My go-to book for writing has become Donald Maass's book, 'Writing 21st Century Fiction.' As many times as I read it, I always find new techniques to implement into my writing. Like adding twists and turns. I feel I add my share of twists and turns, but he encourages a writer to go beyond the expected and create something unexpected.
Mr. Maass suggests to open your manuscript to any scene, then ask yourself, "what would blow the story sideways right now? Go for it."
So I found a spot in my WIP that I thought was too much narrative and not enough action. I added the unexpected. BAM! It added flavor and a dash of ridiculousness to the scene. I loved it. My writers group at the time did not find it a reasonable change. Some said it mislead the readers at what that particular character was all about. I contemplated removing the addition. I changed my mind and kept it in. My unexpected twist opened up my story line and created a deeper layer of involvement than I had originally intended with that character. It gave that character a new purpose the reader had not been aware of previously. I hadn't realized this new twist would bring the character to life. What a pleasant surprise.
Basically, I'm not telling you anything new. But this can serve as a reminder to not be too comfortable with your plot. Add the unexpected. Donald Maass suggests, "If the expected happens, change it. If nothing new is discovered, discover it and add it."
That's great advice ~ for all of us!
'Til next time ~
DL Larsonwww.DLLARSON.com
For a time, I bought tons of books about writing. Unfortunately, I didn't bother reading most of them, and I couldn't obtain the knowledge by osmosis. lol
ReplyDeletepretty much have to open the book to gain the knowledge within.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping.