Quiet Moments
So yesterday's blog was on perfect storms . . .
Today, it's on quiet moments.
Books have climaxes and big moments. Worlds nearly blow up. Gunplay happens. Tragedy strikes. Lives are put on trial in courtrooms.
But books also have quiet moments. These are moments of the author's choosing to show "life before" a big event or "life before" the conflict of the novel. Sometimes the reverse is true and a character has an awful life that must be overcome, and then the quiet moment is at the end, when a new life has started and we glimpse a spot of the new normal, the new happily ever after.
I think of the moment in Patriot Games (the movie) when Harrison Ford reads The Cat in the Hat to his daughter. They could have chosen a million moments from fatherhood, but this one worked for the film (plus his daughter's name was Sally).
Choose TOO ordinary a moment, and it may get lost in your plot. Choose too poignant a moment and it can feel manipulative.
In my current work-in-progress, the quiet moments are between two lovers keeping the craziness outside in the apocalyptic world at bay. They're moments of talking, of making love, of holding hands, of walking their dog. They are moments of celebration and moments of talking. Of seeing a play. It's all (I hope) in how they relate to each other that feels important. How they are always TOUCHING. I've yet to write a scene when they don't. If he sits next to her in the theatre, she puts her hand on his thigh. If he sees her and takes her hand, at first he kisses the center of her palm. She touches his lapel. She straightens his tie. He leans his forehead to hers. They are the moments they will wish they had paid attention to when they no longer have them. The moments they will miss the most.
So do you have any quiet moments of normalcy in your novel? And what quiet moment did you use to show us?
18 comments:
Coincidentally, the very first word of my wip is Quiet. From there, nothing is normal ever again.
But I know what you mean about the quiet moments. I think they're important, even in a thriller. They give the characters (and the readers) a chance to recharge before the start of the next build.
Jude:
Well, I think if we don't give readers something to MISS, then why save the world, so to speak (in thrillers). That was what Starbucks was discussing the other day.
E
These are tricky with my Derek Stillwater novels, which tend to start with a horrendous event and move from there. That said, in The Devil's Pitchfork, Derek first shows up kayaking on the Chesapeake Bay, one of his passions. In The Serpent's Kiss he's actually on his boat (he lives on a cabin cruiser) packing for a trip to Mexico. In the upcoming The Fallen, it's trickier still, because at the beginning, his first appearance, he's undercover at the resort where the G8 Summit is being held. But I do have him driving to work with someone, flirting with someone, and him drinking coffee and wishing the whole thing would be over so he could go back to his quasi-normal life.
I also think, in the kind of mad dash novels I write that it's important to take a breather occasionally. Sometimes Derek does this by plugging into an iPod and listening to something calming (although for him, it's often things like "Chant" or the Bach B Minor Mass). Sometimes it's just taking 15 minutes to eat something. They're important moments. I tend to think of them as the eye of the storm, though.
At the conference Meg Medina described one where the son walks into the kitchen and says he is making tea would his mother like some? He does this in silence. Then he asks if she still likes lemon and honey. That moment she described stayed with me because it was a way of saying, "I love you" without ever using the words. Both the action and the fact that he remembered how she liked her tea.
Mark:
In my wip, there is this horrific breakdown of society. So these moments are a reminder of humanity.
I also like, how with someone like your character, it's a glimpse of them beyond the save-the-world thing.
E
Richmond:
I love those sorts of gestures. Maybe everyone reading it won't "get" it, but it does speak volumes.
Yesterday, Oldest made me coffee. Then she asked if I wanted her to make me some food. Just sweet that my kids try to take care of me a bit.
I think it might be important to add that we never want the tension to go totally slack. Even in quiet moments, the threat of something about to happen should be looming.
I think the quiet moments in my novel are when the mc is with her children, she's blocking out everything else that's going on to take care of them. It's her main concern, but the storm could get in the way - she doesn't allow that.
I'm querying agents now. That is a storm in itself. I am searching for the quiet moments.
Amy:
Good luck!!!!!! :-)
E
I do this with my male MC and his wife. They're dealing with a lot of crap but they still kiss each other goodbye and touch each other as they pass. One of my favorite exchanges with them has her playing with his hair while he's talking, and when she disagrees with what he says she doesn't say anything, she just stops moving her fingers.
Melanie:
Good one.
E
I have purposeful quiet moments, in which Trinidad goes to visit the people of his past: his adopted brother, his trainer, his priest. I've tried hard to make them transition moments for him, the motivation that launches him into the next action. But like with your characters' touching, it's also meant to show all he losing in the process of remaining true to what he is.
Starbucks:
Loss is always a HUGE theme in nearly everything I write. Loss, grief, and redemption . . . so it's definitely showing what would be lost.
E
In my YA survival story, the quiet moments are by the fire. Sometimes they are interrupted by a crisis.
You know, I've been thinking about this post all day, which brought me round to thinking about my pacing. This is the first novel I've written that I'm actively concentrating on pacing during the writing process, rather than after the rough is finished.
I've been actively trying to make sure that there are breathers, that it's not action and conflict piled on top of each other, but that it's also not too quiet for too long. The story itself has a lot of conflict, but I'm trying to make those in between times, those getting from point a to b count. And so far, the quiet moments are shows in the relationships between my mc and his world. It's not just quiet moments between Jack and Annabelle (the love interest) or Jack and Mikey (his best friend)... there are those showing moments with him and all of the important people in the flow of the story... more of them with the more important sides, but still.
Paul:
I love nothing more than sitting by a fire myself!
E
Hi Merry:
I think depending on the kind of novel, action is often about showing skill sets. The quiet is about showing relationships or a character's other side, the hidden side.
In my wip, Aleks is a big-deal doctor, but with her, he is a simply guy from the Ukraine who fell in love. He's very vulnerable with her.
E
One quiet moment I had in my first novel was when the hero was sitting alone on a beach, trying to gather his thoughts, accepts some facts and admit his growing attraction for the heroine.
I'm a strong believer that novels do not need action, action, action. If a quiet moment moves the plot along --- wonderful.
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