White Room Syndrome

White Room Syndrome.

I'll be honest: this is a relatively new writing term to enter my vocabulary, though when I Googled this idea blog posts came up from more than a decade ago. (Go figure.)

It makes perfect sense, though.

When a scene doesn't include enough description to paint a clear picture in the reader's mind, it's as if the character is standing in a white room--they could be anywhere (floating in space, for all we know). 

With White Room Syndrome there's some action occurring, but the text is mostly dialogue, with zero sense of place.

When we're writing, we have to remember that the reader doesn't know what we know. We might have a clear mental image of our story backdrop, but our reader doesn't. Not until we impart the details. 

So how can we avoid White Room Syndrome? 

Think about where the story is taking place. Think about the time period. Think about the mood you're trying to establish within the reader. 

Then, consider pulling the character out of the setting and freewriting a page of nothing but the physical details of the location. Once this is complete, try to merge the action into the setting, thinking about what your character is seeing and hearing as they act and react. 

When writing, try to use all of your senses. Describe what someone might see, smell, taste, hear, and feel in the scene.

For example, what does the sky smell like on a hot summer day? What does it sound like when you're walking through a forest in the early morning? What does it feel like when you're holding hands with someone you love?

(Here's more on description, and here's a strategy I like to use.)

One caveat: don't overdo it. The reader doesn't need to know every single detail, just what's important to the story. It only takes a few key facts to establish a sense of place and ground the reader. 

White Room Syndrome is something you will likely address in a later draft. When the words are flowing (the dialogue always arrives the quickest for me) just focus on getting them onto the page. You can come back later to flesh out your scenes and descriptions.  

But to avoid "White Room Syndrome," the reader needs to be able to visualize the setting. They need to have that sense of what it might feel like if they were there.

It's the fastest way to a lasting impression. 

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

The Half-Scene

Because summary can be incredibly important in presenting information that does not need its own scene (for instance, if the action came long before the scene taking place), but because it can also slow down the action and pacing (possibly encouraging the reader to skip it entirely), it can be helpful to integrate a "half-scene" into the summary within the main scene:

After my last fight with Sean—the morning of the day he died—I headed downstairs, putting as much physical distance between us as quickly as possible. I remember passing family portraits on my way down, a visual progression of the years growing between us. My lighter hair and glasses—until I got contacts. Sean’s darker features and broad shoulders—strong and confident. That stupid grin that got him whatever he wanted, even Claire.

Especially Claire.

“It’ll never work out!” he’d called after me. “You’re not her type!”

I ignored him, jogged into the kitchen, my new tennis shoes squeaking against the wood floors. My mom was at the counter, scrolling through something on her phone. The Keurig was hissing, the dishwasher running—whirring and clicking its way through the cycle.

It’s crazy the details I remember about that day.

I remember thinking, for instance, that the only way the dishwasher would be running in the morning was if Sean had forgotten to start it the night before—that it was so like him to be completely undependable. Not that anyone seemed to notice.

“What’s going on?” Mom asked.

“Nothing.” I grabbed two cherry breakfast bars from the pantry and a bottled water from the fridge.

In a few short hours, I would puke those bars up on the hospital lawn. After that, I would never eat one again. I wouldn’t even be able to look at them without feeling nauseous. 

This scene is a flashback that pulls us out of present day, but it doesn't only summarize the past--it mixes dialogue and action to add more drama. It is a scene within a scene. 

So if you're working on backstory and feel the paragraphs are getting too bogged down with simple summary, try to add some elements of scene: dialogue, descriptive action, etc. Paint a few of those specific images you're discussing for the reader.

Just remember to keep the point of view and tense consistent. The above example remains in Jesse's POV because I'm in his head at that moment in the story, but with this snippet of action I've pulled the narration from present tense (he says) to past (he said).

A few nice "action moments" can break up the monotony when information needs to be summarized, making the passage more memorable.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

Story Rhythms

The rhythm of your story (or the pacing) is built around your scene structure. 

The length (or how long or short your scenes are) is what drives the flow.

Scenes with more exposition and description, for instance, will slow down the story. Dialogue will always speed a scene up. 

