: Re: How to stage a scene conflict that is not about the scene's narrator? I'm working on a novel that is told from a single narrator in third person. A number of subplots detail the stories of

@Martha805

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When you're writing a story from the POV of a single character, you're doing it because the story is about them. Of course, they do not exist in a bubble, and other side characters will have their own things going on. They will have their own stories unfolding in the background, and this is usually encouraged in order to have a more fulfilling story.

However, the thing to remember is that your story is not about the side-characters. They are just a part of your MC's story. So when the stories of the side-characters develop, you need to mostly explore how it affects your protagonist. Is Hannah angry that her mother is dating a fellow dancer? Is she happy that her mother is recovering from her illness? Which is more important to her?

Adding another POV character will mean that the stories need to be equally as important. There is no point in focusing heavily on another character just to flesh out the experiences of the first, their stories will have to be on a similar level to each other.

So it depends on the story you wish to write. Is it more a story about the relationship between mother and daughter, and how they both live their lives separately but fundamentally intertwine? Or is it mostly about the daughter's pursuit of becoming a dancer, and her mother is obviously a big part of that, but ultimately the daughter is attempting to be her own person?

As for a specific scene, you could set up throughout the story that the mother visits the daughter regularly, and she seems to be doing better with her alcoholism, but she thinks something is iffy, for example her mother is spending every weekend visiting as opposed to doing something for herself. Eventually she sees her kissing a fellow dancer, they have an argument and the mother storms off.

Then there can be a scene where the daughter is driving around, frantically looking for her mother making sure that she does not go off on a bender, and she is worried about her mother's safety, guilty because she feels as if she has affected her chances of recovery, but still angry at her for creating this situation.

So whilst this is clearly a huge moment in the life of the mother, you are still focusing on the daughter and how her mother's actions are affecting her. She may then choose to forgive her mother, or disown her, etc. but the story is still centered around the daughter and her feelings on the situation.

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