Small Talk Is Huge When Used to Build

When writing a novel, if the world is fantastical, perhaps a way to ground the characters in reality is to use little snippets of dialogue between major scenes to flesh out the characters.

A bit like a fireside chat when camping, only in events of a story.

These minor events can be delineated using text bubbles, or a different formatting than the rest of the story.

Even minor italics would do the job just fine.

Starting with The Voided Promises of Noble Songs, I am going to try this out in the narrative, especially using little gags like my character Sparstrum, the reporter from the Helix Newspaper. Well, it’s more high-tech than a newspaper, but the idea is the same.

These little conversations between characters might not move the story along at any particular pace, but they will humanize the characters. World build. Whatever the author needs to get the point across that this world exists out there in the fictional multiverse of characters that aren’t what you’d call real.

But why shouldn’t they be real in some sense? If mathematics can use imaginary numbers (specific as it may be) why not use imaginary characters as though they are actual people? It will make the reader forget the characters are words on a page.

Flavor text conversations while walking are going to be far more interesting than, “The characters walked through the plains, reaching their goal before the setting of the Flame.”

You can still summarize what the characters are doing, but flesh things out simultaneously.

It might work something like:

Stanzielle moved with the speed of a hungry triger that hadn’t had a meal since the last Grand Crossing. Violeste followed, striking her violin with her bow every so many steps, capturing the essence of the natural song of the Bass Falls as the water splashed her skin to sway the heat away.

Lutee had been careful not to upset Stanzielle this time, walking behind Violeste as the clanking jingle of her boots met with the moist soil where seedlings playing their first notes arose from within the sweetest melodies of the interior.

You know, I caught Stanzielle doing the strangest thing the other day.

That girl is made of strangeness. She places bloomfall blossoms all over her clothes. She can’t seem to arch her fingers with finesse. She likes the taste of harmonycomb by itself. She’s a walking nightmare, lacking form and proper poise. What did she do?

She kept tugging on her right pigtail, using Stellatina as a mirror with all sorts of angles. What kind of savage uses their alucinized instrument as a mirror? She’s been doing it a lot lately.