Here's a brief summary of Kelley Armstrong's 'Picking up the Pace' session:
-AIM: you want the reader to not be able to put the book down
-HOW to do this:
-shorter chapters (between 10-12 pages)
-end chapter at a point where something about to happen naturally (don't need to invent cliffhangers, let the events happen naturally.)
-'go in late, get out early'. (look for the soonest moment to end a scene and stop there.)
-avoid repetition
eg. Action scenes
1) Set up
2) Action
3) Aftermath
Don't labor the point.
-Taking care of business (eg. starting car, climbing stairs, etc...) CUT these to increase pace UNLESS building suspense.
-RUE (Resist the Urge to Explain.)
-Don't write parts that readers skip (eg. scenery, description, backstory, repetition of character, technical info.)
If need to convey, use in small chunks broken up by action, dialogue, etc...
-Dialogue: if conveying info only & nothing revealed, get away with a couple lines of narrative instead.
-Look at the pulse beat of your story (go back through your story after written, analyse each scene for conflict/interest/high stakes. Rate 1-5. 1=low, 5=high. Should have a good mix.)
2 comments:
Great advice. Thanks for another fab post, Nic!
Glad you're enjoying them, Lacey.
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