(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Write On! Coming and Going [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-08-10 We’ve talked about scenes before, but I wanted to look at a specific bit of advice today. Among the many ‘rules’ of writing is one I’ve heard a lot recently. William Goldman and David Morell wrote it as "jump in late, leave early." They wrote it for screenplays, but it’s something that’s become common to hear in not just short fiction groups, but novel writers as well. What does it mean? In the doorstopper fantasies I ‘grew up’ on in the 90s, books were 200-300k as a norm. I adore Kushiel’s Dart by Jaqueline Carey, as one example. In it, we start following Phedre when she is a child. Even before, we begin with her parents (who show up nowhere else). It is almost 200 pages before we reach the beginning of the ‘meat’ of the story. Those 200 pages were lush, rich, and set-up. Jaqueline Carey did not jump in late. Now, compare that to, oh, An Illusion of Thieves by Cate Glass. In it, we start with the MC’s brother having already committed the crime, and risking being charged for it. We know nothing of the city, or the MC beyond the fact she’s a courtesan, or her family beyond the fact they’re poor and her brother’s a thief. We find out the rest in offhand comments or snippets here and there along the first half of the book. Cate Glass jumped in late. This can apply at a scene level as well, of course. Do you start the scene with the MC approaching the building, preparing before walking into a meeting, etc? Or do you begin it with the MC already at the table? The other half of the advice, to leave early, is another side of this. How much resolution do you need in a scene? In a chapter? How much should the MC ponder and reflect before we as authors move things along to another scene, another piece? And here is where we hit our challenges. If we as authors always enter late and leave early, there’s little time for reflection. The book’s pacing will be faster, perhaps to the point of frenetic. The reader will have to sink or swim, and will have to infer reflections and connections because they’re not being stated. On the other hand, if we always start early and leave late, the book will move like a cross-country hike. Readers will know every step, whether or not it has a direct impact on the plot/characters. They’ll also likely get bored. As writers, we have to balance between the two. A horror writer can get an immense amount of atmosphere and tension in having the MC walk into a seemingly ordinary, empty house. They can make the reader recognize the subtle wrongness of the scene even if the MC doesn’t. A thriller/suspense writer might be able to do the same, building a scene and clues as the MC prepares for an interview that will be full of red herrings. But in both, maintaining tension is important — and too much space will let that tension dissipate, much like a drop of ink in water. For fiction, it’s important that we consider what is the proper place to begin so the reader can get invested in the MC and grounded in the setting, but not so much as to have them get bored and not turn the page. Is that early or late? As with so much of fiction, it depends. Tonight’s Challenge! Give us a scene that is deliberately starting late. If possible, keep it under 300 words! READERS & BOOK LOVERS SERIES SCHEDULE [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/10/2177315/-Write-On-Coming-and-Going Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/