Pacing in Writing
Jan. 30th, 2009 10:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ellenkushnerJustine Larbalestier is offering a month's worth of Writing Advice Questions on her wonderful blog, but clearly was stumped when someone asked her to talk about pacing. She wisely punted and asked a bunch of innocent colleagues to provide her with their answers. At first I was stumped, too, but then I thought, Come on, Kushner! You actually do know about pacing. You just aren't sure how to explain it.
Neither was anyone else (except Cory Doctorow, who has a perfect one-liner for everything). But we all gamely tried, and the answers are illuminating, enlightening, entertaining, and maybe even useful. Over here. Oh, and also LJ syndicated here..
Neither was anyone else (except Cory Doctorow, who has a perfect one-liner for everything). But we all gamely tried, and the answers are illuminating, enlightening, entertaining, and maybe even useful. Over here. Oh, and also LJ syndicated here..
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Date: 2009-01-31 03:53 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-31 05:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-31 06:15 am (UTC)*goes to read advice*
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Date: 2009-01-31 12:23 pm (UTC)The advice I related to was Diana Peterfreund's - that's what we're always told, viz the 'in late and out early'. So many novels 'waste' time on insignificant preparations and the 'hair-brushing' scenes that someone mentioned. These are fine when written with beautiful prose, style, and/or humour... but so often they seem to be little more than rather stodgy filler while the author thinks of what to do next.
If people are really stuck about pacing I'd suggest a basic screenwriting book of the 'how to' variety, or The Writer's Journey. Scripts are as strictly formatted as formal poetry when it comes to hitting a mark, and pace is a prerequisite of the craft. I know novels are much freer in form, but it never hurts to know your 'inciting incident' from your 'midpoint of culmination'. ~_^
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Date: 2009-01-31 05:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-31 02:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-31 05:32 pm (UTC)What I found challenging about answering the question was that pacing a novel is different from pacing a scene, and I wasn't clear on which I was supposed to be addressing. But I stand by my stance that Narrative Tension (though not necessarily by *rushing it*) will always win the day - and how you get there is your call.
very interesting!
Date: 2009-01-31 03:14 pm (UTC)How about this pacing Haiku-not:
Stuff should happen.
Why do I care?
Re: very interesting!
Date: 2009-01-31 05:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-31 04:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-01 05:15 pm (UTC)"I just skipped the boring parts."
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Date: 2009-02-01 06:44 pm (UTC)