Quick Question For The Audience . . . .

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BlackMagic528

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Thinking ahead, as usual, here.
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I was thinking about something for when I get to 'Kimberly: Part Two', which follows Kim through her transition into the vyca collective.

So, how important to you think it is that I capture the exact moment when Kim goes from her singular mind to a part of the vyca collective mind? What I mean is: If you're reading the scene, would it be important to you to be able to discern the exact moment when it happens? Or would you be okay with knowing at the end of the scene that it's happened, but not necessarily when in that scene that it's happened?

And, by "capture," I don't mean to make an announcement.
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I'm talking about just doing something with the narration - most likely some kind of internal dialog, but I'm not completely certain yet how I could do it - to where, should the reader be so inclined, they could study the scene closely and find the moment the change occurs.

What do you think? It's not vital story information, really. The scene is obvious, and the vital information is just that the change has occurred. I'm wondering if readers want to be able to pinpoint it.

As usual, and always, thanks in advance.
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BigWords

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You could show this transformation with one word - instead of using 'I' she would begin thinking 'we' in internal monologue. No need to go overboard with the information.
 

BlackMagic528

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Yes, that's definitely part of the plan - and it's not just her internal dialog that makes that change. ;) (Also, if it matters to you, this is narrated in a close third person. I wouldn't want to even attempt to narrate this in first person. :crazy:)

I'm curious if readers need to know the precise moment that this change happens within her - and understand this is only a part of the overall transition, which is going to take somewhere between 16-24 hours, but it's the most significant part - or if the reader will be comfortable just knowing that it happened somewhere in the scene the just read.

Am I making sense? I know it's kind of a confusing topic.
 

BigWords

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Starting from the point of view that everything major in the character's journey which is revealed to the reader really ought to have a pay-off (the gun they load in the first chapter is one used in the third chapter for example), do we need to know the exact moment of transition from individual to collective? If there's something important about the specific moment (beyond the obvious) then it needs elaboration. Then there is the symbolic weight, such as a brand new day, a brand new life, which would tell us that on the stroke of midnight they are no longer the individual. The symbolic isn't as easy to artificially weave into a story, so this might come across as too heavy handed.

There are no right or wrong answers. :) (a cop-out, but true)
 

Etola

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Personally, becoming part of a collective seems like a major moment in a person's life. I'm not sure how this transition has been played up in the story so far (for example, is it just a standard thing that the hero views as nothing special? Or has she been waiting her whole life for this moment?).

But if it has any particular weight to the hero, if a lot of stuff has been leading up to this, then as a reader, I'd want a good payoff. I'd want to know what this transition is like.

But that's just MHO.
 
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