Crafting Contemporary Fiction: Essential Skills, Tools, and Techniques for Success

 

Crafting Contemporary Fiction: Essential Skills, Tools, and Techniques for Success

By Olivia Salter

Creating a compelling Contemporary Fiction novel demands a careful blend of storytelling skills and narrative techniques. In this genre, the goal is to develop a realistic world, authentic characters, and themes that resonate deeply with modern readers. From worldbuilding to dialogue, pacing to foreshadowing, each component is essential. Below, we’ll explore these elements and workshop an original scene to illustrate how they can work together to enhance your novel.

1. Worldbuilding and Setting

In Contemporary Fiction, worldbuilding often means creating a setting that feels both vivid and grounded. Unlike speculative fiction, where the author invents entirely new worlds, contemporary settings require a subtle, nuanced portrayal of real-life environments. Whether the setting is a bustling city or a quiet rural town, effective worldbuilding allows readers to feel as though they are stepping into the characters' world.

• Exercise: Craft a setting that reflects the protagonist's emotional state. For example, a protagonist facing inner turmoil might be surrounded by gloomy, rain-soaked streets, while a character finding peace may be in a sunny, serene park.

2. Dialogue

In Contemporary Fiction, dialogue serves as a window into characters' relationships, personalities, and backgrounds. Authentic dialogue enhances the story's believability and helps to establish each character's voice. Consider tone, pace, and regional dialects when constructing conversations, ensuring they reflect the characters' identities and motivations.

• Tip: Avoid overly explanatory dialogue. Instead, aim for natural exchanges that reveal subtext. Think about how people talk in real life—often indirectly, hinting at emotions rather than stating them outright.

3. Voice and Style

Voice and style distinguish Contemporary Fiction authors from one another, creating a unique narrative perspective that feels fresh and engaging. A strong narrative voice can either be character-driven (using a first-person perspective) or author-driven (in third person), but it should feel consistent and align with the novel’s tone.

• Exercise: Write a scene from the perspective of a character who views the world with skepticism. Experiment with metaphors, sentence structure, and internal monologue to create a tone that reflects their unique outlook.

4. Pacing

Pacing is essential in Contemporary Fiction, as it balances plot advancement with character development. Consider how you want the story’s rhythm to feel—tense, relaxed, or somewhere in between—and adjust the scene lengths, chapter breaks, and action sequences accordingly.

• Tip: Use shorter sentences and paragraphs for fast-paced scenes, while slowing down with more descriptive prose during introspective moments.

Original Scene: Workshop and Revision

Scene Setup: A young woman, Maya, meets her estranged father at a coffee shop after years of silence. She’s nervous, bracing for unresolved tension and hoping to confront her father about the reasons for his abandonment.

Draft Scene

Maya tapped her fingers against her coffee cup, each beat mirroring the rush of her pulse. Across the table, her father—James, she had to remind herself, since calling him "Dad" felt foreign—was staring at his hands.

“It’s been a while,” he finally said, voice barely above a whisper.

She nodded, suppressing the urge to bite back with something sharp, something that would sting as much as his silence had over the years.

“Why now?” she asked, her tone flat. “Why reach out after all this time?”

James shifted in his seat, his gaze darting to the people around them as if looking for an escape. “I thought… maybe I could explain. Give you some answers.”

“Answers?” Maya let out a dry laugh. “Like why you left?”

He flinched, and she savored that flicker of pain. For once, she wanted him to feel something, anything, about the emptiness he’d left behind.

Analysis and Revision

This draft sets up tension effectively, but it could benefit from stronger worldbuilding and more distinct character voices. The setting—though mentioned as a coffee shop—feels underdeveloped. Additionally, Maya’s feelings could be intensified through her internal thoughts.

Revised Scene

The coffee shop’s chatter hummed around Maya like white noise, filling the silence between her and James. She clasped her hands tightly around her cup, its heat biting into her palms, grounding her in the present—a trick she’d picked up in therapy. Across the table, James—no, not Dad, never Dad—avoided her eyes, staring instead at the swirl of his latte.

“It’s been a while,” he murmured, his voice soft and threadbare, as if unused to saying anything that mattered.

Maya’s lips twisted into a half-smile, bitter at the edges. “Why now?”

He shifted, his eyes flicking toward the exit, as if already retreating. “I thought maybe… maybe I owed you an explanation.”

She shook her head, a sharp motion that startled even her. “You think I want an explanation? That’s it?”

For a second, his composure broke—just a flicker of guilt in his eyes. “I’m trying, Maya. This is me trying.”

Her grip tightened, the coffee cup creaking under the pressure. “Trying now doesn’t erase the years of not trying.”

Elements in Focus:

1. Setting Enhancements: The coffee shop atmosphere is used to reflect Maya’s inner tension. The hum of chatter contrasts with the emotional silence between her and James, heightening the scene's discomfort.
2. Dialogue: The dialogue feels terse and reflects the unresolved hurt between Maya and James. Her questions are direct, and his responses convey a subtle reluctance, mirroring his flawed character.
3. Voice and Style: Maya’s internal narrative—“not Dad, never Dad”—adds emotional depth, reinforcing her resentment. The revision focuses on the precision of her observations, reflecting her cautious yet wounded perspective.
4. Pacing and Emotional Flow: The pacing in the revision is more deliberate, allowing readers to feel the weight of each line. The pauses in dialogue invite reflection, letting readers absorb the tension.

Techniques to Connect Scenes:

1. Foreshadowing: This scene could foreshadow James’s future attempts at reconnecting or, alternatively, his inevitable departure.
2. Backstory and Flashback: Maya’s reactions hint at a painful backstory, which can later be explored through flashbacks, deepening the reader’s understanding of her emotional scars.
3. Subplot: A potential subplot could revolve around Maya's struggle to forgive or let go, leading her to parallel relationships where abandonment issues surface.

Conclusion

Writing successful Contemporary Fiction involves a balance of craft and creativity, as each element—setting, dialogue, pacing, and foreshadowing—works together to create a realistic, engaging story. Through careful revision and attention to these conventions, writers can develop scenes that resonate and form a cohesive narrative, ensuring that each chapter flows naturally into the next.