This week, Alida, Robert, and Kathryn discuss what it takes to get a character from point A to point B in your story without boring your reader. Sometimes a traveling chapter is about covering actual distance through your setting, but more often it’s about mental traveling, getting your character and your reader to understand some piece of information important to your plot. Done poorly, a traveling chapter could look like little more than an info dump, with the character sitting, reading, talking…so how do we get that information before the reader without writing a dull scene?
VIDEO
AUDIO
SHOW NOTES
What is a traveling chapter? And why do all books, regardless of genre, have them? What can you do to amp up your traveling, and make it interesting and compelling to your reader?
What we talked about:
What is a traveling chapter? And why can it become a problem? (0:30)
How can you use the setting to enhance the traveling? (5:40)
Using sub-plots and sidekicks! (11:50)
Can you just jump-cut? (17:07)
What if you need the book space? (19:10)
Is it relevant? Is it advancing the story? Is it compelling? (21:00)
LINKS
Things we mentioned:
Braving the Boneyard by Judy K. Walker