I think I'd add one more item to 'reveal the character or advance the action', and that is 'set the scene' and make the reader experience it, because sometimes that's needed too. I give an example here of trying to do this from a drabble I wrote recently (and with drabble writing almost every *word* needs to move things on):
Three a.m. is the Devil's hour, the time when body and soul are at their lowest ebb, when death is most likely to occur. Danny wakes just after three, neck stiff and knee aching, and Steve's still with him. There's no noise except for a faint electronic hum and the soft, rhythmic hiss of the ventilator, and the lights are dim, augmented only by the green glow of the monitors. Danny shifts in his chair, grateful beyond words to be here, and wills Steve to live. If he can make it through the Devil's hour then he has a chance.
The line about the ventilator and monitors doesn't advance the action or reveal character, but I feel that it's necessary to put the characters and their situation in context (and I hope I succeeded with it). I don't think that just saying "Danny sat in a quiet and dark ICU" would have had the same power.
As for the second point, I don't consciously try to reveal/explore character, but as my stories tend to be character-driven rather than plot/case-driven then it's something that I've probably already worked out in my head and is the point of writing the piece.
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Date: 2013-02-19 07:45 pm (UTC)I think I'd add one more item to 'reveal the character or advance the action', and that is 'set the scene' and make the reader experience it, because sometimes that's needed too. I give an example here of trying to do this from a drabble I wrote recently (and with drabble writing almost every *word* needs to move things on):
Three a.m. is the Devil's hour, the time when body and soul are at their lowest ebb, when death is most likely to occur. Danny wakes just after three, neck stiff and knee aching, and Steve's still with him. There's no noise except for a faint electronic hum and the soft, rhythmic hiss of the ventilator, and the lights are dim, augmented only by the green glow of the monitors. Danny shifts in his chair, grateful beyond words to be here, and wills Steve to live. If he can make it through the Devil's hour then he has a chance.
The line about the ventilator and monitors doesn't advance the action or reveal character, but I feel that it's necessary to put the characters and their situation in context (and I hope I succeeded with it). I don't think that just saying "Danny sat in a quiet and dark ICU" would have had the same power.
As for the second point, I don't consciously try to reveal/explore character, but as my stories tend to be character-driven rather than plot/case-driven then it's something that I've probably already worked out in my head and is the point of writing the piece.