I try to make 'info dump' interesting with dialogue as much as possible. Newspaper articles, news cast, letters or journal entries can be fun too as long as they're not too cliché.
Nice... I'm always hesitant to go the "news article route" when it comes to info dumps. Some authors can totally pull it off (Stephen King's "Carrie" comes to mind), but I worry about disrupting the impressiveness of my story world by jumping in and out of the main action like that.
I've learned of a way to make info dump interesting from real life experience: correcting someone who should know better. I used to work for a rubbish company and I had to constantly correct a guy in managerial position about correct terminology and industry standards. Now instead of writing a "as you know" scene, I try to write "as you should know": have one character being sloppy, imprecise or ignorant about information he should know and be corrected by another one.
I once disguised infodump as part of the lecture - my character was in high school, something was bound to happen during one lesson anyway. So I chose history lesson to be interrupted - and give some information and context to world around :)
If I write a transportation scene, I either just skip past it quickly, or add dialogue. That can be either infodumping or those smaller character interactions that inform the reader of their relationship. Or add an external threat if the area is supposed to be dangerous, so I can show that rather than tell. Or on the reverse, I always try to avoid white room dialogue. There should always be something happening during the conversation, even if it’s as simple as having a meal.
Often when an author gives a list of points/options like this I think "please just give me the list and don't make me watch the video". Even though I have used every one of these methods I still found this held my attention. The examples given have broadened my understanding of how much more I could be doing, how much more variety I could bring to the techniques. AND... it's 8 minutes long, instead of 25 to 35. I get the feeling that Brandon has thought about and planned what he wants to say. So much more useful than sitting in from of the camera and rambling, so that he can luxuriate in his own cleverness like many (lesser) authors. Thanks for this, the extra effort is appreciated.
Put them in a different situation. I had a couple discussing their very different ideas about their coming wedding. Originally i planned it to take place in a bar or a coffee shop. I changed it to home and the female character was busy painting her toenails. The whole dynamic changed.
I really liked that idea of starting the scene as late as possible. I think that's a great way of thinking about how to keep the pace of the story from dragging. It's something I struggle with because I find myself putting in too much narration in order to set the scene.
I’m new to writing so this isn’t exactly an expert opinion but there are three things that generally help me feel better about slower scenes. (Stole this from lit fic authors I like) 1. One thing is not one thing. Whether it’s a feeling or an action, it can be more than it is on the surface. Feelings are not simple, and introducing the small nuances a character might feel makes the scene feel less cut and dry for me. The same with actions or small details, which can be descriptive, but can also be read as thematic glimmers. 2. Explicit foreshadowing I like doing this for small things that might feel unimportant, noting that this unimportant thing is something a character will miss or the last time they would feel that for a while. I wouldn’t give it to much attention, and it only works once or twice without feeling too contrived. It helps give some weight to the little things tho. 3. I forgot 😎
Awesome! Thank you so much this helps immensely. I’ve never had a video specifically made off of a question of mine. This is so cool. It really shows how much you care to help us beginner writers succeed. Once again thank you.
Seeing the first nine tips and I'm like, "Wow, I better incorporate plenty of those into my scenes" and then you get to 10 and I realize "No wait, many of my quiet or slow scenes tend have unexpected feats of humour or action." E.g. In one of my books, there are just a couple of friends playing video games, nothing much going on. Until, one character falls a sleep and another notes how adorable that was until proceeding to drench her with a glass of water. She springs up and yells in her home language like she'd received a wake up call from her dad.
one way to info dump is to, as McKee says have two characters use "exposition as ammunition"--like Brandon says, have dialogue that attacks and defends, but giving info dump stuff as well
I use the anagram to keep readers guessing, 'fork in the road.' A beneficial outcome, or utter peril. If not, a question from a character from common action they do seen seamless, they then state something; introducing mystery. If I do info dump, I'd either foreshadow or change my tense to decrease dialogue to prevent the awkward conversation, resulting in melodramatic moments.
