Writing Character's Down Time

I'm with Sage. It sounds like you're doing exactly what you should be. The problem comes with downtime scenes that don't relate to the plot at all.

Edited to add: I realized you also asked a more open-ended question, so here goes. I try to get the balance by combining scenes when I revise. For example, in the first draft of my WIP, I had a scene where the MC was arguing with her friend about college applications (not relevant to the main plot at all, but something I still felt was important to show since she's a senior), and a scene where she does online research about something relating to the main plot (deathly boring). On revision I combined these scenes so she's clicking through web pages and finding plot relevant information while arguing with her friend. Conflict, relevance, and downtime all at once. (I hope.)

Pretty much every scene I start with contributes something, and sometimes it just needs to be blended with another to actually become useful.

It relates to the plot, and moves it forward. Sounds fine to me!

measure_in_love said:

Probably because my inner critic never shuts up! I guess in my head I think "coffee shop" won't keep a reader interested. I think another problem was I needed to know why they needed to connect instead of the sole purpose of her "helping him" and I think I did! I guess I thought the scene was too flat? Sometimes I don't know what goes through my brain haha.



Lenore, this is exactly how I think of scenes. If it shows something about a character and their personality, or their relationship with another important contributing character, then it's worth writing.

I would love to hear more about how people balance these out!

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You could always add some kind of non life-threatening problem? A social conflict of some sort to build the scene around. Maybe the friends of these two characters don't get along for whatever reason and expect them to take sides.

This could be fairly easy to do if the groups don't know each other. Something happens, conflict occurs, one of your characters notices the others' talisman and -- because they've got off on the wrong foot -- their getting to know each other is bumpy. I can imagine one making snide remarks and being shocked when the other brings up magic.

Or if they're opposite sexes/potential love interests it could be something like this. Let's call them A and B (B has the talisman). Someone there thinks B is hot. It could be A's friend or an annoying barista who's obviously got B in their sights. Conflict ensues, with A trying to talk to B to learn about the talisman -- does B know what it is? What does B know about the magical world? (since it's YA I'm guessing A has a lot of questions) Maybe A tries to do it slyly because A's not sure if B has a clue what the talisman can do, and being too forward might make A look crazy. Unfortunately, A has to deal with this "friend" (bonus points if s/he's been a nuisance for a while)/barista trying to sabotage the convo and pull B away/prevent A pulling B away for a private talk.

(If the talisman is out in the open, A might spot it. If it's hidden, A might feel magic in whatever way it appears in your world. Either way A has a reason to try to learn more.)

Anyway just because it's downtime doesn't mean you need to avoid conflict... centering the scene on non life-or-death conflicts can still raise enough tension (will A be able to pull B away from this increasingly vindictive person to get some answers?) to keep things from falling flat.

I see a lot of good ways to play with this scene.

ETA: Don't forget to make the coffee place itself interesting. It could be a special event, a barista smashing some glasses, or some lewd people that make the group uncomfortable... a good backdrop will add another layer of interest.

I agree with what others have said. Also, try to think of it this way: all good YA fantasy stories (and fantasy stories in general, and pretty much all stories) have two main aspects of the story:

- the fantasy side (or action, horror, scifi, or whatever else may be the case)
and
- the personal-life side (romance, friendships, relationship issues, "realistic" issues, self insecurities, personal development, etc.)

Think about Harry Potter: there's the aspect of Voldemort, the Triwizard Tournament, whatever crazy shit the professors are involved in, etc. but then there's also the "normal" things that every teenager could relate to (like Ron being stuck in the friend zone with Hermione and how it makes things awkward).

Without the fantasy aspect, the story wouldn't have its driving plot force, but without the personal aspect, it'd be boring.

Also, it's best when it's intertwined so that the personal-life part is the character's motivation, intrinsically, to make their way through the fantasy part. Think about the "Dark Materials" trilogy (if you haven't read it, read it!!) - she travels through a bunch of dimensions and basically destroys purgatory, and it would seem flat and corny if she had a black-and-white "save the world" motivation, but her motivation was initially just to save her friend who had been kidnapped.

So yeah - as others have said, the coffee shop thing DOES further the plot, just because it gets them to meet and that's enough...but you could also use it to develop the personal-life aspect of the plot too! Like use it as a moment to introduce a subplot, or some other new conflict that will play out character-wise.

Something else to consider is whether or not a character is an introvert. If they are, having time to be alone would be the time when they recharge from a trying day of interacting with others.

To me it depends first of the age of your characters, when and where they are. This establishes the possibilities for what the characters can be doing on a Friday night. Perhaps ask someone in the same age group as your characters. The talisman can fall out of a pocket or react to a portal or any number of circumstances can be used. Keeping the revelation within the context of their being together is the key. You may also want to consider if any other characters are aware of this exchange of information. Hope this sparks a few ideas.

measure_in_love said:

Probably because my inner critic never shuts up! I guess in my head I think "coffee shop" won't keep a reader interested.

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From your description, I wasn't thinking it would be a boring, throwaway scene... but maybe you need to include a glittering, juicy, magical cookie into the scene?? Something to get you EXCITED to write it... since it definitely suits the narrative and is essential to your plot, all you need is that extra oomph to get you going.

(The term 'magical cookie' is not mine, but shamelessly stolen from YA author Susan Dennard's blog: http://susandennard.com/2013/10/21/how-i-plan-a-book-part-4-coaxing-out-the-magical-cookies/)

I say tinker away at these scenes, write 'em out, and see if they work. Worst case, you can always get rid of it if you feel there's literally nothing to add. xD

Still, personally, I find downtime scenes, especially in fantasy, a really major part where you can really add live to the story. Sure, the cool, larger than life stuff is really awesome, but what's the point of awesome ideas without some cool, well-rounded characters who feel real?

I usually try to figure out the conflict of each scene, even if it's small, and build up to something. Worst case, I foreshadow things off-hand that play into the climax later on. There's always a point to a scene like that. You just need to figure out precisely what that is, and write around that.