17. ADDING EXTRA IMPACT

A novel is composed of large plot threads, played out through various scenes. Big impact comes from what you’ve put into the main plot – fear, love, terror, whatever, according to genre.

But each plot also has a variety of smaller opportunities to touch the reader’s feelings. When you’re polishing your work, after getting the main story right, it can be a good idea to see whether you can add extra depth to each scene and event. It’s surprising how much this can improve the general tone and pace of the whole story.

HIT YOUR CHARACTERS JUST THAT BIT HARDER If you’ve done something unkind to a character, see if you can be a bit nastier, or make the happening affect the character (and therefore the reader) more. For example, if the heroine is running away from the villain, can you make him nearly catch her, then let her ‘only just’ escape, with her heart pounding twice as fast as before? Don’t just have a simple chase. Let her doubt her own ability to escape even as she’s running. She’s getting a stitch, her shoe has blistered her foot. Maybe she falls? A dog chases her? A car nearly runs her over as she swerves across the road? The possibilities are endless, though of course they must fit the mood and tone of the particular story.

Let me show what I mean by example.

FIRST TRY: The following scene is too simple by far, but it’s quite OK for a first draft. We’re in a park and the villain is chasing the heroine . . . Helen tried to force herself to run faster, but her knees were starting to feel as if they were full of lead and she knew she was slowing down. A quick glance over her shoulder showed him gaining, an expression of savage anticipation on his face. But turning made her lose her balance. She tripped and fell, crying out in shock. Sheer desperation pumped enough adrenalin into her body to get her to her feet and running again almost immediately. If he caught her, he’d find out where her brother was. It’d be the end of all their careful plans.

SECOND TRY: Let’s really get inside her head and improve on the actions and reactions . . .

Helen sobbed aloud as she tried to run faster, looking round, hoping someone would see her and come to her help. But the park was deserted on that chill winter’s day. He was going to catch her. She knew he was.

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