How to control the pace of your novel

Sentences-The Long and Short

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, , , 11 Comments

AAEAAQAAAAAAAAiMAAAAJDg5M2Q4NGJiLTBhMTQtNDA5Ni1hNGVmLTM2YWRiZjczMDhjNQHave you ever read a sentence and thought that is way too long? The author lost you two commas ago, and now you have to go back and read the whole thing again, to try and figure out what’s going on.

Or maybe you read a short sentence, followed by another short sentence, and another, and you’re thinking whoa, slow down.

There’s not a set rule for short or long. The sentence length you choose depends a lot on what you are trying to accomplish. There are good reasons for those long, lost me a long time ago sentences, and short, what just happened sentences. It’s up to you to decide when to use them, given the context of your writing.

What do short sentences do?

  • Create tension-When an author starts using short sentences, it’s usually a sign that something is about to happen.—-The dog growled. His teeth flashed. Jake turned. It was too late.
  • Call the attention of a reader to a significant detail—She walked past central park in Manhattan, with her head held high. Gorgeous woman. Long blond hair. Blue eyes. Impeccable taste.
  • Present sudden events-Out-of-the-blue actions that no one was expecting.—-We sat quietly enjoying our meal at the local fast food restaurant. Boom! “What was that?” I turned to see people rushing toward the gas station up the street.
  • To summarize the ideas presented in the long paragraph or sentence.

What do long sentences do?

  • Develop tension-While the short sentence is imminent, culminating with the actual event being acted out, the long sentence adds to the suspense, hinting at a situation in the process of developing.
  • Give vivid description-depicting a setting, love scene, or someone’s appearance.—Autumn came without special invitation, coloring the trees in orange, yellow and red, whispering the cold in our ears and hiding the warm sun rays from our eyes.
  • Investigates arguments, ideas, or facts thoroughly.

Although long sentences have the smell of the old-fashioned 19 century romantic prose, the usage of the long sentence in modern creative writing has it’s place.

When it comes to writing artistic literature, fairy tales, ghost stories, or mysteries, don’t underestimate the effects of short sentences.

Hope this didn’t confuse you too much. To sum it up, there’s a time and place for everything 🙂

-Jan R

Sentences-The Long and Short

Who Watches Paint Dry?

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, , , 2 Comments

untitledI started out with a 90,000+ word manuscript and cut  it down to a little over 80,000 words. While this is still an acceptable size for a novel, it’s short in length. My initial thought was, I need to go back and add some of the stuff I cut, but then I remembered, there is a reason that I cut that stuff.

If I want to add more words, the best thing for me to do is throw in a little more conflict for my character to have to resolve. Adding fluff will only slow the story down and put my reader to sleep. If he manages to hold on that long.

I read a few articles yesterday and couldn’t help but laugh. They were so me. I hope I’ve completed that phase of the learning process, but the on-the-nose-writing can sneak up on you.

The blogger I was reading, called it ‘Tea, Vicar?” and provided an amusing example:

    “More tea, Vicar?” Angela asked, taking his cup and placing it on the tray beside her.
“Don’t mind if I do,” said the Rev. Phelps.
“That was two sugars, wasn’t it?” she asked, pouring the fragrant liquid from the heirloom pot into his cup and stirring in the milk. When he nodded, she dropped in two sugar lumps, stirred again, and handed him back the cup.
“Thank you, my dear,” he said, accepting it with a smile.

I agree with the blogger, this is about as exciting as watching paint dry.  Ask yourself, is this moving my story forward or increasing my word count? If it has nothing to do with the plot-get rid of it. Unless the fact that the Vicar always takes two sugar lumps or she uses an heirloom pot is significant to the story, it shouldn’t be there.  Who has time for the mundane?

Remember every scene, every sentence, every word, has a purpose, and that’s to propel the plot forward. Throw your MC right into the middle of the conflict and then resolve the issue.

I don’t want a tour of the countryside, or a long rambling chat. Don’t give me lifeless prose that adds fluff and not content. I don’t care how pretty it is, and the publisher want either. I want unrelenting movement towards the crisis. I want action. I want to be gripped. I think you get the picture 🙂

If you want your manuscript published, you’re going to have to roll up your sleeves and get to work. Cut that fluff. A publisher want do it for you. He/She will just send it back, or worse, toss it into the rejection pile.

-Jan R

 

 

 

Who Watches Paint Dry?

Pacing-Fast Or Slow?

Writing your first novel-Some things you should know, , , , 3 Comments

controllingthepaceinyournovelPeople who love to read but have never written books are cognizant of the pacing. Pacing sets the tempo of your story. Is it a fast read or did it seem to drag on for days? Hopefully you’ve found a balance between the two and they perform like a fine tuned orchestra.

I have read many good books that I skipped portions of, because I was tired of reading about the duchess’s frilly dress or  inner hull of a slave ship. I’m glad the authors did their homework and provided historical information, but sometimes it can be a bit much and totally bog down your story. I have read other books that were nonstop action that left me wanting; they were missing the details that made the story real and the characters endearing.

So how do you control the pacing of your story since once you start writing it seems to take on a life of it’s own? Be cognizant of the tempo and your audience. You have to strike a balance between the amount of information in the pages you are given and the patience of your reader.

There are three main attributes that effect the pace of your novel.

  1. The number of pages/words in the novel vs. the time period covered – Long books that depict a short period of time are going to move at a slower pace.  you’re going to be providing a lot of detail and back story to fill up all those pages. Short stories depicting long periods of time are going to move at a faster pace. In order to cover everything you have to cover, you’re not going to have time to stop and smell the roses. There’s just too much happening and not enough pages/words to expound-talk about making every word count 🙂
  2. The density of the narrative – The length of the story versus the number of twists and characters within. If you have a simple story with maybe one subplot and a handful of characters, you should be able to move along at a fairly steady pace. You start going all Lord Of The Rings on that book with numerous subplots and characters that are a product of your imagination-you’re going to have to slow down and figure out a way to keep it moving forward without getting too bogged down in the details.
  3. Scenes vs. Exposition                                                                                                          Scenes are the important events that move the story forward.  They are the action and dialogue that occur during the course of the story.                                                    Exposition is the back story or descriptive information that stands outside of the story and slows things down.

I love this chart. It provides some great examples of ways to control the pace of your novel and is very user friendly:-) Some more things to think about when you are addressing pacing.

controlling-the-pace-of-a-story

 

I hope this helped.

-Jan R

 

Pacing-Fast Or Slow?