Sometimes, it's good to take a step back from the main story and relax into something a little less 'life or death'. You might decide to flesh out a character's background, have them take a leisurely stroll through the marketplace, or bring an entirely new character into the fold.
There are many ways you might deviate from the central plot, and many benefits to doing it—but how do you know when the time is right?
Why, you read this article, of course! Brought to you by Writer's Connect Newsletter 79, it's time for some time shenanigans.
"Alright, we got the shot. Now take that crap off and get back in the car!"
This post brought to you by guest blogger Tyrone Couch.
Temporal Faux Pas
Paraphrasing from last week's newsletter, if the protagonist's love interest is dangling precariously from a cliff face, it's probably not a great time for them to go and check if they left the oven on.
In other words, if the main story is teetering on the edge of a pivotal, time-sensitive event, then the characters involved shouldn't be concerning themselves with anything else. One thing that we left out of the newsletter was that there is a caveat to this: unless they have a very good reason.
Let's say a friend of the main cast has been taken hostage. Given the danger they're in, any non-essential action the group takes that doesn't in some way further the cause of rescuing said friend is going to feel very strange. At best, the reader will question their priorities, and at worst, they'll be unable to suspend their disbelief and dismiss the plot as unrealistic.
That brings us to the need for a reason. The other threads of the story don't need to grind to a complete halt in the face of a major crisis, but if you're going to further them before it's resolved, you need to answer one (or both) of these questions:
what makes this more important than everything else that's going on, and/or
how does everything else that's going on affect it?
Expanding on the hostage example, imagine that the triumphant rescue is still a long ways off, and there's a budding romance you want to bloom in the interim. A casual, stress-free date at a local café might further the relationship, but it would fail to answer one of the questions above. Their couples' milkshake certainly wouldn't feel more important than saving their friend, and their lack of regard would come across as callous and insensitive.
Unless the kidnapper's condition for releasing the hostage was that those two fall in love, it would be hard to argue that the date was a higher priority than the rescue mission. Answering the second question however is actually fairly simple.
If there's any shred of decency in the pair, they're probably going to express a little guilt about falling for each other while their friend feels the water level in the grain silo rise above their waist. They might only have been at the café because they'd been awake for three days straight following every lead, and were going to collapse from exhaustion unless they took a break. Hell, maybe they're there following one of those leads, and the milkshake started out as part of their cover.
The bottom line is that your readers are situationally aware, and expect situational awareness from your characters too. As long as your detour isn't completely frivolous and doesn't run counter to their primary goal, if your character(s) simply acknowledge that, hey, maybe this isn't the best time for this, then you can probably get away with it.
A Little on the Side
Note that there are times when it's just flat-out inappropriate to intrude upon the main story, and no amount of lampshade hanging is going to cut it.
For example, you're right in the thick of the third act, and things are starting to get intense. While that's going on, you have an idea for a new character, and you really want to incorporate them into the story somehow. Maybe you want them to be of help to the heroes in their hour of need, or use them to throw a spanner in the works and up the difficulty of their quest.
Unfortunately, this is a little bit like writing an essay and introducing a core concept of your argument in the conclusion.
The final act of your manuscript is the place where existing, long-running tensions are finally, finally resolved. By that time, there's been a tremendous build-up to them throughout the story, and your audience is champing at the bit to see where the chips will fall.
No matter how charming or compelling this new character is ... compared to that, they're going to seem insignificant. Like a towering, bald-headed man in front of them at a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert, the reader is just going to want them to get the hell out of the way so they can see Flea play bass in a diaper. If they play a crucial role in the victory or defeat of the heroes, it's going to feel cheap and unsatisfying, like a superpower they just happen to acquire at the very last moment.
If you're really invested in this character or subplot and you want it to play a part in the finale, your best bet is to go back and plant the seed no later than the first half of the second act (i.e., not too far after the halfway mark). The seed doesn't even have to be all that big or dramatic; it just has to be enough to foreshadow their existence and the significance of it. Without build-up—without tension—it will just suck the life out of all the tension you've built up elsewhere.
The Time is Now!
While you might want to watch your timing on subplots and new ideas ... there's no wrong time to sign on for one of our book coaching & writing programs!
For more fortnightly tips, make sure to subscribe to Writer's Connect (at the bottom of the page).
Word of the Day
fecund (adj.) fē′kənd, fĕk′ənd
A synonym for fertile or fruitful, fecund describes something that yields vegetation, offspring, or success in abundance. Like the word fruitful, it can be used either figuratively or literally, as in the following examples:
The fecund soil produced a harvest nearly all year round. She had a fecund imagination, which shined through in her art.
Quotidian Quote
"First, find out what your hero wants, then just follow him!" ~ Ray Bradbury
Get Competitive!
A selection of current writing competitions YOU can enter!
Look over the fine print to make sure that your submission qualifies and you're happy with the terms of engagement.
The Australian Society of Authors has a highly informative post on their website called 'What to look for in a writing competition's T&Cs' . To locate the article, click on 'Home', then 'News'.
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