I like the trick used in the anime The Slayers. Anytime they have to explain anything about the world that is supposed to be common knowledge, they have the character that was already presented as not knowing anything about these things ask about it. Lina, the short tempered protagonists, get mad at him and then gives him the info dump.
I recently found your channel. Love all your videos, but this one has been extremely helpful. I'm writing a children's chapter book, and although I like my characters, many necessary boring scenes have come up that make me want to abandon the entire idea. I use humor (#10) most often because it suits the tone of the story, but I think your ideas will add variety and make the writing process more fun.
When it comes spicing up scenes, I have always found that peppering the reader with salty language to be sage advice. Nothing else seems to cut the mustard.
Delivering exposition is tricky, but I think my favorite advice in general is to have the exposition delivered to someone who has an emotional reaction to the exposition or to have the exposition be a secret that the Pov character tries to keep from someone because they know it will be bad if he/she finds out
Spice up boring by having someone say or do something totally unexpected (or offensive) to another character, but it's still in sync with character's 1 personality and is only now being revealed. Or maybe it isn't, so the question is why the change? BTW, women with a fair compexion know that UV rays are still harmful on cloudy days and will put on the sunscreen before going out. 😉
Some of these are great tips I'll keep in mind, and what I might add is I try to approach a series of scenes or a “scene” into what type it is, what it should be following (reactive/proactive) and try to go from there. Not all scenes fall into those two categories (as some function as transitions), but it's helpful to note what they are. (Sorry for three comments :) I felt like binging with head scratches like these)
Your comment about injecting humour, action or tension into a scene makes me think so much of Jonathan Creek - so many scenes that were essentially revealing clues and information, or even analysing the information, are spiced up with humour, action or tension - sometimes to the extent that what would otherwise be a simple "analysing the clues" scene gets spiced up to the point that it moves the plot along, or becomes one of the most memorable scenes in a given episode!
I've used most of these in one way or another and I agree that they work well to spice up a scene. I generally break up info dumps and try to insert it organically along the story, though that requires more from the audience (both patience and faith that they'll put it all together).
Every time James Bond gets a briefing, something else is going on too. Q complains that Bond always trashes the equipment and asks him to finally bring it back in one piece, Bond tests a gadget (like in _Moonraker_ he shot a dart into a fine painting), Bond gets cussed out (like in _Never Say Never Again_ where Bond's boss is openly scornful when Bond asks if Petachi could have used a false eye to defeat the biometric security).
I love adding visual humor to a text scene. I write things almost like a cartoon: eyes growing to 3 times their size, jaw dropping to the floor, angry character causing the others to shrink, you name it.
I find that sometimes you can have a character see something on Social media. Not something stupid or weird, but a legitimate news blurb. I have one that talks about how there are too many wolves loose in a given area and authorities are concerned. Then, later, a wolf digs up a body that the main character was forced to bury (after he was forced to kill him). Another thing I like to do is give the main character an opportunity to eavesdrop, sometimes on a person who seemingly little to no connection to the story, but perhaps it can be a a funny conversation that person is having - which may be a one-sided conversation as is working with earbuds in his ear or it might actually contain a bit of thematic relevance or somehow give the character an idea....
Great as always ❤️🔥!! Would you mind making a video on how to write a character who is going mad/insane throughout the course of the story?? Like how to execute change of emotions or actions that the character never wouldve done, but now is doing, and written in a convincing way.
Sure, so you're looking for a "How to Write Characters Who Descend Into Madness" video? What specifically would you like to learn from it? Also, can you name any particular stories that come to mind? (For instance, I just wanted Black Swan, which is about a dancer suffering from psychosis)
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Not so much a psychosis breakdown, more like an ancient Deity is consuming and bending/warping the characters mind. Something like a Lovecraftian Madness, or Jack T from The Shinning. Something along those lines, but with a fantasy setting to it. I see how its done through other books/movies/shows, but having a hard time implementing it in my story. So in all, I would like to learn how to make a character Descend into madness but not be too distracting from the overall plot.
