A to Z Challenge: I is for Incidental Action

Welcome to the 2013 A to Z Challenge!

This year, I’m focusing on two themes:  Emotions and grammar,

depending on which letter we’re on each day.

I’ll be sharing mostly what I’ve learned about writing emotion into a novel, but I’ll also be throwing in a few key grammar lessons, pet peeves I’ve picked up while working as an editor.

Today’s a grammar day...well, sorta.

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I is for incidental action:  in fiction, an action happening in connection with or resulting from something more important;

While every novel should be filled with action, what often makes the story come alive and feel real—like we’re watching a movie in our heads—is the incidental action.  If there is no incidental action, the story feels flat and jerky as the narration moves from one big sequence to another.

Incidental action is the small movements typically shown between lines of dialogue.  Take this short clip from a scene in my novel, The Mistaken, for example:

Tyler stared at him for a moment before raising his chin in understanding.  He was instantly in Nick’s face, pointing his finger in warning.

“You stay of it, Nick.  I mean it. This is none of your business or your concern,”

Nick pushed his brother’s hand away.  “I’d be careful if I were you, brother.  I’m no longer that weak boy who followed you around like a lost puppy.”

Tyler reacted swiftly, surging forward and pushing Nick back against the wall.  His lips were pressed together in an angry line and he spoke through clenched teeth.

“You stay the hell out of my affairs, you hear me?  And stay away from my wife!  She doesn’t need your kind of help.”

They stood facing each other, nose-to-nose.  Ty’s face twisted in anger, but Nick looked unfazed, even amused, a smirk pulling up along one side of his mouth.

The staring, the pointing, the pushing, along with all the facial expressions, bring the scene to life.  If all you had was the dialogue, it would feel rather bland and passive. The reader needs all the small movements to see the story progress physically in their mind.  

If there were no incidental action, the progression within and between each scene would feel abrupt and jarring without any way to visualize what the characters are doing as they speak or how they move from place to place.   

Incidental action also helps the reader keep track of who’s speaking without a boat load of dialogue tags to slow it all down.  BUT—and this is big but—do NOT use incidental action as a dialogue tag.  That is, each action must be a complete sentence with the first word capped and punctuation at the end—a period, exclamation point, or question mark.  No exceptions.  Dialogue tags are he said, she replied, they screamed, we moaned, etc., and are also meant to help the reader keep track of who’s speaking, but they are not incidental action.

A to Z Challenge: I is for Inner

Before I get into my next A to Z post, I want to give a HUGE shout out to my girl, my favorite CP, my writing soulmate, Lisa Regan, who just signed her very own BOOK DEAL with Sapphire Star Publishing!

Yes, Lisa is joining my ever expanding family at SSP.  Her first book, Finding Claire Fletcher will be released on December 6, 2012, and her second book, Aberration will released on June 6, 2013.  Both books, in the suspense/crime genre, are phenomenal reads!  I will post more about Lisa's remarkable journey after the A to Z Challenge is over.  In the mean time, please drop by Lisa's and give her a big hello and a pat on the shoulder.  She's waited for this moment for many years!

Now for the A to Z...  

Welcome to Day 9 of the A to Z Challenge

Many bloggers have chosen a theme for the A to Z.  My pledge since becoming a blogger is to post about writing, so for this event, I will being posting about what I've learned about writing a novel.

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I is for Inner:  Situated or farther within; interior; more intimate, private, or secret; of or pertaining to the mind or spirit; not obvious; hidden or obscured.  (Dictionary.com)

This might seem like an ambiguous topic, but when it comes to creating a story, “inner” is of extreme importance.  First, there are two levels to every novel: the outer level or the plot and the inner level or the story itself.  For every outer action, motion, or goal, there is an inner reaction, emotion, and growth.  The outer notion to attain works with the inner notion to become. 

The protagonist’s inner journey deepens when the reader learns who he needs to be in order to be whole and why that is important. Why is he broken or wounded and how does that manifest itself in his behavior and attitude?  What will lead him to be whole again, to force him to change, or lead him to sacrifice?

Each major scene in a novel should have turning points with two dimensions.  The way in which things change that everyone understands is the outer turning point.  And the way in which the protagonist changes is the inner turning point.

A story’s greatest inner dimension is the inner conflict.  This is the protagonist’s fear and doubt brought to the surface, a battle between his two sides: reason and passion.  These two voices directly oppose each other.  He brings them with him into the story before it even begins.  It’s what’s holding him back.  It is this very contradictory battle that is so compelling and satisfying to the reader. 

Inner conflict is a result of the plot.  It’s what leads the protagonist to realize his goal is essential to his well-being.  It’s what makes him strive to attain his impossible goal.  Each obstacle he overcomes provides the protagonist the opportunity to learn more about himself.  In knowing his weaknesses and strengths, he is better able to transform himself. 

Though my own novel is a thriller and therefore plot-driven, it is the main character’s struggle with the villain he has become that is the most compelling.      

Do you focus equally on both the inner and outer aspects of your stories?