This is a useful tool when you need a few hundred words somewhere, which can also help you untangle sticky plot problems and develop character. I've only realised how I've been using it this year. It is a new thing for 2008.
A recap is very simple and exactly what the name suggests. Someone says, "What the Hell is going on here?" and another character fills him/her in on the action to date. A summary of some key plot points of the novel. Depending ont he characters, this could be a coupel of sentences, or it could be a couple of pages. If the latter, you'll probably need to trim it down in editing, but don't worry about that now - let the characters talk.
This doesn't just eat up some words, but it can also help you work things out for yourself. THis is especially good if you are winging it. It is also useful if you have noticed an inconsistency in your plot that is bugging you - you have a quick recap, writing it the way you now want it to be, and the nagging feeling of writing incoherent mince should vanish. I've already done this a couple of times this year, as I'm winging it and my plot is veering around all over the place. Having Jack recap what he knows with other characters allows me to keep what is gonig on, and what Jack knows, straight in my head.
Of course, you have to be careful how you stage the recap - characters aren't just going to spill everything they know to everyone. Logical points will suggest themselves to you - when they meet someone they can trust, or someone on whom they will have to rely, or someone who can give them useful information or resources.
The last category is important, particularly in the genre I'm writing in, detective fiction. When Jack does a recap, it is a chance for another character to add a bit of information to the puzzle. I've developed a couple of useful leads this way, which are helping me build some sort of semblance of a plot. r if you are writing traditional fantasy, with a Band of Heros, when they recruit a new member, it is a fine time for a quick recap - "So, why are we seeking the amulet of Thurg?"
Another cool thing about recapping is it can help you develop character. Think about it. How would different characters describe their experiences? Honestly, or with exaggeration? Eloquently, or mumbling almost incoherently? Would they speak, or write?
(Joseph Conrad, the Greatest Novelist Who Ever Lived, used recapping extensively in The Greatest Novel He Ever Wrote, Nostromo - the story was such a mess of shifting time frames it was essential to help the reader keep track of what was going on! Sometimes it took the form of people talking, another occasion saw a character writing a letter effectively summarizing the first part of the book)
Some recapping may turn out to be redundant and vanish in the editing process - having the daughters recap how they went to a Wild Party, which occurred only a few pages before, might no tbe necessary, but writing it in just now might help you keep going. ALso, of course, you could have fun with that idea - why not have the girls recap what happened to their father, first of all, and then to their friends? Think of the divergent versions you'd get to write. ANd because it is giving useful information to you and the reader about characters, it isn't simply word-vomit.
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