A comedic scene will be shorter and more quickly paced than a dramatic scene, which tends to be longer and more drawn out. 

But whether you're writing comedy or drama, the scenes should get shorter as you progress toward the climax. This is when the intensity of the story will be at its greatest, where the pages (hopefully) start turning themselves.

Otherwise, there should be a nice mix of points in your novel where the speed picks up, then pulls back a little--action vs. reaction--an incline that slowly builds to that key moment where everything unravels.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

On Intellectual Curiosity

Curiosity begins with a question.

It is a writer's job to incite questions within the reader, and these questions begin with the inciting incident: what sets the story in motion.

How is this going to turn out?

This is the key question your reader will want answered by the time they set down your book.

But every scene should raise its own questions, as well, and it's this curiosity and concern for your characters that will encourage the reader to turn page after page to discover what will happen next.

These questions can be mystery or suspense-related. They can elicit anxiety, worry, fear, and even dread if the reader knows what awaits the character before the character knows himself. They can evoke anticipation or doubt until it's absolutely certain the two lovers will end up together. 

But an intellectual interest in your story is always rooted in curiosity, and curiosity is only as strong as the questions that are generated through the events your characters face. 

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~ 

How to Make a Scene Move

To make your scenes move:

*Think about everything that has happened to the character up until the moment the scene takes place.

*Imagine what is going to happen to them in future scenes. 

*Determine what the character wants at that moment.

*Identify what's at stake (overall) for the character.

*Figure out what's keeping them from getting what they want.

*Consider the actions they've taken and will take: what are they doing to get what they want?

*How are the other characters reacting to these behaviors?

*Infuse the information into your narrative. 

Keep in mind that not everything in your brainstorm will make it into your story, but it's still important to know what's going on between the lines. 

Think of storytelling as an iceberg: what peeks above the water (that the reader sees) is only a small percentage of what's actually there, and the author should *always* know what's happening beneath the surface.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

The Setup

Each scene should set up the scene that follows, and the following scene should set up the one after that. 

A clear cause and effect pattern should run throughout your narrative. That is, your characters should behave in ways that set a story in motion and keep it moving. 

If a scene *doesn't* react causally to the previous, then it should spark enough curiosity in the reader to compel them to keep turning pages. 

Otherwise, the main storyline should never be more than one scene away.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~  

Is This Scene Working? Four Questions from Robert McKee

From Robert McKee--

Four questions to ask about every scene in your story:

What does my character want at this moment?

Who is driving the scene and making things happen?

What is stopping the character from getting what she wants?

In every scene, readers are looking for something that builds to the final turning point (the climax). The more important the scene, the longer/more detailed it should be. 

In this scene, did I create change in the character's life?

If the answers to these four questions are clearly defined: Congrats! Your scene works. 

If there's some hesitation or confusion, nail down the responses to these questions and then work your way back through the scene, strengthening it where necessary. 

And finally, if you can't answer these questions at all, it's time for a scene overhaul.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

Five Reasons Your Scene Isn't Working

You've read the scene over and over, you know it's not working, but you can't quite figure out why.

What's going on?

Well, it could be that 1) nothing is happening. There's no action or any kind of exchange taking place. The content just drags the reader along without offering any kind of real story value.

It could be that things are happening but 2) there's no change. The characters aren't working toward a turning point or make any concessions, and the state of the world is the same at the end of the scene as it was in the beginning. In other words, the scene is "flat." 

Maybe the problem is that 3) the scene is an info dump of a character's thoughts/feelings or includes too much backstory (which naturally pulls readers away from the action).

Perhaps the content is okay, but 4) the rhythm is off. There are beats and turning points, but these don't appear in the best places--the scene is poorly structured.

Or maybe 5) the content is too predictable. The conversation and actions are full of cliches and there's nothing in the story to surprise the reader.

Every good scene will have a purpose as it relates to the overall plot. It will also contain its own mini-arc. Characters will actively do things and respond to things being done to them. Charges will change from positive to negative and back again, and *something* will be different by the end, whether it's the character's thoughts or feelings about something or a new decision that has been made that will lead us in some other direction.     

