Let's Blow Something Up!

Current Project:NMMNG
Status: 40 pages and counting!

I had an epiphany a few weeks ago. I both love and hate when this happens--it is lovely, but darn it, it always, ALWAYS means more work for me. Pacing has always been a bugaboo of mine, and I realized that a big part of the problem is that I have too many scenes of people standing around talking with nothing external happening to increase the tension or provide interest. Sure, I provide plenty of witty dialogue and some internal angst, but I'm guilty of using too many scenes just to convey information and set up future scenes. This is different from information dumping--it's not backstory and the scene has a clear purpose and place in the storyline. However, it is a sin nevertheless because it lacks that little extra oomph needed to ensure that the reader not only wants to keep reading but NEEDS to do so.

Now, I'm NOT writing a "suspense" book by any means--this is a YA romantic comedy with a twist. However, I have come to realize that EVERY book on my keeper shelf has very few standing around talking scenes. Something else is always going on--both internally: a subtle subtext because the point of view character knows or does not know some critical piece of information that the other character (and reader) does, a hidden agenda, a major realization or conflict revealed, or externally: danger, complications, thwarted intentions, things to work through in the course of the conversation, external influences creating havoc, etc. In one of her reader/writer guides, Suzanne Brockmann gives the example of a needed conversation--should it take place in a hotel room or should it take place in the middle of a power outage in a subway? The subway wins every time because it adds the elements of if the needed information will be conveyed and how the characters will resolve the external complication. Of course, her books still have a certain percentage of "hotel room" scenes, but there is almost always something else going on in the background that takes them out of the ordinary and raises the stakes.

"Raise the stakes" is my personal motto for this book. My last book had the motto "Go deeper. Deeper. DEEPER." It was a turning point in how I treat point-of-view, and while the book itself will probably spend forever under my bed, it was a success from that standpoint. So, I know that this motto is exactly what I need at this point in time. Of course, this means more work for me. I can't just place my characters in a room and let them talk all the time. I have to have other stuff happening, and frankly, that other stuff is exhausting and way more challenging than dialogue.

So I've been blowing stuff up--both literally and figuratively, and it IS fun. And of course, I want you to try it too. For those of you who have a work in progress, go right now and find a conversation that doesn't have much else happening. Blow something up. Give it something more. Report back, preferably posting your handiwork. For those who are between projects, I give you this very blah, yet vital dialogue. Blow something up. Raise the stakes. Give it that edge.

"Mick, I have something to tell you."
"What?"
"Well . . ."
"Come on, out with it."
"You're not going to like this."
"I'm a little busy here. Can you just spit it out already."
"I'm pregnant."
"What?"
"I'm pregnant."
"Congratulations. Who's the father?"