I have trouble writing it when a character enters a room, and is supposed to delay before noticing something (like another person). You know, Mary enters the dining room, and she doesn't immediately notice her ex-husband there among the other diners. I can never make it plausible that she wouldn't notice right away. (Need to put things in the way-- distractions, etc.)
Also I have trouble with getting the character to do something minor while something else more important is happening. Like I had a character coming out of a store, and she's thinking about the interaction, and carrying the object she bought. And then, you know, two lines later she's parking the car. Ooops! She has to get in the car, but really, that's not important enough to have the actions narrated and I don't want to give it too much focus.
I flipped it over to see the little key. Slowly I walked out, turning the box this way and that. Something metallic rattled inside, but I waited until I was in a safer area before I pulled over into a McDonald's parking lot and unlocked the box.
Here's what I did, hoping to sneak it in there.
I flipped it over to see the little key. Slowly I walked out to my car, turning the box this way and that. Something metallic rattled inside, but I waited until I was in a safer area before I pulled over into a McDonald's parking lot and unlocked the box.
Anyway, what's hard for you? What's a difficult sort of little narrative task for you, and how have you done it?
Alicia
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