Aha! You don't have to write everything...

As Erica said yesterday, this week we're talking about that advice we hear time and again until one day when it clicks. So funny that this is the topic this week because it's something I was just discussing with my fiance JP (love to drop that in) last week on our drive up to Williamsburg.

I have a terrible memory -- truly horrific at times. And this means that I often forget a lot of writing advice that I read and hear. I think part of that is because I tend to mentally discard any advice that isn't important to what I'm working on then and there. So I read a lot of great tips and advice and think "that's great!" but because it's not what I need at that time it tends to go in one ear and out the other.

Which is kind of cool because I can read the same advice over and over again and still find new nuggets! This is one of the reasons that I love to read (or talk) about craft -- every time I'm in a different place when I read about craft and so I learn a new lesson. And I love to look at things with new angles.

So I have tons of "aha!" moments all the time :) But there's been one in particular that I've been thinking about a lot recently and that's a combination of the advice to skip the boring parts and to make every scene matter. One reason this has been on my mind is because I've been reading a lot of contest entries lately and I see the same thing: writers feeling like they have to show *everything.*


The thing is, as writers we really don't have to show everything. Our readers are smart and they can put stuff together. For example, a lot of the contest entries I've been reading are YA and set in school. We see the character in class, walking out of class, at her locker, changing out books, walking to the cafeteria. This is all stuff that every student does almost every day. But some of these scenes don't pull their weight -- they don't add anything to the scene -- and so they can drag.

When writing these scenes I think it's important to ask ourselves "Why is this here and what does it add?" Maybe there's a note slipped into the protag's locker and so it's important we see her there. Maybe the cafeteria scene sets up the social hierarchy of the school which will play a pivotal role in the book. I'm not saying that you can't write these scenes, I'm just saying that they have to carry their weight. If you're just writing about your protag going to her locker because that's what kids do, then skip it. Or don't linger over it.

This is one of those bits of advice that I felt really comfortably with when writing FHT. I used * * * to skip all over the place! But then, in writing Book 2 I found myself writing a scene that seemed lackluster. It was three people arguing about having to get a first aid kit and what it looked like and where it was and blah blah. Which, in some cases, could be important. But it wasn't important to what I was writing at all. And the characters kept repeating the same arguments and the whole thing was just meh going in circles.

Finally I just decided that I would skip ahead and my first thought was "I can't! I have to explain to the reader everything so they can follow along!" Bah! Such an easy trap to fall into! In that scene the first aid kit wasn't important, what it looked like and even getting it -- none of it was important! What was important was the protag sewing up someone's wound and I didn't have to spend 10 pages getting her the supplies she needed. Going through all the motions just felt like the logical next step but it's like sending your character to her locker because that's what kids do before going to lunch -- if the important scene is the lunch scene, who cares about the lockers!

Maybe a movie example will help... in Independence day Will Smith shoots down that alien and he gets the ship open and punches out the alien. We don't see him struggle with getting it out of the ship, getting it wrapped up in the parachute, starting on the journey -- we don't see any of it even though it had to happen. We just see him walking alone in the desert dragging the thing because that's what's important. The details would drag and it wasn't that kind of movie (it would be a different movie if Will took his time examining the alien, trying to figure it out, etc -- but that wasn't his character).

I'm not saying you should zip merrily through your manuscript hitting only the highlights of the plot. But pay attention when you're writing that stuff that you feel like HAS to be there and ask yourself if it really does. And if it does, make sure the scene pulls its weight.

So that's what I've been pondering. As I said, I LOVE LOVE LOVE writing advice. Tips, craft, thoughts -- all of it! So share some of your own aha moments or just some tips that really resonate with you!

Be sure to drop by tomorrow when Guest Maven Tanya Michaels aka Tanya Michna is in the house. Tanya is a three-time RITA finalist and has authored over twenty-five books. One lucky commenter will receive a signed copy of her book, Trouble in Tennessee!