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Uncle Orson's Writing Class
Thought vs. Action
April 19, 2002
Question:
Chapter 5 of Shadow of the Hegemon had an extensive scene with
Peter in the library, and it was all his thoughts, and there was no action. It was all
in his mind. But I loved the chapter. It was the best chapter so far in the book,
because Peter's POV was so enjoyable and interesting to stay in, and the story was
told all in his thoughts. How do you do that without boring people, becoming
stale, etc. I was warned once, never have your characters sitting around thinking
and solving problems. Have them solve problems through action. That sounds
like 'sound' advice, but Chapter 5 with Peter definitely shows how you can have
almost an entire chapter of a person's thoughts as he sits at a desk in a library, and
you succeed in capturing not only my attention but I enjoyed it. Is this one of
those skills that you were born with, and I shouldn't even try, or can it be learned?
-- Jason F. Smith
OSC Replies:
Thought is action, if in the process you see someone learn something,
change his mind, discover new motives for his or others' actions, etc. If the reader
(and/or the character) has important questions and realizes the answer in an
interesting way, that is action. Whereas a chase scene where you don't know or
care who is chasing whom or what will happen if they do or don't catch them is
not action. It's just motion.
-- 19 April 2001
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