Scene problems require us to think critically about what's happening in a small section of text and how it fits into the overall story. It requires careful consideration about character interaction and who's driving the narrative as well as the ways in which the story world changes from moment to moment. 

If a scene isn't working, it's worth breaking the content down to its barest bones, determining its overall purpose, and pinpointing the problem so that it can be made better.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

On Simple Scenes

A simple scene will only have a very slight effect on the reader.

A sequence of more complex scenes (especially a series of scenes that build) will have a moderate effect on the reader.

A turning point, or a climax, should have a major effect on the reader.

(With a turning point, of course, the change is irreversible.)

(More insights from Robert McKee!)

Knowing this, think critically about every scene in your novel. Which scenes get the bulk of the attention and/or take up the most emotional/dramatic space within your story? 

If the scene is meant to be simple, keep it simple (and don't expect it to do something it isn't meant to do or try to turn it into something it isn't). 

Of course, it's also worth it, then, to determine how this simple scene affects the plot as a whole. If you were to delete the scene would its disappearance affect the story in a negative way? If the answer to this question is no, then odds are nothing of value is happening. In this case, consider removing it permanently or revising so that it carries more weight.

Even simple scenes should move the plot along, but keep them simple. That is, know which scenes should affect the reader most and give those the attention they deserve. 

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~

On Charges--Advice from Robert McKee

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I frequently retweet writing and storytelling advice from Robert McKee. Well, I had the opportunity to take two of his online seminars this spring (both of which I highly recommend), and one of my favorite takeaways from these sessions had to do with "charges."

Charges are positive and negative energies that inform your story.

What does this mean?

Typically, a story will begin with a problem that's solved by the end. 

This results in an overall negative to a positive charge. Or maybe things start out okay in the beginning, but quickly fall apart. This would lead to an overall positive to negative back to positive charge.

But every scene will have its own charges, too. Either things are good at the beginning of a scene and go south (from positive to negative), or things aren't working out but improve at least somewhat by the end (negative to positive).

We can also break this down further. Every interaction your character has--every conversation with another--will contain its own charges (or they should, at least). A relationship that's okay can improve after a discussion (positive to more positive), or a new understanding can be reached (negative to positive), or a fight could take place (positive to negative).

These are charges, and there are a variety of ways to format them:

negative to positive

positive to negative

negative to more negative

positive to more positive

negative to positive back to negative (or even a "lesser" negative)

positive to negative back to positive (even a "lesser" positive)

A scene featuring an angry girlfriend demanding to know where her boyfriend was the previous night who then accepts his apology is a movement from a negative charge to a positive.

A man who just left his girlfriend's house and stumbles upon an accident his best friend has been involved in is a quick positive to negative change.

A mom who asks about her kid's day and learns he got the lead role in the school play is a positive to more positive change.

You can see the dynamic and how when "things happen" the positive and negative correlation is what moves the story along and ultimately keeps us interested in it.

Again, I can't take credit for this idea--it's all Robert McKee--but this kind of analysis comes in handy if a scene or story isn't working because it's when the charges become stagnant that the plot is no longer moving in any compelling way.

(How boring would a story be if the charges were positive to more positive to more positive to more positive without anything negative ever setting the character back?)

So if you've written a scene that feels a bit boring, map out every charge that occurs. Look deeply at the actions and conversations that are taking place, and pay attention to the directions in which they shift. 

To keep the wave of energy flowing through a narrative, the charges should maintain a constant movement from positive to negative and back again. 

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~ 

On Silence

Sometimes what a writer doesn't say is as important as what he says.

Just like a musician will let a note hang suspended to create drama and tension in a piece, so can writers use this kind of lull to their advantage. 

Too much information, in fact, can detract from a scene and slow down the pacing of a story to a detrimental degree. 

The antidote to this? 

Silence.

Silence is what ignites the reader's imagination, allowing them to take your story and fill in the empty spaces.

There isn't enough room to cover everything, so it comes down to what needs to be real within the scene and what can be implied. 

Sometimes less really is more.

Be Brilliant!

~Katie~