Tension & Pacing
If someone or something is threatening your point-of-view character's life, don't spend time describing her surroundings in great detail. First, it will drastically decrease the tension and slow the pacing when it needs to be fast. Second, a threatened person doesn't pay attention to their surroundings (except for people who may help, for escape routes, or for potential weapons) because their attention is on the danger and how to deal with that danger.
Also, use short or shorter sentences to help increase the feeling of tension. Longer sentences take longer for the reader to process, so they slow the pace and dilute the feeling of danger.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Writing Tidbit #7
Intuition
If you get the sneaking feeling that a scene doesn't work, the pace is dragging, a point-of-view character won't be interesting enough to keep the reader's attention, etc.: sorry, but you're right.
Enlist the help of your first readers to diagnose the problem since they can give you a fresh view of the work. Don't try to prop the scene or character up, but look for the underlying problem and fix that. (I know, easier said than done.)
If the character is boring, then maybe you're using the wrong character as your point-of-view character or her actions are too predictable. If the pace is too slow, then maybe some of the information or description needs to be cut or moved to a new place. If the scene doesn't work, maybe it's because nothing really changes, no new questions are raised, or it lacks tension. Or maybe it's something else. Take courage and keep digging...
If you get the sneaking feeling that a scene doesn't work, the pace is dragging, a point-of-view character won't be interesting enough to keep the reader's attention, etc.: sorry, but you're right.
Enlist the help of your first readers to diagnose the problem since they can give you a fresh view of the work. Don't try to prop the scene or character up, but look for the underlying problem and fix that. (I know, easier said than done.)
If the character is boring, then maybe you're using the wrong character as your point-of-view character or her actions are too predictable. If the pace is too slow, then maybe some of the information or description needs to be cut or moved to a new place. If the scene doesn't work, maybe it's because nothing really changes, no new questions are raised, or it lacks tension. Or maybe it's something else. Take courage and keep digging...
Monday, August 11, 2008
Writing Tidbits #6
Dialogue
Keep an eye out for unnatural sounding dialogue. This often occurs when two characters are talking over information primarily to inform the reader of that information. It also happens when the author is attempting to hide information from the reader that the characters know and are referring to in their dialogue. Have someone read over the dialogue to make sure it sounds natural.
On your final draft, read the whole story out loud. This will help you find too-long, awkward, and unnatural-sounding sentences.
Keep an eye out for unnatural sounding dialogue. This often occurs when two characters are talking over information primarily to inform the reader of that information. It also happens when the author is attempting to hide information from the reader that the characters know and are referring to in their dialogue. Have someone read over the dialogue to make sure it sounds natural.
On your final draft, read the whole story out loud. This will help you find too-long, awkward, and unnatural-sounding sentences.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Writing Tidbits #5
Withholding Information
If the point-of-view character knows something, then you must tell the reader that information when the character is thinking about it. Withholding "obvious" information only irritates the reader.
For example, I read a book were a point-of-view character is upset by "the green object"...and she knows what it is. Later, she actually handles it, yet she still thinks of it as "the green object." Near the end, we finally find out it is a green bikini bottom. The mystery would only have increased, not decreased, by giving this information from the start. I would even say that the reader should have known why the bikini bottom troubled her (since she would know). If this spoiled the tension of the story, then she shouldn't have been used as a point-of-view character.
The artificial withholding of information only weakens a tale. If you feel the need to do it, then something foundational isn't working in the story and the artificial withholding of information won't fix it.
If the point-of-view character knows something, then you must tell the reader that information when the character is thinking about it. Withholding "obvious" information only irritates the reader.
For example, I read a book were a point-of-view character is upset by "the green object"...and she knows what it is. Later, she actually handles it, yet she still thinks of it as "the green object." Near the end, we finally find out it is a green bikini bottom. The mystery would only have increased, not decreased, by giving this information from the start. I would even say that the reader should have known why the bikini bottom troubled her (since she would know). If this spoiled the tension of the story, then she shouldn't have been used as a point-of-view character.
The artificial withholding of information only weakens a tale. If you feel the need to do it, then something foundational isn't working in the story and the artificial withholding of information won't fix it.
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