Season 2, Episode 26: Rumination
IN THIS EPISODE
Mel and Kemlo review her most recent chapter, where Mel redeems a scene that, on the first read (the rabbits, guys!), did not serve the story. Now it not only fits but excels in rounding out character development and amps up the suspense at the end of the scene.
When your scene starts up too slowly: Kemlo mentioned that Mel’s two first chapters didn’t move as quickly as they should. Mel wonders if it’s not telling the reader where her protagonist is in time or space, or if it’s too detailed. Kemlo says that no, it’s that there’s too much rumination and not enough action, and it would be helpful if things got to the point a little bit faster. When you start a scene, you want to hook the reader right away – don’t make them work too hard trying to figure out what’s going on, what your characters are doing/thinking/feeling, and where the scene is going.
In these scenes, Mel notes that there’s a lot of time and space problems as her characters move from room to room, and even she struggled during a re-read to determine what the hallways and rooms look like. If the scenes you’re writing are complex in this regard, it’s really helpful to have someone else read it at some point during the writing or initial editing process. Different readers have different levels of spatial awareness, and it’s important that your time-and-space elements make sense to everyone.
Later in the episode – true confessions of Mom Writes. Mel’s family had been sick for the past couple weeks, and as the only healthy person in the house, she struggled to take care of everyone and still somehow get some writing done. There were nights she was up until 1 am either working (at her actual job) or working on her edits. Thankfully, everyone’s better now and getting a lot more sleep.
“The great thing about revising as opposed to creating is that when you’re creating it can be time consuming…I’m kind of precious about it, I have to be alone, listen to the right music, etc. With revising, everything is already there, you just have to fix it. It takes a little less time for me.”
