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Plot elements which get too much ink

Pencrafter

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I am reviewing an early draft of my story, and I notice that I have little plot features or elements which, though interesting, seem to spawn long-windedness.

Clearly it’s a thing to catch in editing, but I think while writing, we/I must develop the sense that while such elements are important to give flavor and dimension to our stories, they are not THE story itself.

Has anyone else gotten similarly...waylaid? Your story is about flying the airplane with 3 engines gone, no landing gear and a crazed gunman onboard, and somehow, a 10-page description of a control knob sprouts in the story?

;-)
 

mccardey

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I am reviewing an early draft of my story, and I notice that I have little plot features or elements which, though interesting, seem to spawn long-windedness.

Clearly it’s a thing to catch in editing, but I think while writing, we/I must develop the sense that while such elements are important to give flavor and dimension to our stories, they are not THE story itself.

Has anyone else gotten similarly...waylaid? Your story is about flying the airplane with 3 engines gone, no landing gear and a crazed gunman onboard, and somehow, a 10-page description of a control knob sprouts in the story?

;-)

I think that might be more common than you think. Thank heavens for editing, hey?

Will watch this thread with interest... :evil
 

Lakey

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Truth is I am happy to let these kinds of flights spin out while I’m drafting. I am normally such a slow writer, agonizing and pulling teeth for each sentence even in an early draft, that when something sets me off into freer writing, I’m delighted to run with it. I might cut nine-tenths of it in revision, but the chances are that there will be a nugget of something good inside of it.

:e2coffee:
 

Kat M

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I'm with you, Lakey. What if there's something I want to keep? There's got to be a reason I'm going off on this tangent!

I chose to set my WIP in my favorite suburb of my new hometown (don't tell them—they're The First Incorporated Town in the County and I don't think they want to be known as a suburb). It's this beautiful town with an extensive historic district and a secluded beach with a commanding view of the Sound, the mountains, the bridge that collapsed, the islands (including the prison island and the other one that boasts 12 residents who don't like visitors). Oh, and it has burnt ruins and trains, so it's quite an interesting place. Anyway, several emotional scenes got waylaid by what a beta reader called "scenery porn."

WIP #2 is about a banjo-player, and I am starting to realize that half the banjo jokes bandied about by fiddlers don't make sense unless you have a working knowledge of the tradition and the limitations of the banjo. I'm finding that harder to edit judiciously, but then I've been at it a shorter amount of time and usually reach for a banjo excursus when I run into drafting problems, so there are probably underlying issues to address.
 

JohnLine

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Sure, mostly happens when I write sci-fi and I realize I’m explaining the internet to my readers. Spoiler: It’s like a series of tubes.

I take that as a sign I’m trying to write a book report on a youtube video rather than a story.
 

Bufty

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I think it's normal. But in first or early drafts, I think I would prefer to let ideas roll out freely and prune it later. Others prefer to plan ahead, but each to his own.

One of my (unpublished) novels started 17 years ago at 105,000 words after three months writing with no prior plotting or planning, and is now 55,000. I still see things that don't really justify their inclusion. It's only through experience over the years that I think I'm only now able to pin where and when to ask the questions -Is this really needed? Does this really add to the story? Ok, it reads great but...is it for me or the reader? Is this really how this character would react? Etc..

The hard part is answering the questions and taking the appropriate action.
 

Paul Lamb

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Yeah, this is a good problem to have. It's much easier to pull back than to try to force more text into your work. And you have the opportunity to condense any of it that is critical into a more succinct and powerful sentence or two. Further, you may find a use for it later. And if not, call it a writing exercise.
 

angeliz2k

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I guess it depends on you as a writer, and maybe it suits your style to let-'er-rip and cut it down later. But I suspect that the more experience you get, the more likely you are to realize when you're going on a tangent and the more likely you are to stop it before it gets very far. And, I think, the less likely you are to feel like you missed out, since you'll realize the tangent wasn't necessary anyway.

There's no denying, though, that sometimes you just need to get it all out on paper (or on screen).
 

Woollybear

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I am reviewing an early draft of my story, and I notice that I have little plot features or elements which, though interesting, seem to spawn long-windedness.

Clearly it’s a thing to catch in editing, but I think while writing, we/I must develop the sense that while such elements are important to give flavor and dimension to our stories, they are not THE story itself.

Has anyone else gotten similarly...waylaid? Your story is about flying the airplane with 3 engines gone, no landing gear and a crazed gunman onboard, and somehow, a 10-page description of a control knob sprouts in the story?

;-)

I'm two years in and still fairly novice, but it seems the rhythm of the story is important, and you (or rather, I, at least) don't hear that until the story is all there.

If a piece of music was played as a series of disconnected notes, we could say things like the key it is in, whether there are chord progressions and so on, how long it is measure-wise--and so there's a lot that a person can glean about a piece of music even if its compartmentalized into notes and phrases. (sort of like a story that is not yet finished.) When the entire piece is played uninterrupted the rhythm of if (and whether that needs to be changed) is more clear.

That's a way of answering yes. But I also think the 10-page knob description is partly too long in your example because of the context it finds itself in. In a different context, say one where a flight attendant is hiding in the cockpit, and mustn't be discovered, and must wait for the chance to jump up to the control panel and engage 'thing' to stymie the gunman and save the plane, a long focus on a knob might be tensely appropriate--insight into their frame of mind, etc. It'd be more like an interlude, in that case.
 
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talktidy

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Erk! I recently adopted a new plot thread, which I am ambivalent about. On one hand it offers a neat pay off for not only a later scene, but for a significant plot thread in and of itself. The downside is that it expands my word count.

Oh, yeah, there is a reason the novel I am working on has blossomed into a trilogy. It seems there never was a plot development I didn't like, or, in other words: what Lakey said upthread.

Striking a well of plot/exposition, and experiencing the joy of sentences flowing freely onto the page cannot be underestimated for how that allows one to advance as a writer, even if in the final analysis those sections have to be excised.

Still, I think revisions are where one gets serious about a project, where one weighs which plot threads don't make the grade, and which threads need further enhancement.
 

Gateway

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I am reviewing an early draft of my story, and I notice that I have little plot features or elements which, though interesting, seem to spawn long-windedness.

Clearly it’s a thing to catch in editing, but I think while writing, we/I must develop the sense that while such elements are important to give flavor and dimension to our stories, they are not THE story itself.

Has anyone else gotten similarly...waylaid? Your story is about flying the airplane with 3 engines gone, no landing gear and a crazed gunman onboard, and somehow, a 10-page description of a control knob sprouts in the story?

;-)

Perhaps outline it with waaay too many plot/character elements and then you'll have many other elements to fill the "10-page description of a control knob" space. It's just that you don't have enough plot/story elements to begin with it.
 

K.S. Crooks

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Truth is I am happy to let these kinds of flights spin out while I’m drafting. I am normally such a slow writer, agonizing and pulling teeth for each sentence even in an early draft, that when something sets me off into freer writing, I’m delighted to run with it. I might cut nine-tenths of it in revision, but the chances are that there will be a nugget of something good inside of it.

:e2coffee:
I'm much the same way. I love when something, whether it be part of the main story or a side event, becomes so engaging that it writes itself and demands that I don't stop until the section is complete. If I need to shorten or redirect how it goes when I begin to edit then so be it. Also these tangent story arcs can sometimes lead you in a better direction for your story.