by Aaron Gansky @adgansky

When an idea for a novel pops into our minds, the first thing we like to do is flesh out a few major plot points, which is fine. But, it can become a problem when we race our characters from one place to the next simply because that’s where the outline demands they go.

You’ve read a novel like this, and chances are good that you can name it off the top of your head. You can recognize it because the story is jumpy. It spends about eighty percent of the time telling, and twenty percent showing, if they even get that far.

Forgettable Stories

Generally, the “showing” sections are restricted to clichés. Even the characters feel contrived. Why? Because we’ve got a darn good story, and we’re eager to get from one place to the next. We’re convinced that the plot is strong enough to stand on it’s own. For commercial fiction, this may be the case. But these novels are seldom the ones that last. Very few become something greater than the sum of their parts. They do not endure in the market or our minds. A cool plot point is only cool for a minute.

The heart of the fiction really exists between point A and point B.

Keep your plot points. Just remember there is a journey between each. Don’t cheat your reader out of these important aspects of the story.

It is important to note, however, that this can easily be misunderstood. Alfred Hitchcock maintained that a good story was, “life, with all the dull parts taken out.” And aren’t the parts between major plot points dull?

No.

At least, they shouldn’t be.

If they are, it’s likely because we’re in too big of a rush to get our characters from point to point. We forget to discover the journey, to find the excitement in things that may otherwise seem mundane.

Slow the Journey Down

A gifted writer can take the dull parts and make them exciting. A lazy writer skips important chances to develop character and setting in a mad dash to finish what ends up being little more than a stiff outline of a story. Sure, a body might be able to function without skin (at least for a bit), but it’s pretty freaky to look at.

In your story, remember to slow the journey down. Put the skin on your characters, the plaster on the buildings of their cities. Give them fingernails and toenails. Heck, give them obnoxious nose hair. These are the details that persist long after the last page is read.

Don’t Get Stuck In Your Outline

I don’t mean to imply that you can’t write from an outline. I know several writers who do so and are very good at it. Just ensure that you’re fully realizing the outline, and give your characters license to deviate from the plan as necessary. Without that freedom, readers will never experience the minutiae of the paramount moments that are essential to an enduring story.

What’s one detail from your current story that you would have left out if you’d rushed from point A to point B? We’d love to hear from you in the comments!

In addition to being a loving father and husband, Aaron Gansky is an award-winning novelist and author, teacher, and podcast host. In 2009, he earned his M.F.A in Fiction at the prestigious Antioch University of Los Angeles, one of the top five low-residency writing schools in the nation. Prior to that, he attained his Bachelor of Arts degree in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing from California State University of San Bernardino.

He lives in quiet little town in the high desert of southern California with his family.