The best way to word it, I think, would be finding a focus. "What do you mean by that, Hannah?" Well, I'll give you a hint. The focus is not Monseigneur, which is ironic because that's how the the first sentence begins. Monseigneur. But you can help but wondering, 105 pages into the story: do you really expect a random dude I've never met whose name I read in my head like Mo-seughasdlkfj to capture my attention and keep me reading?

The focus of this passage is not Monseigneur, but rather, something most of us are intimately familiar with and overly fond of: chocolate.

Everyone loves chocolate. So we all see the humor in what Dickens does here. He gives us integral information about this new character (who he is, what he's like, what people think of him) all by telling us about said character's relationship with chocolate. And the paragraph leaves you hanging by making us ask a question. If this Monseigneur can swallow an entire country, why is chocolate giving him trouble? Is it because he's too big to get up and get it? Or does he ... *whispers at the horrible idea* not actually like chocolate?? And the four men must hold him down in order to get him to take it? But why would he have to take chocolate? Or is he prim and proper and very specific, demanding his chocolate to be prepared a specific way?

The questions are swarming, and we have to know more. The welfare and dignity of chocolate is at stake.

If Dickens had written this passage with Monseigneur in a carriage on the way to the party he attended, we would have been much less interested and likely skimmed the important part where we learn he's swallowing France. Hiding important information in intriguing context is a good way to make those details stick in the readers' minds.

So. How do we apply this to our own writing?

When you have to get important info to readers that's not exactly what you would call enthralling, find something to focus on to catch the reader's attention. Let your voice flood through it. (Can't you can just taste Dickens' wit in this passage?)

There's an earlier scene where he uses this same concept, but with wine. That one stretched on a little too long for my taste, so be sure you tie the focus into what's actually going on in the story. For example, if you decide to talk about your main character's sister's ballet performance, make sure we know why we're being told this story. (aside from the important info that our MC has a little sister--which raises questions about why we haven't seen her yet.) How you make that focus important is up to you. Just try to tie it to the current plot or characters and weave it into the narrative. This method of storytelling almost feels like we're taking a break from the story for a bit. It's refreshing and new and potentially funny, but if you're not careful you'll have your reader scratching their head and thinking, "Why are we talking about coffee?" which everyone knows is a stupid question because coffee is very riveting and important

SO! Now it's your turn to try out this technique. Pick an object and then a current character in your book, and tell us about your character through that object.

Here, I'll give it a shot too.

Coffee is the only way Diane knew how to start her day. A vanilla cappuccino with an extra shot of espresso, made with skim milk and topped with whip? That was her life song. No matter that she had to pay the rent in two days, and she'd just used the last of her savings on that sweet, steaming cup of bittersweet goodness. No matter that her pants had been getting tighter ever since she'd discovered the shop, and the drink made for her at birth. No matter that she was late to sell Organic Freshly Frozen Popsicles day after day. She had coffee to buy, and--despite what her friends and family said--she wouldn't be Diane without it. 

So I just wrote this completely off the top of my head. I don't know exactly how it would fit into a story--maybe it wouldn't go with the plot. But it's funny enough to keep us reading, and by the end of it we know a lot of important things about Diane. She's a severe coffee addict, she has a job selling popsicles that we can pretty easily guess she doesn't care for, and she's struggling to pay her rent, which means she likely lives alone (if this is a main character, we'll find out the answer to that soon, and our appetite for it has been whetted).


It doesn't have to be an object. It could be a story from the past, a famous fairy tale, a movie, a TV show. Anything, really. Something to catch the reader's attention, and help them get important info.


What are your thoughts? Do you like this method of writing? Pick an object and write a paragraph and share in the comments! I'd love to see what you come up with!