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A blog for fiction writers and impending writers. An editor’s perspective.
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What’s Your Intention?
Each chapter (or individual scene) that we write must have a specific intention. Sometimes in frenetic scenes, we might suggest multiple intentions, but one in particular—the scene’s major premise—should dominate. (Other concepts—a scene’s minor premise(s)—can be alluded to or hinted at, but those concepts will be more fully developed at a later scene, a more appropriate time.) Writing is a linear* process, so each intention should have a specific, chronological time and place. And why outlining scenes can be so important. We must give ourselves (or at least visualize) a logical roadmap and an eventual exit strategy for each scene we write.
Our goal, of course, is to propel the story rationally forward in terms of: scene-setting, character-setting and/or plot development. Each scene has, to some degree, a beginning, a middle and a conclusion—or if not a definitive conclusion, a consequence. A predicament. A mystery. Each scene moves the reader from here to there (or to almost there) with both precision and passion.
Even truncated scenes, brief interludes and segues—often the most difficult scenes to write—have an intention, if only to kill time (The icy grip of winter passed slowly while Martin languished in prison.) or to change a location (The next morning, Wendy took Flight 857 to Zurich.) or to shift POV and/or the reader’s attention (“But enough about me, Bernard. How was your summer?“) Thus, each chapter—each scene, paragraph and every line within—must be lovingly manipulated to best accomplish that task at hand, and then provide a smooth and believable transition to the next task at hand. Which would be writing the subsequent scene. When we’ve finished writing a scene, it’s probably a good idea to double-check both it’s clarity and its intended purpose: Have I sufficiently clarified the scene’s purpose? Have I whittled away unintended and extraneous prose? How has this scene advanced my story? Does this scene’s conclusion aptly set up the next scene or chapter? Or, should you be writing a cliff-hanger, does the scene snap at just the appropriate moment, creating urgency or uncertainly or sufficient dramatic impact? If we can’t mentally validate those objectives, we probably need to rethink the purpose, or the construction, of that scene.
Remember, whatever a scene’s intention, our underlying stylistic and mechanical approach must remain sacrosanct: clear and concise sentence construction, told dramatically and passionately.
For instance, while editing, I’ll sometimes come across a scene containing a character who is confused or muddled (or an amnesiac or drugged or dreaming) and the writer had decided to mirror the character’s vague and perplexed state by writing vague and perplexing prose. Absolutely not! Rule #29: Your characters may be elusive or distracted, but your prose must remain clear and concise. The writer must always maintain clarity, and in solid communication with the reader.
This excerpt, the opening of the cyber-thriller Mind Games, an unfinished (but oh-so-hopeful) manuscript by yours truly:
Neon spirals morphed into a myriad of indecipherable images, bright kaleidoscopic fragments of light that filled his sleeping mind—colors he had never before known, nor would remember again. He felt both terror and awe as his brain swam chaotically through the illusion, seeking the encroaching pallor of consciousness. Finally, exhausted, he opened his eyes to an empty room, the residue of color fading from memory. The dim haze of approaching dawn painted the small room’s only window and, rising unsteadily from a dirty linoleum floor, he peered toward an unknown and distant landscape, mute with the greys and browns of an unwelcomed reality.
The intention here being the introduction of a character in the midst of an undefined mental anguish, perhaps on the verge of emotional collapse. And yet told—one might hope—with a lucidity that hints of both a specific setting and the character’s state-of-mind. A writer might include the character’s name—but then again, why? A nameless character feels more disconnected, uncertain. Or a writer might want to include the character’s age or visual description or where he was born—but all these attributes are unnecessary at the moment, and only serve to slow the pacing and the scene’s intent: to portray somebody emerging from unconsciousness. Readers will intuit that many other aspects of this character will appear in subsequent pages. If we’ve done our job as writers, those readers are willing to wait for further clues, enjoying the mystique and uncertainty of the moment. And, as writers, we’re enjoying this game of parsing out suspense, one bread crumb at a time.
Hollywood’s directors are often screaming at struggling actors; “What’s your motivation?!” In fiction writing, that relentless director inside your head should be screaming those same words. What are my intentions on this page! What am I trying to achieve here? If you’re writing a visually intense action scene, (a battle, two lovers embracing, hoards of blood-thirsty zombies) are you providing sufficient clarity, grounding the reader in sights, sounds and textural richness? In an action scene, are you including only what’s visually necessary to create excitement; excluding prose that might slow pacing; e.g.; random conversations about the weather or who’s winning the Super Bowl? When being chased by zombies, the only thing on a character’s mind is escaping the undead with an intact brain.
All that idle chitchat and thoughts about mom’s apple pie—that will come either before or after the action. (Because one should always juxtapose scenes of action with info. (For more details, see Active Voice.)
In other words, in action scenes, our intention is to embroil readers in a rush of adrenaline. The verbiage above, in red, may indeed be integral to the story—but not here. No flashbacks. No philosophical rhetoric. No irrelevant supposition. This is a literary inhale (action!) after all. The extraneous facts are the exhale (Refer to Rule #8 again, if need be)… and belong elsewhere, when the action is complete, or before it begins.
Or, should two characters fall in love, are we clearly identifying those essential characteristics—two young, confused lovers pondering their next move as a couple? Even if our lovers are doomed to ultimately fail, are we clearly elucidating only those first tender moments—and not telegraphing the heartache that will appear 200 pages later? Because revealing too much is as erroneous as revealing too little. Our intention—in this particular scene—is to delve into their burgeoning passion. What comes before and what occurs next—well, everything in its own sweet time. (See Rule #16: Focus on the now.)
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*Linear. Defined by Mr. Webster as: Progressing from one stage to another in a single series of steps; sequential. Meaning (for writers) one word at a time, word after word after word, and also one coherent, complete thought/concept at a time. Try squeezing too many concepts, or fragments of concepts, into a paragraph or scene and now you have chaos. Confusion. Incomplete thoughts, uncertain interruptions, a lack of continuity or direction. So, take your time! Complete your intention before moving to another.
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