The Big Event – Using Social Occasions to Elevate Your Story
By John J Kelley | March 24, 2023 |
Perhaps love is in the air. Or maybe it’s a rush to reclaim control as a new normal gradually emerges from the global pandemic. Whatever the reason, my partner and I have, after a lengthy gap, been invited to not one, but three weddings. And these are not modest gatherings either, but true destination weddings in exotic locales, the kind you see in movies. They will not be rushed potluck affairs held in the backyard of a distant cousin (not that those can’t be lovely too).
With a bit of budgetary juggling, we plan to attend them all. It is, after all, a blessing to celebrate with loved ones. It’s also an opportunity to meet new people and explore distant lands. As the first approaches, I’ve found myself pondering the whole endeavor. I think of the planning that goes into such events and the stresses that accompany even joyful occasions. Lately I’ve also been dissecting the ways “big events” fit into some of my favorite stories, and my own writings. I now notice when they appear in shows, noting how such scenes alter the narrative, even when tangential to primary or even secondary plotlines. Events like weddings, holidays, reunions, retirements, and funerals are a part of life and so it is only natural they should appear in our tales. Some may appear in your work in progress right now.
If there isn’t one, I am not advocating you plop a random celebration into your story. In a publishing world that demands killing your darlings, I would never suggest adding filler. Then again, entire libraries could be devoted only to stories centered around life’s festivities. Jane Austen novels might well be reduced to a stream of letters and diary entries if not for village balls and the occasional nuptials. These days, Hallmark devotes an entire season to stories of offspring returning home or flung to the wilds for some sugary holiday confection and ultimate enlightenment. People gobble them up like cookies, as do I.
But that is not what I’m talking about today. Instead, my premise is simple – it may prove wise to give extra scrutiny to milestone events already present in your narrative, for such occasions provide fertile ground to strengthen your story.
Let’s explore a few avenues for kicking your writing up a notch when it comes to the “big event” in your tale.
Revealing Character
Nothing highlights character more than an unrelenting spotlight. An event in your story can serve that purpose. Perhaps your shy protagonist is corralled into giving a speech at a milestone birthday of an aging parent, the one with which he’s never seen eye to eye. Perhaps your hero is marrying, and all eyes will be on her regardless of how much she prefers the shadows. Scenes like these provide an opportunity to delve into your characters, exploring their motivations and deepest fears. Chance encounters at events can also provide a natural entry point for crucial backstory, evoking past heartbreaks, unrequited loves, or long-simmering rivalries. Use the unique situation to help readers understand idiosyncrasies in your character’s personality, uncovering the roots of their sagging confidence or the source of their unvanquished optimism.
Think of the event as a fresh stage set, filled with new and possibly one-off actors. Step back and think of ways to mix things up. For just a few pages you can look at your characters, and have your readers see the characters, in a fresh light. Take advantage of that opportunity. Show them something new, exposing a deeper vein.
Developing Relationships
In my youth, Judith Guest’s novel Ordinary People was one of my favorite reads. When the movie came out, I was impressed at how closely the screen play echoed the book, incorporating at times entire pages of dialog, word for word. But a key scene added to the movie has stuck with me for years. The scene takes place during a Christmas family visit. Beth Jarrett, the emotionally distant mother of the protagonist, has broken a plate following a cringeworthy argument that erupts during the taking of a family photo. Her mother enters the room, and the two speak. The delicate dance of a conversation, clipped and understated, reveals so much. In just a few lines one gains an invaluable glimpse into how Beth became brittle, so determined to maintain appearances that smoothing the edges – “fixing the break” as she describes it – became more important than offering genuine affection, even as trauma threatens to destroy her family. The resulting scene is a brilliant addition to the already exceptional drama of the source material.
Events in stories open a path for insights like this. Even lone heroes have families; and a funeral can bring them into the story, if only briefly. Longtime friendships can be shown from a different angle. If your story is a romance, a family reunion provides innumerable opportunities for the new couple to bond or introduce rough seas for them to navigate. Let your imagination guide your hand. Pantsers are old pros at this type of improvisation, but even strict plotters may find something of value in the scribbled margins.
Surprising the Reader
The element of surprise, in fact, may be the real benefit from this writerly exercise. In addition to character reveals mentioned previously, what better time to expose a juicy tidbit of information or a jarring plot twist than during a chance encounter at a social event? A lot can happen when you bring characters into the same room, or ballroom, at the same time. Be sure to make use of the opportunity.
