One of the common mistakes I see new writers struggle with is recapping events in their stories. I’m not talking about recapping previous books in a series before starting the new novel (that’s a whole different topic). This is specifically summarizing events that happen off the page or that the readers have already seen on the page. Surprisingly, I haven’t seen any advice on this for authors except on some Reddit threads where people shared their experiences and opinions. Today, I want to add to this topic with what I’ve observed works best when recapping within stories.
Recapping Off-The-Page Events
The first type of recap I want to discuss is when writers summarize what happened off the page. This is when your character thinks back on grocery shopping that morning or a character tells someone else about a meeting. Whatever is being described is not happening in the moment.
By doing this, the writer is breaking the “show, don’t tell” rule. There are times to break it, but whenever possible, it’s best to show events happening so that is draws in readers. Retelling an event can be interesting, but it’s never as engaging as watching it unfold.
Fixing Off-The-Page Recaps
There are three questions to ask when considering these kinds of recaps. Let’s look at each scenario and how best to fix them so they are the most impactful.
Delete It
Whenever you come across a part of your story that talks about something that happened instead of showing it, you need to ask yourself a question. Is the information important to the plot? Notice I said to the plot, not the character. Sally may grocery shop every Tuesday morning, but if it doesn’t change the path of the story, we don’t need to know it or relive the trip. If you can take the recap out and nothing changes in the story, then delete it altogether.
Show It
Now, if you lose vital information by taking out the recap, ask yourself another question: Why isn’t this event shown as a scene instead of summarized as a recap? Important moments to the plot should be shown, not told in recaps. You want readers to experience it so it feels impactful to them. If during the event something shifts externally in the plot or internally in the character, then make it a scene.
Dramatize It
There are times when a recap is needed for the story but it isn’t important enough to get its own scene. For those times, the question you need to ask is: How can I make this recap as quick and interesting as possible? Don’t spend pages recapping the event. Too much time spend in summaries will lose the reader’s interest. Instead, identify the keys points of the event and tell only those. Then, once you have the key points, find a way to make the recap interesting.
If there is only one key point the readers need to know, consider making one memorable narrative sentence. Put emotion into it by making it funny or sarcastic or any other emotion. For instance, let’s say we need to mention Sally ran into Joel and Anna at the grocery store. Think about what this encounter would mean to Sally. Is Joel her ex? If so, convey those emotions in your one sentence recap.
Sally groaned. She’d forgotten the chocolate chips at the store because she’d been too focused on avoiding Joel and that home wrecker, Anna.
Or, perhaps Anna is Sally’s favorite cousin. Then the emotion in the sentence will feel different.
Sally groaned. She’d gotten too caught up in discussing Joel and Anna’s new nursery and completely forgot to pick up the chocolate chips at the store.
See how the same recap happens but with different emotions? They both tell about the store, Joel and Anna, and forgetting the chips; yet one has Anna feeling stressed and the other excited.
If your recap needs to cover multiple key points, then I’d suggest making it a conversation. People make things interesting because there is an opportunity for conflicting opinions, miscommunication, and interpersonal drama. Try to avoid maid and butler talk (when your characters state obvious things they’d never say in real life), but instead show tension and emotion as you relay the key points. If Sally is telling her sister about seeing her ex at the grocery store, maybe make her sister wish Sally would get back with Joel. The conversation will likely end in an argument and that tension will make the recap interesting. Just make sure that the information in the conversation is important to the plot and not just for fun.
Recapping On-The-Page Events
The other type of recap I want to review is when writers summarize events that readers already saw happen earlier in the story. This can often happen when one or more characters weren’t there and need to know what happened. This can be tedious for readers as most don’t want to be told about something they’ve already seen. Sometimes though, these recaps must happen.
Fixing On-The-Page Recaps
There are three ways to correct these recaps so they don’t feel repetitive. Let’s look at when they should be present and how best to present them.
Just Mention it
There are times when these recaps are not necessary for the story, but it needs to be mentioned to another character for realistic reasons. Maybe a soldier needs to report what happened to a superior. Or a woman needs to report the crime to the police. It’d read oddly if we never mention the characters doing these things, but that doesn’t mean the readers need the recap. The best way to approach this is to write one sentence saying they told the other person. It can even just be a phrase like: After reporting to the general, he…. With just a few words, we show the realistic next step for our character without boring the readers.
Add A New Angle
One reason to recap something that has already happened is when there is a new angle on the event. For instance, if a character experienced the event and interpreted what happened wrongly, the character could recap the event and have someone else point out some misinterpretations. Let’s say Sally talked to Joe and Anna about their coming baby and Joe didn’t say a word the whole time. Sally could think that Joe is nervous about the new baby and wanting to hide it. She could say this to her sister later, but maybe her sister heard a rumor that the baby isn’t really Joe’s. That changes the entire event. Please note though, in order to show a new angle, not everything has to be retold. Just mention the details that were misunderstood so the readers aren’t bored with a play-by-play of what they already read.
Another angle you can show with a recap is someone withholding information. Perhaps Sally recounts her grocery shopping to her sister but leaves out seeing Joe and Anna. Maybe Joe is Sally’s sister’s ex-fiancée, and her sister would be upset to hear he’s back in town with his pregnant wife. This secret would put strain on Sally and her sister’s relationship, and it’d probably lead to a blow up later when her sister accidentally runs into Joe at the gas station. By recapping the event and withholding information, you create tension between characters and make readers want to see how it plays out.
Show Emotional Impact
The last reason to recap something that already happened is to show emotional impact. One example of this is when you have multiple POV characters and one person is doing something important elsewhere during a scene when her friend dies so she must be told about it later. Because of the high emotional impact the news will have on her, it might be best to actually spend a chunk of time recapping the event (even if we saw it happen through another POV character). During the recap, show emotional reactions, mention future implications, and really dig in to how this shifts the internal arc.
Please note, most of the time it’s best to have the character present when something major shifts the internal arc, but that isn’t always how it happens. Maybe the woman has a fear of not being there to protect her loved ones, and this event thickens that fear. I wouldn’t suggest doing this all the time, but if it’s necessary, make sure these recaps are full of emotion and really impact a character’s internal arc.
Final Thoughts
I’ve seen writers using recaps incorrectly a lot, and I hope this helps anyone struggling with the concept. It’s something most authors don’t talk about because they learned it instinctively or learned their lesson so early in their careers they don’t remember the struggle. If any of this seemed to describe you, don’t worry. It’s easy to fix once you know about it. First off, ask yourself if a recap is vital to the story’s plot. If so, then go through this list and see which version of a recap will serve your story the best.
Thanks for reading!
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