The Secret of Variation (Part I)

Any novice writer learned long ago the technique of variation. Not convinced? What is this "Secret of Variation" you say? I could answer the question in several ways.



I might say, "Variation is a simple, but confoundedly difficult, technique master writers apply to every novel, every chapter, every scene." It would not be untrue for me to answer, "Variation is what separates the amateur scribbler from the bestselling author."



Enough stalling. Simply put, the secret of variation is change.



Changing sentence length and style (no doubt a lesson you learned years ago). Changing setting and tone. Changing pace. Changing point of view. Changing. Variation.



Variation is what readers crave. It is part of the magic beneath the surface of every good story, pulling readers along like a kite on a string. It is the surprise of dialogue, the unexpected action, the shocking revelation.



It is also one of the nuts and bolts of a bestseller.



For example, let's take an actual bestselling author, Dean Koontz, and see how he applies the secret of variation to his novel, The Good Guy.



Here is Dean Koontz's first few pages broken down by variation. Look closely and you might even find a hidden structural secret (we'll call it an extra bonus for those of you with keen observation skills):



First Page:

1st paragraph: A description of a mayfly.

2nd paragraph: A description of the protagonist, the hero. (Two descriptions, sure, but look how different they are from each other)

3rd paragraph: Continuation of description of the hero. Also, a description of the first setting, a bar. This is part description, part action.

4th paragraph: Action of the hero.

5th paragraph: More description of the bar. The first paragraph bleeds into the second page, so we'll pick up with the 6th paragraph of the story, the second paragraph on page two.



Second Page:

6th paragraph: Introduction of another character, and action.

7th paragraph: Dialogue-Minor character

8th paragraph: Dialogue-Hero

9th: paragraph: Dialogue-Minor Character

10th: paragraph: Dialogue-Hero

11th paragraph: Long Dialogue-Minor Character

12th paragraph: Action and dialogue-Hero

13th paragraph: Dialogue-Minor Character

14th paragraph: Dialogue-Hero

15th paragraph: Dialogue-Minor Character

16th paragraph: Dialogue-Hero

17th paragraph: Dialogue-Minor Character

18th paragraph: Dialogue-Hero

19th paragraph: Dialogue -Minor Character



Third Page:

20th paragraph: Dialogue-Hero

21st paragraph: Dialogue-Minor Character

22nd paragraph: Dialogue-Hero

23rd paragraph: Dialogue-Minor Character

24th paragraph: Dialogue-Hero

25th paragraph: Description of Minor Character

26th paragraph: Dialogue-Minor Character

27th paragraph: Dialogue-Hero

28th paragraph: Dialogue-Minor Character



And the rest of the page is a ping-pong match of dialogue between these two interesting characters.



Many of you might be thinking, "Well, what do ya' know? I think you just destroyed your own argument, buddy." You might be right, except that sneaky Dean Koontz slips variation into even several pages of dialogue.



Although by looking at the break down of the first three pages, you see paragraph after paragraph of nothing but dialogue, you ought' to know that the majority of these paragraphs are short. Under ten words, most of them. Some under five words. That's one kind of variation in itself.



Another kind of variation is subject. The two characters (hero and minor character) switch subjects every few paragraphs. They also jump from serious conversation to humor back to serious conversation.



You might have also noticed that Dean Koontz also popped in a few moments of action and description to break up the monotony of dailogue. Call this a variation within variation. Double Variation. Bestselling Authors do it all the time.



How does your writing match up? Are you using the secret of variation beyond sentence length and structure? Take a piece of your writing and ask the following questions:

• Am I varying my sentence length and structure?


• Am I varying between dialogue, action and narration enough?


• Am I varying the subject, length and tone of dialouge?


• Am I varying the pace of the story with scenes of gut-wrenching tension and scenes of tension relief (don't put too many of these in your story or your readers will stop reading)?

In fact, over the next few days, examine every facet of your story, from characters to conflict to structure. Is there variation to be found? Or is everything mind-numbingly the same? Take time. Really look.

And then you'll be ready to come back to read the next blog, The Secret of Variation Part II.

See you then!