Diversion #4: throw a party

If it is all getting too much for you, throw a party for your characters. They may reward you by giving you fresh insight into themselves, or getting into intruiging situations. At least, they'll be too hungover or shamefaced the next day to give you much trouble.

A party allows you to bring characters together in an unusual context - everyday roles are set aside and the rules of correct behaviour are blurred a bit. You find out a lot about people by watching them enjoy themselves (or trying to) and interesting things can happen. The tough as nails police detective who grilled your protagonist about an unsolved murder might be at the party, behaving like any other normal human being. An upright, authoratiative figure can get drunk. Fights can break out. You can walk into a room and see something you really weren't meant to see. And at every party you'll certainly encounter Max, talking about something to people who aren't really listening.

This diversion can also include more formal celebrations - ritual events, days where the usual rules and social divisions are suspended and the peasant gets to act like a lord, or wild celebrations following victory over the barbarians. They can be slotted into a narrative quite easily - the adventurers arrive in town just as the celebrations for Walpurgis Nacht get underway, for example. Yes, it is contrived, but that doesn't really matter. Or they might follow a suspect to a wild party, as happens here (1). Or, like Bob and Angie in this sequence (2), they might just be nosey.

The Bob and Angie piece was the first time I used this diversion. It was a spur of the moment thing. In an earlier scene (3) I'd mentioned a party happening somewhre in town. Just a passing reference, because I thought encouraging the reader to imagine the scene being played out to the thump of dance music would be effective. Then I thought, "Why not send Bob and Angie to the party? Just to see what happened." What happened was is still a piece of writing I'm very proud of.

1 - 'Jack Callaghan goes to a party.' This scene has everything - drunkenness, a fight,sex, a double murder. Some party! http://writehandpalm.blogspot.com/2007/11/jack-callaghan-goes-to-party.html
2 - 'Bob and Angie crash a party.' If the link doesn't work, try here: http://writehandpalm.blogspot.com/2007/11/bob-and-angie-crash-party.html.
3 - The part is mentioned in passing the scene where Angie's father gets drunk and goes skinny-dipping, which was itself an example of a diversion being used: http://writehandpalm.blogspot.com/2007/11/whisky-and-water.html.