Background Narration

Everybody is a twitter about the new ipad released by Apple. I think it's cool and we'll leave it at that. I can't afford it so there's no need for me to go into it's merits which I am sure you have heard all about unless you have been living under a rock.
I have been coping with snow. Yes, coping with snow. I have two boys running amuck around my house since they haven't been to school since last thursday. A snow day is cool, but 4 snow days in a row gets weary. There's only so many things we can do in the snow, and it takes us longer to get dressed than we are actually outside because everyone gets cold quickly. Twenty minutes to get on snow gear= 15 minutes outside

This week has been messed up also because my dear sweet hubby had to travel to Nothern Kentucky for his job on Monday which resulted in him spending the night in a empty, creepy hotel before it was opened to the public. Empty hotel=spooky hotel
I don't believe it would of been so awful if he could of turned on a tv or even a radio, but they didn't have those set up yet and his ipod was dead.

So that leads me to today's post on writing. Have you ever watched a movie where in an intense scene there was no background music or noise, there was only silence. The silences intenifies the scene, as if sounds wouldn't dare intrude on such a "heavy" scene. In writing usually when we pen a scene we try to provide the background for the reader, an example would be:
"As Faye picked up her ringing phone the turned the volume down on the t.v. as a Price is Right re-run came on the screen."

So the reader knows she was watching t.v. and they can also visualize Bob Barker calling someone down and the crowd clapping wildly as she answers the phone. Take away the tv from the sentence and we can make it intense.

"As Faye walked through her front door the silence of the house was shattered by the ringing of her home phone."

How we use background narration is key in how the moment comes through to the readers. It leaves us the writers plenty of room to make the scene go as we please. Was Faye having a normal day? Did her home phone ring off the hook under normal conditions? Where is entering the house? Is she expecting a call? Background narration is just as important as the rest of the scene, and if we set up the background sounds and silences poorly it does influence the reader's view of the scene.
As a writer it's our job to ensure that the reader "sees" the entire scene. We need to ensure to encompass off the details. It doesn't matter if it's just a single sentence or a full on detailed paragraph the reader needs to know that is going on around the character(s).
If you having trouble with a scene or a section try reading it and if you find it has holes in it that need to be filled try adding background. It will widen your scene and make the pages seem fuller and more detailed. Dialouge is great, but a book cannot be written just with it alone. If your having issues with narration simply go outside and sit. Take a pen and paper with you and write what goes on around you. How is the weather? Are there people nearby? If so what is your impression of them? Is the traffic heavy? Use your senses. What do you hear, smell, touch and see? All of that is narration.
Background narration is the easiest thing in the world that you can do to help your chapters "pop" off the page for your readers.