Balancing the Elements: The Circus of Juggling Proportions

One of the hardest things for me as an author is to keep elements of story balanced: Plot, characterization, setting, description, pacing, action, etc. It always seems that when I work on one thing, something else squirts away from me and I end up top-heavy on one piece while skimping on another. It’s a very frustrating experience, but one that I need to work through.

I’ve read a lot of books that spend a lot of energy in one or another areas and end up losing other critical parts of their story, to the detriment of the whole tale. One author I have read has a book that is beautifully descriptive and evocative, but has pacing so uneven that the plot as a whole suffers. There is another book by the same author that is so bogged down in detail that I could not read it the first time through – and I love beautiful description and detail. Another author I have recently read has workmanlike prose and a solid plot, but has stereotyped characterizations that make it hard for me to identify with the characters.

Now clearly, Your Mileage May Vary. A book I just rated a four-star on Goodreads was given a two-star by a friend of mine, making me wonder if we read the same story. There are usually readers who will like what a given person writes for whatever reason; pretty much everyone’s story will resonate with someone. But that doesn’t mean writing is a solely subjective experience, and that it doesn’t matter what the writer focuses on as long as someone likes it. The ideal is to make it as accessible as possible for a wide range of people, and there are objective standards in writing that tend to make for better stories.

(Caveat: I am not trying to say that there is only one way to write, but the more an author explores technical questions, the better control they will have over the entire process.)

It is certainly true that most authors have some stronger and some weaker areas. Plot is my weakest suit, and I often have to go back in revision and marry my changing ideas on what was occurring as I felt my way through the story. Characterization and detail are probably my strongest suits, and I’m quite capable of going overboard, especially with the first. I love writing scenes between people, and sometimes put in way too much of it. I especially need to avoid telegraphing too much of the plot in dialogue, which tends to have less of an impact on the reader than having the plot actually happen. Pacing can sometimes be a problem, too, largely because focusing too much on character or details slows down the action. I have often gone back in revision and cut out large sections of my work that aren’t doing what I ultimately want them to do.

Clearly, what elements one focuses on have a certain amount to do with what kind of story the author is writing. A romance will be much more character-heavy; a mystery requires a detailed plot. How the author wishes to balance the story is something they should think about before publication. It’s quite possible to write a novel which skims over detail or characterization or description and have it work fine, depending on the end result the author is trying to achieve. Not every book needs to be an award winning exploration into the human psyche, or be the next blockbuster thriller that keeps the reader on the seat of their chair until all the twists are revealed. The important thing is for the author to know what they’re writing when they write it; how deep they want to go; who their audience is; and the length of the work. These are all crucial decisions when deciding how to balance the elements in the author’s particular story.

And that is the crux of the issue. When the author has a real idea about what they are writing, they can then balance and streamline elements for the story they are telling. Stories with different balances can be equally good, but may require different proportions of story elements. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a story about the human psyche; The Three Musketeers is an action tale that does not lack characterization, but which has a much more epic tone and style. They’re both very good, and they are both very different. They were written for different reasons. In both cases, the authors knew what they were doing, and crafted their words in such a way as to tell separate stories.

What I’m saying is that the author should be aware of all these story elements, and use them carefully, with intent. It a juggling act, not because the author has to have exactly equal proportions of every element, but because the author needs to have a good understanding of what they are trying to accomplish and how each piece fits into that particular story. They should understand how to intertwine elements to create a seamless tale, whatever tale they are telling. By understanding what can go into a story, it is easier for the author to determine what should go into their story. It is that understanding, and hence, control, which enables an author to create the finished effect for the reader to enjoy.