I have a problem, which may not be a problem, but just a part of novel writing.

My main characters (first person POV) has to talk to a government official to get some information. There is no one else in the story who would have this information. I could use narration, but I feel it needs to be a scene with dialogue for impact on the main character. I am going to make the scene as short as I can. (Probably two or three pages.)

My problem is, I have no interest in the scene, or the government official. I am only putting it in the book because it’s needed for the plot.

Do you have scenes like this in your book? Do you feel the same as I do about writing in a scene that you would rather not even have in your book. (It bores you to write it.)

If yes. How did you handle it?

I know it’s hard to answer this question without knowing more about the story. Just think in these terms, did you ever have to add a scene for reader or character information, that you didn’t want in the story, but was necessary.

Thanks
Azel

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Another problem I’m having probably has no answer. I am near the 100k mark in my story. I am on the last chapters of my book.

When I started the book I had to fill in a lot of background and character development. So in the beginning chapters, I took my time.

In the middle of the book the stage was set, and the pace was slow and the chapters long.

Now that I am getting to the end of the book, the pace is picking up. The chapters are getting shorter. There is less to tell because the background is known by the reader, and the characters are developed. It’s as if my main character is rushing faster and faster to her goal. I keep wondering if this is normal, or if I need to add some twists and turns to the story, or some more road blocks to the MC.

I am trying to keep a proper pace to the story, but things sure seem to be moving fast here towards the end.

Thanks
Azel

Azel, you can turn the official into some kind of character. Not a rounded or subtle one: as you've said, he's not important to the story in himself, and you don't want him to take up too much space, but a quick trick that gives him some kind of individuality and makes us believe a real person is sitting there on the other side of the desk. Preferably a characterisitic that ties in with other themes in your novel - give him a nervous tic, or a hangover, or taste for doughnuts, or a reason why he doesn't want to give the information, or a constantly-interrupting assistant. Or make him make a pass at your main character, or be drunk at nine o'clock in the morning, or a hacking cough your MC's trying to avoid.

And don't forget to make your MC notice some of this. Or not, if he's preoccupied with his own predicament. That in itself is a bit of character drawing of both of them.

Emma

Hi

I think what you may be referring to is the dreaded 'info dump'. Emma's advice should help you to successfully avoid it.

JB

Not sure if it helps, Azel, but this is how I handled something similar:


My MC needs information from an insurance salesmen. I'm not interested, my MC's not interested, and I very much doubt the readership will be interested in the workings of an insurance document. Thankfully it's being read out by a minor character so I can paraphrase it until I get to the important part:

The young man was perfectly charming, spending time explaining the life policy’s terms and conditions. [then he switches to the coroner's uling on cause of death]
Unfortunately the cigarette invalidated the terms and conditions of the insurance policy and there would be no payout.

My MC is then primed to query the 'cigarette'.

At some point in the plot he will revisit the 'terms and conditions' and compare it to another insurance document, but I only need to pull out one relevant clause from the two.
So instead of burying the clue in the detail, the reader is diverted from it by a red herring - the cigarette.

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Oops ...coroner's ruling...

Azel, about the pace of it, I think this is very common, because you were working it out yourself at the beginning, and some of that stuff that's ended up on the page is your workings out, not things the reader actually needs to know. And it's natural to rack up the tension and action a bit as the plot unfolds. However, as you've realised, it may mean that the whole thing seems unbalanced. You may need to go with it for now, and when it's finished, sit back and see if the beginning's a bit slow (too much fat) or the end's a bit fast (not enough meat on the bones), or it's a bit of both.

Emma

If you want the scene to be quick and the official's character isn't important, then could you do the scene as a phone call?

The thing i would be very aware of, as i'm sure you know, is that if you are bored writing it, the reader will undoubtedly be bored reading it.

Casey

Thank you Casey, but that will not work. It has to be a scene with dialogue to work properly. I will remember your suggestion. I am sure I can use it in the future. I finished the (boring) little scene. It came out to 1200 words. I might be able to cut some of that off, or make it more interesting later.

The good news is I broke 100k last night. When I started on page one last October, I never thought I would make it to 100k. I expected to give up on it somewhere around chapter 3 or 4. (And I did think about giving up a thousand times.) I know I will finish the book now. Somewhere at about 65k, I knew I would finish it. There was no doubt in my mind after that. I am no longer afraid of writing as I once was. That in itself is a great victory for me. That little voice in my head that told me to give up on my book went away. I don’t hear it anymore. The voice that took it’s place, tells me the book no good. I tell that little voice that 99 percent of all novels written are junk, so who cares.

It may not be a good book, but it will be a finished book.

Thanks all
Azel

<Added>

I wrote, “99 percent of all novels written are junk.” Perhaps that was a bit too strong. What I meant was, only one novel in a hundred (or less) will still be in print twenty-five year from now. The novels we write have a short shelf life. I didn’t mean all novels are bad. It’s just that most of them will not last thought the years. I have ordered my own books by mail-order since the 80s. A new book store opened in my city recently, so I thought I would go have a look. I was shocked when I could not find works from well known authors that I grew up reading. Or if I did find one of their works, there was only one book on display from all they had produced. Anyway, sorry if the word ‘junk’ offended anyone.

Azel

100k since October? Fantastic!

Casey

Don’t misunderstand me, I started on Oct 1,06, but I was busy with research the prior four months. I tried to average 1000 words a day. It only takes one-hundred days to reach 100k. I figure I only averaged 585 words a day since Oct 1, so it’s not really that good. I’m just glade I made it at all. The 100k mark was my goal. (And I still have ten chapters to write.) I think the book will hit 130k when finished. It’s just the way I measure my progress. I had to have something to help pull me forward. I kept a running tab on my daily, chapter, and total, words count. It helps.

Azel