So, I'm writing a novel. I've a plot, it has characters, twists, turns, story arcs, events, clues, murders etc etc. What I'm increasingly concerned about is how to link these elements. What is my charcter supposed to do in the quieter moments of the book? To speak in scientifically, I'm looking for the anti-matter of book writing. The less useful bits, the flow of time, the mortar to my bricks. How do I hold it all together? I don't want to give the reader too many puzzles, big events all in one continuous stream.... help!
I'd say that a smart way to hold a novel together is with description. Description, description, description! The more in depth you go into the plot, the clearer the image that has to be formed in the mind of the reader. Without describing every important detail that can be described, you will be left with a wall held together with mud. No matter how high or grand your plot may be, without descriptions to hold the world of the story together. It will easily be torn down. Develop the character, tell us what he or she is thinking, what is going on around them even if it is as unimportant as the feeling of coarse grains of sand crunching in their shoes. Bring together quality dialogue, character building and the highs and lows of the story, and you will keep the reader on edge and wanting more. Hope this helps! Oh, and if I may be so bold, please check out my post! I really want to develop my story!
I guess what you're asking about is what some people call the sequels. it's the low-action parts of the story where the mc reflects on the previous events and decide what to do next to achieve his goal. Google "scene and sequel" to read more on this, there are several good advice out there.
It sounds like you're talking about the big events that are mostly outside the character. I'd say that you fill in with the events that are closer to inside the character. He's not just questing for the HedgeTrimmer Of Destruction, he's struggling with the loss of his relationship with his girlfriend. Right before the Evil Landscapers knock him out he's arguing with her on the phone, and when he wakes up in the hospital he's sad that she didn't come to see him. While trapped in the quiet of the hospital, he reads the book that she wrote three years ago, the one that he never had "time to waste" reading before. He calls to apologize and to beg her to come to dinner the evening that he's due to be checked out. While he's dressing to leave the hospital he's thinking about her, about how life is short and love is important, about how if he doesn't want to look like a freak he really needs to get his whole head shaved to match the spot they shaved to stitch his scalp. And as he's tying his tie, he gets a call with a lead not only on the Hedgetrimmer Of Destruction, but the Drip Irrgation Of Persuasion, and he has to make a choice... You see what I mean. Maybe. To me, the inner events are the important ones and the big events have value largely to provide context and conflict for those inner events. ChickenFreak
There is no anti-matter in my stories. Everything in my stories, even a scene where a character does nothing, has a reason for being there, they are never "less useful". Don't underestimate the importance of the "quieter events" because they are the things which make the big events look BIG and IMPORTANT. At the risk of being cheesy I would say those small events are the calm before the storm, so, neglect them at your own peril.
