Just what DOES that angel mean, anyway…?
How did you do with the ‘unlikeability’ challenge? Did you find one truly unlikeable element with which to humanize your character…?
Hope so!
And now, a change of pace. You know the old adage — nothing kills momentum like backstory. [Isn’t that an old adage? Okay, maybe not, but it should be]
Of course ‘what happened before’ is important. It may even be pivotal. The problem with backstory is not what it is, but WHERE it is, and HOW MUCH of it is hanging about. Too much backstory too soon = snoozefest, because it gets in the way of what is happening right now. And right now is what the reader cares about.
Tomorrow’s challenge…throw your 100 words at a scene in which backstory is important. Really significant. And find a way to NOT reference it at all. Don’t have one character explain it to another. Don’t let your players in on the backstory in any way. See what happens…maybe things will head in a direction you didn’t anticipate. Maybe your 100 words will magically become 1000. WHO KNOWS WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN YOU DON’T EXPLAIN THE BACKSTORY?????!!!!!
[Ahem]
Go for it. And let me know how it all unfolds, if you feel like it! Comments are below and as always, I am sweetly tweeting @kcdyer.
More soon…
~kc
[If you are reading this post and wondering just what the heck is going on, you might want to click HERE to read the genesis of the ‘kc 100 word challenge’. And if this challenge isn’t for you, another route to jumpstart your writing is the Famous Yahtzee Method! Either way….This Day We Write!]
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