@@PuppetMaster-Blade Gotcha... If you think of any other similar character/story examples, let me know. That'll help me focus the video better. Jack Torrence makes sense to me.
My favorite way to fix a bad scene is to add something that readers weren't expecting to see, whether that be the overall outcome, or an appearance of a character that nobody expected to see in the book again.
8:19: Gettting rid of mistakes and adding stuff in, Eg, Dialouge, slimes, subtext. Speaking about Subtext, have you got a video about it? I really want to know as much as I can about it. Thank you?
Depends on the story, but sometimes I like to change whatever is happening so if two characters are talking, I’ll have a third character run in with a panic and tell them that something happened and they need to come quickly, or if it’s an action story, I’ll either have a loud bang or an explosion or send bullets flying right away, but it depends on the story because certain stories have certain rules that make them believable.
Brandon, I think you have enough material now to write your own book about writing. Stick to the eight minute style . I’ve watched your tutorials multiple times, and, I think all of them😅 at this point i have watched multiple times. I think it would be a gift to your readers. CDG😊
I currently have 2 character sitting in a spaceship and the only thing they can do is wait until they arrive at their destination. I need to drag things out, because at their destination other things are happening and I can't have them already be there. So, what I did is insert humor, a little bit of bickering, then some revelations to one of the characters so the other can react accordingly. And then later when I think that all has been said and not dragged out too much, it's time to get to the action/dilemma.
Mine too. Whenever I find a boring spot, I always ask myself if there's some kind of "on screen" I can include, even if it's just a character bumping into something
Internal Convlict and Dialog, are my gotos when it comes to spycing up boring scenes. But I like the waether idea, I need to try that for my next exposition dumb.^^
I use the ‘Game of Thrones’ model: If a scene is too boring, re-write it so the characters are having sex at the same time. Nothing improves 60 pages of expository conversation like having a huge leather-fursuit-high-school-lesbian orgy going on at the same time.
I think a good example is Star Trek from 2009. The scene where Kirk realizes they are headed into a trap because the same anomaly happened on the day of his birth when they were attacked by Romulans. They had him do this whilst being vaccinated and having a bad reaction to the vaccine and Bones chasing him saying they have to keep his heart rate down. Solid way to make an info dump scene work very well.
I thought you were going to say that the boring movie scene should be from the perspective of the screenwriter whose watching it with them, and is really worried that they seem to be bored by it.
The second half of my books Chapter 1 was so boring, it caused me to rearange the events of the book, so I wouldn't have to have another boring chapter right after. This then lead to a snowball, where I realized entire chapters were unnecessary, and only slowed the story, causing me to cut them, and rearange the story so it flowed way better. I started with 20 chapters, and now have 15. As much as I liked the events I cut, they didn't add anything, and just made everything worse. Chapter 2 starts a bit boring, so I put a dream sequence at the beginning, to remind the reader of the MCs goal, along with showing them something neat, which Chapter 2 and maybe 3 focus on.
point 5 seems very godlike, like I'm a god and I will change the weather because I can, not saying that it is a bad idea, I just find it fun how much it makes the author feel like a god
Was fully waiting for you to hold up both hands by tip number 6. Was highly disappointed until you got to tip number 10. Just another reason to watch all the way to the end, people.
One thing you never discussed is WHY you would have a "boring scene." That sounds like a scene that should be cut to me, but you must mean there is something important in the scene, yet it's slow-paced or otherwise ordinary (like transportation). Can someone elaborate on why you would keep a "boring scene?" Is it because it's good to mix up your pacing? Other reasons?
I try to make 'info dump' interesting with dialogue as much as possible. Newspaper articles, news cast, letters or journal entries can be fun too as long as they're not too cliché.
Nice... I'm always hesitant to go the "news article route" when it comes to info dumps. Some authors can totally pull it off (Stephen King's "Carrie" comes to mind), but I worry about disrupting the impressiveness of my story world by jumping in and out of the main action like that.
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty not to mention the challenge of switching your voice from author-like prose to professional reporter!
