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Monday, October 26, 2015
29 things a character might do at the end of a scene rather than faint (with affection, for Arkady Martine)
This will make very little sense to most readers, but sometimes it's good to review how a scene can end. While I was stuck in the doctor's office, I came up with as many ways to end a scene as I could before they came for my blood pressure.
1. They are rendered unconscious by deliberate usage of an ironing board
2. Their pings to the server drop and they disconnect from the cyberpunk dystopia
3. Being a ghost, their visible form loses its connection with our corporeal plane
4. Being a corporeal person, their astral presence loses its connection to the higher (or lower) plane
5. They resolve a personal and/or plot goal, making both them and the reader a little more satisfied in their journey through this book
6. They have to exit to prepare for an attempt at resolving a personal and/or plot goal
7. They are about to resolve a personal and/or plot goal, but are interrupted by villains (bonus: they can resolve this wrinkle in the climax of a later scene)
8. They discover their love in the arms of another and must leave, lest they are indiscreet
9. They discover their love in the arms of another and join in the poly fun (fade to black ending for modesty)
10. The torrid sex comes to a climax
11. They pretend to pass out in order to avoid a conflict
12. They turn around, and their companion has vanished! A cursory search does not reveal the companion's location, requiring investment in a new scene
13. They are consensually teleported to another location (bonus: the setting of the next scene)
14. They are non-consensually teleported to another location (bonus: the setting of the next scene; bonus ii: conflict!)
15. They catch their sidekick, who has just fainted
16. The family of slime molds tells them the coast is clear, and they should get some rest; the drama seems over for now
17. There's a knock at the door, and they are distracted and tell the party to enter, only for the party to be someone of such awkwardness for the protagonist that they themselves are rendered most comfortable by leaving (bonus: social cowardice that they can overcome in resolving a climax to a later scene)
18. They spend the scene in transit, and arrive at their destination too early; they must stop and wait
19. They conclude a revelatory dialogue that is not at all cryptic or annoying, and does not leave the reader yelling at the book that two more sentences would have explained this whole thing
20. They are interrupted by an invitation from a mysterious party to have an interlude that is not meant for sensitive ears
21. They just barely fly the ship through the asteroid field, escaping and leaving the enemy fleet behind
22. They are abruptly pursued by a bear (bonus: several scenes end in abrupt bear chases until resolving the bear subplot is the end of its own scene)
23. The guy who could solve all of this and seemed like a would-be hero is publicly executed (bonus: you get a seven-book series of scenes out of this)
24. Their seemingly unbreakable sword is shattered, and they are impaled to death (problem: POV switch probably necessary in following scene?)
25. They arrive with the wrong wine and have to return to the vineyard through the moonless night
26. They upload their mind to the mainframe of the space shuttle, making a scene-break tonally appropriate for the shift in perception
27. Their schizophrenic episode reaches a close
28. The surreal world-warping event reaches a close
29. They jump to moon to avoid talking to their aunt (bonus: next scene gets to open with an explanation on how the hell they can do that)
If you're wondering, my blood pressure was below normal.
I was wondering about your blood pressure. Commonly below normal or just on this occasion?
ReplyDeleteSome of those endings are intrigueing. And some v dark.
I'm normally at normal BP, but it's nothing to fear for this occasion. Perhaps in the climax of a later scene.
DeleteThose are good! I'm all for teleporting.
ReplyDeleteIs below normal good?
I love these! Exit stage left, pursued by bear.
ReplyDeleteHolding a spear with shaky hands.
Delete