Writing Excuses 10.32: How Do I Control the Speed of the Story?
As we said last week, we’re talking about pacing, and we’ve divided the concept into two parts. Last week we covered “sense of progress.” This week we’re talking about the passage of time. We discuss the tools we use, some of which are very mechanical (scene breaks, chapter breaks) and some of which are quite intricate, and require finesse to get right.
Homework: Take something you’ve already written (a chapter with a few scenes would be perfect.) Change scene breaks to through-scenes. Then try moving the scene breaks around. See what happens to the pace of the story.
Thing of the week: Seveneves: A Novel, by Neal Stephenson, narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal and Will Damron.
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