I've learned of a way to make info dump interesting from real life experience: correcting someone who should know better. I used to work for a rubbish company and I had to constantly correct a guy in managerial position about correct terminology and industry standards. Now instead of writing a "as you know" scene, I try to write "as you should know": have one character being sloppy, imprecise or ignorant about information he should know and be corrected by another one.
@@ludovico6890 That's actually brilliant!
I once disguised infodump as part of the lecture - my character was in high school, something was bound to happen during one lesson anyway. So I chose history lesson to be interrupted - and give some information and context to world around :)
Your last tip, injecting humor, romance or action, is actually my favorite one.
Thanks--it's my go-to as well
Same, I always try to add humor to my info dump scenes
Agreed!
If I write a transportation scene, I either just skip past it quickly, or add dialogue. That can be either infodumping or those smaller character interactions that inform the reader of their relationship. Or add an external threat if the area is supposed to be dangerous, so I can show that rather than tell.
Or on the reverse, I always try to avoid white room dialogue. There should always be something happening during the conversation, even if it’s as simple as having a meal.
The star wars example is awesome. I literally didn't even recognize they were doing that, which really shows how well done it was.
Often when an author gives a list of points/options like this I think "please just give me the list and don't make me watch the video". Even though I have used every one of these methods I still found this held my attention. The examples given have broadened my understanding of how much more I could be doing, how much more variety I could bring to the techniques.
AND... it's 8 minutes long, instead of 25 to 35. I get the feeling that Brandon has thought about and planned what he wants to say. So much more useful than sitting in from of the camera and rambling, so that he can luxuriate in his own cleverness like many (lesser) authors. Thanks for this, the extra effort is appreciated.
Put them in a different situation. I had a couple discussing their very different ideas about their coming wedding. Originally i planned it to take place in a bar or a coffee shop. I changed it to home and the female character was busy painting her toenails. The whole dynamic changed.
I was just thinking over how to spice up my boring transportation scene, this is uncanny! Thank you, those are some great tips
Awesome, best of luck with your revisions!
How did you go with the transport scene and what techniques worked for you?
I really liked that idea of starting the scene as late as possible. I think that's a great way of thinking about how to keep the pace of the story from dragging. It's something I struggle with because I find myself putting in too much narration in order to set the scene.
I’m new to writing so this isn’t exactly an expert opinion but there are three things that generally help me feel better about slower scenes.
(Stole this from lit fic authors I like)
1. One thing is not one thing.
Whether it’s a feeling or an action, it can be more than it is on the surface. Feelings are not simple, and introducing the small nuances a character might feel makes the scene feel less cut and dry for me.
The same with actions or small details, which can be descriptive, but can also be read as thematic glimmers.
2. Explicit foreshadowing
I like doing this for small things that might feel unimportant, noting that this unimportant thing is something a character will miss or the last time they would feel that for a while.
I wouldn’t give it to much attention, and it only works once or twice without feeling too contrived. It helps give some weight to the little things tho.
3. I forgot 😎
Thanks for sharing!
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty And thank you for the video! Learning a lot running through your videos, appreciate it a bunch
Awesome! Thank you so much this helps immensely. I’ve never had a video specifically made off of a question of mine. This is so cool. It really shows how much you care to help us beginner writers succeed. Once again thank you.
Thanks for the request! This video was super easy to make and edit, so I was more than thrilled to help
Seeing the first nine tips and I'm like, "Wow, I better incorporate plenty of those into my scenes" and then you get to 10 and I realize "No wait, many of my quiet or slow scenes tend have unexpected feats of humour or action."
E.g. In one of my books, there are just a couple of friends playing video games, nothing much going on. Until, one character falls a sleep and another notes how adorable that was until proceeding to drench her with a glass of water. She springs up and yells in her home language like she'd received a wake up call from her dad.
Don’t be afraid to include more than one of these tips in a scene. Humor is great, but if you can make the scene more dynamic, even better
This is a great list. I particularly like the advice on switching to a different character's pov whose perspective is more engaging.
