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| Writer's
Blog - 7. |
One
of the problems that I keep coming up against is
"keeping the story moving".
You would think it would be easy, wouldn't
you?
Surely it's just a matter of bashing on, telling
things in the order that they happen?
Well, yes - up to a point.
If you take a typical murder mystery, we may
join the action when the body is
discovered. From then on, we - the readers
- may stick close to the detective who's trying
to solve the mystery.
But we'll have to step away from him
sometimes.
Perhaps the writer wants to show us what the
murderer is up to next.
Or perhaps, through flashbacks, (s)he wants us
to learn more about what happened before
the crime, or to see incidents in the
"back-story" of any of the characters.
The problem is how to get the balance
right.
I've done first drafts of chapters that didn't
work because the main narrative was basically
"parked" for too long while I
back-tracked to pick up - through flashback -
this or that piece of vital information.
Through trial-and-error I am learning, I hope,
how to get the balance right.
As someone I know has already pointed out,
"a story is like a bicycle - if it's not
going forward, it falls over."
© David
Gray
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