A question on Content and Pacing.

[Tecdavid]

I know it's important to forward a story's plot with every scene and chapter, and for that reason, we're often advised to reign back on paragraphs full of detail and description. But what do we do when, say, our story goes the way of Narnia, and our heroes wind up in a magical, bizarre world? Would it be okay to dedicate a few scenes, or a whole chapter, towards leading the characters around this place so they (and by extension, the reader) can see what's going on, and what this place is like? Or is it best to just let it be, and feed the details slowly while the story progresses?

I ask because there's a point in my WiP in which this very thing happens. The hero spends his first chapter here exploring, meeting up with other characters, etc. It serves to familiarise the reader with the location the story takes place in, and to develop the hero a little while he interacts with everything. But, for the most part, this chapter does not forward the plot. As long as try to make sure the chapter's interesting, is this okay?

 

[Ursa major]

I personally dislike it when it reads as if the characters are being led about a place solely to show the world off to the reader. It's for this reason I don't really like Banks's Look to Windward, which, in parts, does this rather too obviously.


The... er... obvious solution to this is to not let it read that way, i.e. let the reader see that there is some purpose, inside the story being told, to the wanderings.

 

[thaddeus6th]

Try and write interesting things that happen to occur in your world. That way people learn of the world without it being an infodump.

So, let's say the protagonist has a duel. You get to write about combat, weapons/armour, who presides over it, whether magic's involved etc etc. But all that detail's secondary to the fight and so (hopefully) it flows naturally.

 

[Bowler1]

You could have a mini drama, a subplot within the larger story that gives the characters reasons for their exploring. As Ursa above says, which I agree with - I also dislike characters just wandering about aimlessly. Actually I’ve have re-read the post above, I think UM & thaddus6th said the same, use a sub-plot. Anyway, I’ve typed it, so I posted.

 

[Brian G Turner]

The hero spends his first chapter here exploring, meeting up with other characters, etc.

This would be an ideal time to set up initial conflicts, questions, themes, and motivations.

However, if you're still writing your first draft you don't need to worry about putting all these in yet, but in your rewrite draft you'll probably want to look at doing so.

 

[Tecdavid]

Right... Hmm.
Well, there are events taking place throughout the chapter -- It isn't just a tour and nothing else. I wouldn't say they amount to a sub-plot, though. Mainly, they're character interactions. Of course, I'm trying to make these interactions interesting (One involves the hero checking out a local tavern, then nearly choking to death on an experimental cocktail the barman convinces him to try.) Still, even I succeed in making them interesting, I wonder whether they'll be gripping enough.

 

[Mirannan]

One approach that's often been used is to just dump in things that don't occur in our universe, without any special emphasis. Heinlein's much quoted "the door dilated" is an example of this.

Another possibility depends on some of the details. For example, if they are dumped into a howling Arctic wilderness it's going to be noteworthy because something like that is likely to cause the characters problems - and therefore making an issue of it makes sense.

 

[mosaix]

I personally dislike it when it reads as if the characters are being led about a place solely to show the world off to the reader.

Agree with UM on this. I'd go as far as to say only mention these magical and bizarre elements when they're relevant to the story being told. Then it come across as quite natural.

 

[Tecdavid]

Agree with UM on this. I'd go as far as to say only mention these magical and bizarre elements when they're relevant to the story being told. Then it come across as quite natural.

Well, that's the issue. This character of mine has been introduced to the "fantasy city" in such a way that he's perfectly capable of exploring it, and in fact, probably should (He's taking up residence in this city). So, it seemed natural to me that'd he take a look around. It's relevant to his character and to his interests, but... well, then the issues we've brought up come into effect!

The chapter's events do lead the hero toward more plot-central events that occur in the next chapter. I think it's the body of the chapter I'm worried about most.

 

[Bowler1]

The chapter's events do lead the hero toward more plot-central events that occur in the next chapter. I think it's the body of the chapter I'm worried about most.

If you want to write these scenes do so, it's your muse telling you to do so. I'd then get your beta readers on the case (or when ready) and point out that this chapter is world building, and ask them does it work? Stuff can always be cut. And to be fair, it the world building is done well we'll all read it happily regardless.

 

[HareBrain]

It's difficult. It can work, and it can fall really flat, and it's not always easy to see why it works for some examples and not others. It helps if you've made the reader keen to explore the new world as well as the character, and it helps if the reader feels that what the character discovers will become relevant in the not too distant future, and it helps if the exploration is genuinely interesting and/or amusing, but the only time it's almost guaranteed to work is if the exploration is directly relevant to the current plot.

It might be that you just have to try it out on readers and see if it works.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

It sounds like there might be lots of description... to be honest, I'd probably skip the chapter if that was the case, unless there was something else happening en route.

 

[wulfsbane]

What you want to do is do worldbuilding/description at through and at the same time as you do plot. Don't describe stuff that isn't relevant to the story. If it is, then do it while developing plot/characters, or, even better, develop plot, characters, and setting with one paragraph or sentence.

 

[sknox]

What Bowler1 said.

Don't wonder, write! Then show what you have written to others. They'll let you know if all that description worked or not.

If the guy's new in town, he doesn't need to just "look around" but he will need to get established. He'll need to find lodging. He'll need to eat. He'll need to get employment (or do his mission). Each of these will require him to move around the city. You can arbitrarily make these be conveniently located in places that need describing ("need" in the sense that the story will return there later). You can have him run into character types that will appear later in the story. And so on.