Glad it was helpful!
I love these videos. Very quick, but effective and simply straight to the point
Thank you! This was one of my favorite "earlier" videos. I miss those days haha
one way to info dump is to, as McKee says have two characters use "exposition as ammunition"--like Brandon says, have dialogue that attacks and defends, but giving info dump stuff as well
I think Quentin Tarantino said you can always make a boring scene better by having someone bust into the scene with a gun pointed at the characters.🤣
I use the anagram to keep readers guessing, 'fork in the road.' A beneficial outcome, or utter peril. If not, a question from a character from common action they do seen seamless, they then state something; introducing mystery.
If I do info dump, I'd either foreshadow or change my tense to decrease dialogue to prevent the awkward conversation, resulting in melodramatic moments.
Good tips--and just this morning I was guilty of writing an "info dump convo." Gotta go back and fix it. Thanks for the reminder!
I like the trick used in the anime The Slayers. Anytime they have to explain anything about the world that is supposed to be common knowledge, they have the character that was already presented as not knowing anything about these things ask about it. Lina, the short tempered protagonists, get mad at him and then gives him the info dump.
It's easy to spice up a boring scene; just add a giant mechanical spider. It worked wonders in Wild Wild West.
I recently found your channel. Love all your videos, but this one has been extremely helpful. I'm writing a children's chapter book, and although I like my characters, many necessary boring scenes have come up that make me want to abandon the entire idea. I use humor (#10) most often because it suits the tone of the story, but I think your ideas will add variety and make the writing process more fun.
Awesome, glad to hear the channel's helping. Best of luck with your book!
That bit about who has the most to lose is great... you could even use that to choose a central character
When it comes spicing up scenes, I have always found that peppering the reader with salty language to be sage advice. Nothing else seems to cut the mustard.
Delivering exposition is tricky, but I think my favorite advice in general is to have the exposition delivered to someone who has an emotional reaction to the exposition or to have the exposition be a secret that the Pov character tries to keep from someone because they know it will be bad if he/she finds out
Spice up boring by having someone say or do something totally unexpected (or offensive) to another character, but it's still in sync with character's 1 personality and is only now being revealed. Or maybe it isn't, so the question is why the change?
BTW, women with a fair compexion know that UV rays are still harmful on cloudy days and will put on the sunscreen before going out. 😉
Some of these are great tips I'll keep in mind, and what I might add is I try to approach a series of scenes or a “scene” into what type it is, what it should be following (reactive/proactive) and try to go from there. Not all scenes fall into those two categories (as some function as transitions), but it's helpful to note what they are. (Sorry for three comments :) I felt like binging with head scratches like these)
Haha no worries! Thanks for watching
Your comment about injecting humour, action or tension into a scene makes me think so much of Jonathan Creek - so many scenes that were essentially revealing clues and information, or even analysing the information, are spiced up with humour, action or tension - sometimes to the extent that what would otherwise be a simple "analysing the clues" scene gets spiced up to the point that it moves the plot along, or becomes one of the most memorable scenes in a given episode!
I've used most of these in one way or another and I agree that they work well to spice up a scene. I generally break up info dumps and try to insert it organically along the story, though that requires more from the audience (both patience and faith that they'll put it all together).
Every time James Bond gets a briefing, something else is going on too. Q complains that Bond always trashes the equipment and asks him to finally bring it back in one piece, Bond tests a gadget (like in _Moonraker_ he shot a dart into a fine painting), Bond gets cussed out (like in _Never Say Never Again_ where Bond's boss is openly scornful when Bond asks if Petachi could have used a false eye to defeat the biometric security).
I love adding visual humor to a text scene. I write things almost like a cartoon: eyes growing to 3 times their size, jaw dropping to the floor, angry character causing the others to shrink, you name it.
Great video. Working on a new draft and will apply some of these for sure
Awesome, thanks for watching
I like the way they describe Chaos Theory in Jurassic Park by making it a flirtatious moment between Dr. Malcom and Dr. Sattler
Awesome expert content. Thank you. We all have those chapters and your list of suggestions should remedy.
