4, 2013
• Recap of Day 1 - Saturday, March 2, 2013
• Retirement - Day 1 - Friday, March 1, 2013
• My New Career - Thursday, February 28, 2013
• Transitions - Tuesday, February 26, 2013
• Counting Down... - Monday, February 25, 2013
• One Door Closes... - Friday, February 22, 2013
• Not Above Begging - Wednesday, February 20, 2013
• Ongoing Learning - Tuesday, February 19, 2013
• Characters Are People Too - Saturday, February 16, 2013
• If My Book Became A Movie... - Friday, February 15, 2013
• Plotting and What's Next - Thursday, February 14, 2013
• Pantser - Tuesday, February 12, 2013
• Pure Invention - Monday, February 11, 2013
• Whirlwind - Saturday, February 9, 2013
• Promoting and Other Stuff - Friday, February 8, 2013
• Busy, Busy - Wednesday, February 6, 2013
• Eager to Create - Monday, February 4, 2013
• Catching UP - Sunday, February 3, 2013
• Meetin' and Greetin' - Friday, February 1, 2013
• Showing Versus Telling - Wednesday, January 30, 2013
• Always Writing - Sunday, January 27, 2013
• A Bit More Progress - Friday, January 25, 2013
• On Progress, Creating Characters, and Reviews - Thursday, January 24, 2013
• Plotting, Plotting - Wednesday, January 23, 2013
• Put It To Bed and Start the Promo Machine - Tuesday, January 22, 2013
• The Home Stretch - Sunday, January 20, 2013
• Torn - Friday, January 18, 2013
• Coming Events - Thursday, January 17, 2013
• Multitasking - Wednesday, January 16, 2013
• Jumping the Gun - Tuesday, January 15, 2013
• Winter . . . Boooo! - Sunday, January 13, 2013
• Proofing, Etc. - Friday, January 11, 2013
• Juggling - Tuesday, January 8, 2013
• Going Astray - Monday, January 7, 2013
• Banging It Out - Saturday, January 5, 2013
• On Research - Friday, January 4, 2013
• Back On Track - Thursday, January 3, 2013