Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

Concurrency

Concurrent Dialogue, Backstory and Conflict Exposition

As I read the application for submitting Andromache to the contest I noted that the submission date was not until May 1. Oh well, I guess it pays to read the small print… not something that has ever been my long suit.

As I've mentioned before, my experience is better suited to sequential development of written material than concurrent. What this means is that when I get to writing backstory that is what I write; if it is descriptive exposition, that is what I write; and if it is dialogue, that is what I write. The template approach I am using to write the second draft of Essence and the Stones, (E&S) uses a more concurrent approach. This requires that I break up the three and try and work and blend them together.
For example, Lilith says something, there is some backstory related to her words that explains the story world while at the same time advancing the action. This is something that is totally new to my writing modus operendi and something I’m struggling to master. If I can, it will give a new dimension to my writing. Clearly such an approach is preferable to the sequential technique I currently use.

It also set me back on completing chapter 3 as I’m doing a whole lot more rewriting than anticipated.
One of my students sent an e-mail with a question… It is always a challenge to tell a good writer enough but not too much. There is always the temptation to tell to the point of doing rather than saying where to look. I am intrigued by his project and interested to see where he goes with it.

If I am going to finish chapter 3 today I need to get back on it. Concurrently writing dialogue, backstory, and conflict exposition is something that aspiring writers need to think more about. I don’t recall ever reading where you are supposed to do that. Maybe it is so self-evident that writing books don’t see the point in devoting much time to it. However, as I reflect that is exactly how some of the better manuscripts I've read were put together.