Glad it was helpful! Best of luck with your revisions
I'm on the 2nd draft of my first book and your tips have been really helpful. I think I'm going to DL one of your books. Thanks for the content!
I find that sometimes you can have a character see something on Social media. Not something stupid or weird, but a legitimate news blurb. I have one that talks about how there are too many wolves loose in a given area and authorities are concerned. Then, later, a wolf digs up a body that the main character was forced to bury (after he was forced to kill him). Another thing I like to do is give the main character an opportunity to eavesdrop, sometimes on a person who seemingly little to no connection to the story, but perhaps it can be a a funny conversation that person is having - which may be a one-sided conversation as is working with earbuds in his ear or it might actually contain a bit of thematic relevance or somehow give the character an idea....
Great as always ❤️🔥!!
Would you mind making a video on how to write a character who is going mad/insane throughout the course of the story?? Like how to execute change of emotions or actions that the character never wouldve done, but now is doing, and written in a convincing way.
Sure, so you're looking for a "How to Write Characters Who Descend Into Madness" video? What specifically would you like to learn from it? Also, can you name any particular stories that come to mind? (For instance, I just wanted Black Swan, which is about a dancer suffering from psychosis)
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Not so much a psychosis breakdown, more like an ancient Deity is consuming and bending/warping the characters mind. Something like a Lovecraftian Madness, or Jack T from The Shinning. Something along those lines, but with a fantasy setting to it.
I see how its done through other books/movies/shows, but having a hard time implementing it in my story.
So in all, I would like to learn how to make a character Descend into madness but not be too distracting from the overall plot.
@@PuppetMaster-Blade Gotcha... If you think of any other similar character/story examples, let me know. That'll help me focus the video better. Jack Torrence makes sense to me.
Oh my gosh, this was just the info I needed. Awesome. I will watch this one ☝🏼 often.
What's your favorite way to fix a bad scene? Let us know!
Yeah, being specific about the people involved (especially if they are a threat) always helps
My favorite way to fix a bad scene is to add something that readers weren't expecting to see, whether that be the overall outcome, or an appearance of a character that nobody expected to see in the book again.
@@SyroNagashi Surprise character reveals/returns are great, especially in a series
@TheStinkyPoopooHeadz Hahah why not hit all 3!
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty Good thing I'm writing a series.
I absolutely LOVE your channel. Thank you!
Thrilled to hear it. Thanks!
Helpful, thank you
Thanks for watching!
I like to up my style a bit to make the writing more clever during low key moments.
Tip #1 is my favorite.
8:19: Gettting rid of mistakes and adding stuff in, Eg, Dialouge, slimes, subtext.
Speaking about Subtext, have you got a video about it? I really want to know as much as I can about it. Thank you?
Thinking about how you can characterize your character further more from that seen.
Awesome. Best of luck
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty thx
Depends on the story, but sometimes I like to change whatever is happening so if two characters are talking, I’ll have a third character run in with a panic and tell them that something happened and they need to come quickly, or if it’s an action story, I’ll either have a loud bang or an explosion or send bullets flying right away, but it depends on the story because certain stories have certain rules that make them believable.
Brandon, I think you have enough material now to write your own book about writing. Stick to the eight minute style . I’ve watched your tutorials multiple times, and, I think all of them😅 at this point i have watched multiple times. I think it would be a gift to your readers.
CDG😊
Thank youbdo I've just banged all your videos I love your energy and the way you talk thank you so much for all the aevice
Glad you like them! Thanks for watching and best of luck with your writing!
When I feel that a scene getting to boring I would sometimes try and suddenly add a combat scene. Though I could use some advice with that
I currently have 2 character sitting in a spaceship and the only thing they can do is wait until they arrive at their destination. I need to drag things out, because at their destination other things are happening and I can't have them already be there.
So, what I did is insert humor, a little bit of bickering, then some revelations to one of the characters so the other can react accordingly. And then later when I think that all has been said and not dragged out too much, it's time to get to the action/dilemma.