You can engage readers on other levels of surprise as well. Perhaps the occasion provides a moment of levity, or at least respite, during an otherwise taut thriller. Or maybe you can add a dash of poignancy to an otherwise raucous comedy.
Remember, the events are already there in our stories. It is up to us, as writers, to tease them out to their full potential, creating more compelling tales for our readers.
Those are my musings, which barely scratch the surface. What are your thoughts? How do you make the most of the milestone events and special occasions in your stories? Do you have examples of reveals or surprises from your own works or a favorite novel? In what other ways can “big events” be employed to elevate a story? I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
John J Kelley crafts tales of individuals at a crossroads, exploring themes of growth, reconciliation and community. His debut novel, The Fallen Snow, about a young soldier’s homecoming at the close of WWI, received a Publishers Weekly starred review and earned an Honorable Mention nod at the 2012 Foreword Reviews Book-of-the-Year Awards.
Born and raised in the Florida panhandle, John graduated from Virginia Tech and for a time served as a military officer. Today he lives with his partner in Washington, DC.
[coffee]
Hey John–Wow, three weddings! Beats the opposite end of the spectrum. You warn against wedging a big event into the story, but you could also just build the whole thing around them, ala Four Weddings & a Funeral. Feel like I need to rewatch that one.
Book two of my trilogy has a major wedding, and in a book that spans eighteen years, I devote three full chapters–almost ten percent of the pages–to this one night. As they say, sh** happens. Going back in today to make sure I leveraged every bit of the drama, character insight, and surprise possible. Thanks. Safe travels, and cheers to the happy couples!
Thanks, Vaughn! I missed an opportunity to mention the opus of event narrative found in the delightful Four Weddings & a Funeral, which is definitely worth another viewing. It also, now that I think of it, includes a scene of heart-wrenching poignancy in an otherwise sumptuous comedic romp.
As for book two – yays! I have no doubt your writerly brain has already brought all the plots together for those dedicated chapters. Sometimes we just need nudges to sift through the stones again. It’s one of my favorite things about the posts – and the people – at WU.
Cheers! :)
Nothing brings out family tensions like a wedding. Family healing, by contrast, happens at funerals. That’s backwards but that’s the way it is. Cry when you’re happy. Laugh when you’re sad.
The stuff that happens at those occasions is talked about for years. Family legends. Why set a scene on an ordinary day? Kitchen drama is for old fashioned plays. Why not heighten? Let the calendar help.
I’d add only that there are other heightening events in a year. Celebrations, holidays, parades, the Big Game, court hearings, bake sales, a new suit, house fire. Good post, John. Enjoy the weddings. I hope there will be stories to tell.
Yes — It doesn’t all have to involve a priest. One doesn’t have to travel to a mountain in Colorado to find drama. The monthly neighborhood picnic can be fraught with landmines.
Another milestone came to mind reading your suggestions — Job promotions in my experience, both as a child and adult, can be surprisingly tense. In addition to the back-slapping, a not insignificant amount of trepidation is often involved, both in the office and back home. It’s kind of a perfect living example of raising the stakes – “Congrats! Of course this is terrific, but …” And there to tend to be several of them the more you tease them out.
That observation about family weddings and funerals is a keen one. Those are the kernels of wisdom, or at least insight, you gather when you accumulate enough rotations around the sun. Both bittersweet and comforting, I suppose.
I’m sure there will be stories to tell, and for someone who wasn’t a big wedding person growing up I am very much looking forward to them.
Thanks as always for the insights, Donald. Be well!
Great post! In real life, I’ve found that mixing an event or holiday with a divorce (recent, or long ago but bitter), new spouses, in-laws, and stepchildren can create some extra-explosive moments on that special day. Even deciding which people attend the *Actual Day/Event* can be a high-stakes battle for some families… Definitely opportunities for tension and character development there!
Thanks, Christine! That’s a good note on the lead-up to the event, with stresses on both the invited and the invitee. In real life and in stories, the butterflies – both good and bad – can be palpable.
Hello John. Thanks for honing in on big moments, specifically big social moments. They make it possible to give the reader lots of information without risking backstory info dumps. Your well-chosen example from the film of Ordinary People demonstrates how this works. In an exchange between two mothers, we learn what we need to in order to understand a character’s lack of affect or emotion. After the prologue for my novel Colder, with Snow, I use a faculty Christmas party to provide lots of backstory. Two key characters are drinking punch and talking, and very early on in the story we see a lot of what makes them both tick. If I’ve gotten it right, the reader will want to know how these two characters relate to the shocking event that follows. Thanks again for a valuable post.
