Something that I see too often in manuscripts is an eating scene where nothing happens. Years ago, I read a Writer’s Digest article talking about this. The gist was that the “trouble with tea” was that too many authors are tempted to show ordinary life (drinking tea or an eating scene) to just rehash the plot or dump information. Readers get bored. They put down the book.
So, let’s dive in.
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Watch the video above to see how Spielberg makes eating scenes work harder for him.
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Read this article by James Scott Bell: https://killzoneblog.com/2016/07/how-to-write-eating-scene.html
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Some overview: https://amyloujenkins.com/how-to-write-dinner-table-scenes/
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Remember to describe the food! If you can’t taste it, neither can your reader. To say that sensory details are lacking in the manuscripts I see is an understatement.
Making your writing work harder and smarter for you is something I’m passionate about. Every scene should be accomplishing multiple things.
With every scene are you:
Advancing your plot?
Showing us more about your characters?
Creating atmosphere?
Immersing us in your world?
Making us turn the page?
Letting us see through your main POV character’s eyes?
So, if you have a food scene (or an ordinary world scene), make sure multiple things are happening.
Do you struggle with this? Have you noticed boring food scenes in books? Are you tasting the food you’re talking about that? Let us know!