Nice video! My favorite way to fix a bad scene would have to be #10.
Mine too. Whenever I find a boring spot, I always ask myself if there's some kind of "on screen" I can include, even if it's just a character bumping into something
Internal Convlict and Dialog, are my gotos when it comes to spycing up boring scenes. But I like the waether idea, I need to try that for my next exposition dumb.^^
I ❤️ your videos Brandon, thank you so much! Just purchased Bad Parts :-)
Glad you like them! And thanks so much for buying BP! Hope you enjoy it, and please leave a review when you finish
@@WriterBrandonMcNulty left my review and bought a copy for my daughter :-)
@@goodkarmawithkarmamarie1764 Thanks again (got your email btw!)
I use the ‘Game of Thrones’ model: If a scene is too boring, re-write it so the characters are having sex at the same time. Nothing improves 60 pages of expository conversation like having a huge leather-fursuit-high-school-lesbian orgy going on at the same time.
Good ideas,
a driver casually telling me said building is where the cannibal live is a cause for concern 😭
Can you make A video on how express your characters death please it will help me out so much.
Sure! Can you be more specific about what you'd like to see in that video? Like what are you struggling with?
I'm sorry, but I have a question: How do I subscribe to this channel TWICE?! You heard me, TWICE! This advice is awesome - thanks, man!
I like to spice it up by adding the mc have some internal conflict or dialog with him/herself
Hey, can you please make a video about plotting out your story? I’m struggling alot
I think a good example is Star Trek from 2009. The scene where Kirk realizes they are headed into a trap because the same anomaly happened on the day of his birth when they were attacked by Romulans. They had him do this whilst being vaccinated and having a bad reaction to the vaccine and Bones chasing him saying they have to keep his heart rate down. Solid way to make an info dump scene work very well.
I thought you were going to say that the boring movie scene should be from the perspective of the screenwriter whose watching it with them, and is really worried that they seem to be bored by it.
Haha it would be a good alternative
The second half of my books Chapter 1 was so boring, it caused me to rearange the events of the book, so I wouldn't have to have another boring chapter right after.
This then lead to a snowball, where I realized entire chapters were unnecessary, and only slowed the story, causing me to cut them, and rearange the story so it flowed way better.
I started with 20 chapters, and now have 15. As much as I liked the events I cut, they didn't add anything, and just made everything worse.
Chapter 2 starts a bit boring, so I put a dream sequence at the beginning, to remind the reader of the MCs goal, along with showing them something neat, which Chapter 2 and maybe 3 focus on.
More often than not, a boring scene is between two scenes that need to be there, but the boring scene doesn't. So I cut it.
I really wanna see the whole story set within the world of that car ride.
Haha maybe watch Smokey and the Bandit?
All of the above for my spices.
Tip #4, would that be the same as that scene in Friends where we hear their inner thoughts?
point 5 seems very godlike, like I'm a god and I will change the weather because I can, not saying that it is a bad idea, I just find it fun how much it makes the author feel like a god
Or the Marvel approach - have the conversation interrupted by an explosion as soon as the info dump is complete.
*Character Drops Water*
“Aquard…”
Was fully waiting for you to hold up both hands by tip number 6. Was highly disappointed until you got to tip number 10. Just another reason to watch all the way to the end, people.
No way was I letting anyone down at the end
One thing you never discussed is WHY you would have a "boring scene." That sounds like a scene that should be cut to me, but you must mean there is something important in the scene, yet it's slow-paced or otherwise ordinary (like transportation). Can someone elaborate on why you would keep a "boring scene?" Is it because it's good to mix up your pacing? Other reasons?
But my boring parts are character development scene
"Twenty minutes of bad road later..."
Has anyone ever told you sometime you sound like Marty mcfly? Lol love the videos
Whoa, that's heavy, doc! Haha you're the first person to compare me to McFly, but I'll take it. Thanks for watching
Add a small accident that embarrasses the point-of-view character.