Yes, I think it taps into a natural curiosity we all possess. We’re built for that kind of info gathering when first introduced to a new person, or to their entire clan. Especially in a social setting, our observational reflexes go on full alert. It provides an excellent opportunity in a story to tap into that, showing a lot while providing a lot of info too. As you said, it’s possible to use the occasion to share backstory in an interesting and natural way, without it feeling like a full-on info dump to the reader. Your Christmas party sounds perfect for that.
Glad this discussion helps reinforce those instincts!
Hi John, so happy to know that weddings are still in vogue. We attended two during Covid, with relatives that didn’t really believe there were any problems, but we survived. In my novel, I have two cooking scenes, because my MC can only connect to her deceased mother through recipes, pieces of furniture. Cold, distant. And then food becomes a chore when her child is missing, as sometimes we have no time for celebration and joy, only for fear and worry. I’m sure I remember “home scenes” in your novel, warmth and yet secrets. Great post, Beth
Yes, I am thankful folks waited to exchange vows. Still very aware that things aren’t normal (hence my “new normal” reference). But we are relatively comfortable with the travel, and plan to get boosted in a couple of weeks.
As Donald mentions, events don’t have to be highfalutin affairs — town meetings, congregational gatherings, etc, all fit too. Of course, some stories are by their nature more lonesome and winsome. I consider my own in that category, and yet I realized in pondering this post that there were no less than three “events” in my book, even in the wintry wilds of western Virginia. There was even a fourth if I count the Paris celebration of the 4th during the war timeline.
Just as our lives sometimes feel like a string of gatherings, so can our writings.
Thanks for popping over. Take care, Beth.
Enjoyed the post and you are so right about using events to reveal character and bring another layer to a story. I had no intention of bringing anything like that into my soon to be released mystery, but then all of a sudden one of my MC had a cousin call to say an uncle had died. Lots of history between the two women, and the uncle, and the more I wrote about all that, the more the character, a Dallas homicide detective, took on greater depth. It’s always fun when that kind of thing happens.
Well done! I love it when serendipitous things like this happen while crafting a story. Sometimes the smallest strand can grow to become a vital part of the narrative. It’s alchemy. Best of luck with the editing and bringing the novel to market. Write On, indeed!
Don’t forget the possibilities of booze at celebrations and grief at funerals. People do and say the most outrageous things under the influence of alcohol and strong emotions.
They sure do. So many possibilities once the tape starts rolling, so to speak.
Good post. Happy travelling as you celebrate your friends’ weddings. My son told us he’s going to witness FIVE nuptials this year. The past couple of years have been pretty big too–and there are new babies now!
I not only enjoy scenes like these, for bringing interesting characters together, but an entire story set around a big event, any kind of transition really.
Good morning, Vijaya! And thank you. Five weddings … that’s a lot, and a good thing ;).
It is one of those things where once I started thinking about it, I saw events everywhere, in writing and around me. You really don’t notice the volume of rituals of your life, daily and grand, until you make a point of doing so … or I don’t anyway. It is fascinating, and such rich material for stories.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Sadly in real life funerals do tend to bring out the worst in some people – they compete to claim to be suffering the worst grief and therefore to have more right than anyone else to decide how to run the funeral.
It’s not just families that have celebration gatherings, but churches, schools, any sort of social or sporting club, and village halls in rural areas find all kinds of excuses for fundraising/community events. When I was in a band, I went to weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, Burn’s Nights, harvest suppers, annual general meetings of various clubs, an end of season party for a sailing club, village fetes, school fund-raising events, all sorts. The scope for drama is only limited by your imagination! I once played at a party to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the arrival of mains electricity in the village. During the evening it was announced that they would soon be getting Broadband. Maybe in another 75 years they’ll be celebrating the anniversary of that…
Gee, Hilary, you band kids had all the fun! Band life sounds like the makings of any possibility of stories — mystery, romance, coming-of-age. Given it any consideration?
Ditto Christine’s suggestions of drawing stories from your band experiences. Certainly a good source of material, even if you change the names, faces and places to protect the innocent … or the guilty ;).
Yes, events run the gamut. Any occasion that breaks the routines of your characters offers an opportunity for revelations and rising tension. Thank you for emphasizing the range of possibilities.
Write On!