Questions tagged [pacing]
This tag should be used for questions about the way to pace the story in a literary work, such as a fantasy novel.
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How to pad the pages in a murder mystery
I have arrived at a plot point that I would rather be later. If one were to say that a page is 250 words, then the murderer has scapegoated someone else at page 8. As far as I can recall, Agatha ...
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Just made an exposition chapter and I'm worried
I'm currently working on a fantasy novel.
Storyline wise I'm just about to charge into the second arc of the story, much more intense and action focused than the previous world building arc.
I'm ...
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How to fill space between events
I'm writing a novel in which a lot of the time is spent walking. Literally walking along an old bridge. Eventually the main character comes across several other characters that will make things much ...
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How do you get better at building words?
I started to post my unpublished work on an online forum. Where you post your work slowly in an unspecified time.
I posted my prologue and a chapter 1. It seems that some people liked it and actually ...
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Effectively defusing tension after a first act climax/peak, even though the characters themselves aren't relaxed
I've got my story all written down until the first act climax (which technically shouldn't be called a climax, but I don't know a better term): a battle of physical and emotional stakes that's ...
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How do I deal with "false filler" scenes necessary to move the plot along?
I wanted to ask this question after seeing this question. The two question are similar but kind of touch on somewhat different topics.
Specifically, I am wondering what one should do about "fake&...
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Avoiding tedium and trivialisation from repeated events
I'm writing a sci-fi novel set on Earth in the recent past. In the novel, an alien giant robot destroys numerous cities in North America.
The first such occurrence, New York City, receives a lot of ...
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How can I spot if my story is being stalled or interrupted, and how do I arrange my writing so that it continues to move?
I would like for my story to continue moving, but I find that I interrupt action with details or inner thoughts, mood, emotion, etc. Hence, how can I spot an interruption in my writing that could ...
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Dilating the beat
Consider the following sentences
She did not feel the bullet going through her skull.
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She did not feel the 9mm NATO Parabellum lead bullet going through her skull.
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She did not feel the nine ...
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How to time "big reveal" and twist moments?
My question is similar to How to best pace information reveals to the reader and in the same general vein as When to finally reveal plot twist to characters?, but I think it's sufficiently different ...
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How to intermix similar related scenes
I have a scene in which my viewpoint character (effectively a manager) is conducting interviews for a role he must fill. Most of the characters he interviews (12 total) will have some impact on the ...
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Am I starting my story too late in its timeline?
In my story the MC joins this pseudo-militia. The process for every new person is to sign up, go to training, and then be sorted into teams and wait to be assigned a mission.
I have started writing ...
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How to revise or edit an extremely long story?
I have a story that I am working on that is extremely long. The first volume in the series is about 120,000 words, and that is only about half of its predicted wordcount. Counting the other entries in ...
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How do you introduce a new character in later entries of a series?
I had an outline for a book series in which I introduce a new character in one of the later volume to act as an introductory viewpoint character for people who are just picking up the series for the ...
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How do you avoid "rushing to the good stuff" with poor pacing as an inexperienced writer?
I was recently watching a writing review talking about the pacing in the recent Invincible adaptation. One thing that the author of this video pointed out is that when authors are very inexperienced ...
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What are some ways to do recurring dreams effectively/better?
I am using a series of recurring dreams to illustrate a character's mental state and to also throw in a change of pace in amongst the regular non-dream action. The dream format really allows me to do ...
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How to skip over a long period of time
I'm writing a ficional story about a historical figure. My MC takes twelve years to achieve a major success. But the bulk of the work takes place in three stages: at ages 17, 23, and 29.
I have ...
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My scenes seem too fast
I’m having issues because while I’m in the process of writing I think my style has enough length to it, but when I go back and read my work it feels extremely fast. A scene I expected to take me ...
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How do you estimate the length of your screenplay in screentime?
The title says it all. I'm talking about a feature-length film here, although I'm sure the techniques are universal.
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Characters feelings; Using them for pacing/tension
I'm writing a novel and in the opening chapter, one of the main characters finds herself traveling by foot through a very severe sandstorm. I used the character's feelings of choking/suffocating to ...
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When do I successfully kill off an important secondary main character... in a series of five books?
TL;DR: How much time and development is necessary for a character I intend to kill off and replace with a second character so that both feel important to the narrative?
I've looked over this a bit, ...
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...and then she held the gun
In the short passage I am writing, the starting point is that one character is being held at gunpoint, and the end point is that she now holds the gun, having disarmed the opponent.
The idea is that ...
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How do I introduce dark themes?
My story involves a superhuman organization that aims to overthrow the main government, through any means necessary. This involves murder and some rather gruesome deaths. Additionally, there might be ...
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Spicing up a moment of peace
In the ever swinging tone of a novel, one may wish to show a moment of peace amidst all the chaos. In my novel it happens a few times, most notably when characters are travelling across vast natural ...
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Is it bad to suddenly introduce another element to your fantasy world a good ways into the story?
I'm writing a novel with many POVs, and this is a very flexible story. It started out with a few POVs who had one plot, and now there is a lot more, having been integrated in between those previously ...
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How can I write a panicked scene without it feeling like it was written in haste?
I normally try to place myself in my character's shoes and I think to myself, "how would I react if I were in this situation?" Well one of my beta-readers commented on my work, and he said the chapter ...
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How to slow down the pace of the story?
How do I slow down the pace of my story? And please refrain from answering with "add more descriptions," because I'm already aware of that technique :). I'd like to see if there are even more ways to ...
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How do I prevent my stories from feeling rushed?
Many of the short stories that I write feel too short. Now, I know that there's nothing wrong with a (very) short story, but often I feel like I'm rushing the story because I have an idea for the ...
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Books or resources on writing fluidly?
I have ADHD, and while I write often very good essays, some of which are published, I seem to struggle to stay on one thought. When I'm writing an argumentative essay, for example, I get so excited at ...
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Guidance on pacing the introduction of new characters
I'm adding a qualifying question to the end of this question.
So I have (let's say) two types of feedback in my beta critiques and real-life writing clubs. One is that I have floating heads syndrome,...
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How much character growth crosses the line into breaking the character
(not a duplicate of Character Development - How much is too much? because that one is more about "overreaction" to smaller events.)
TL;DR: How much can a character change without becoming ...
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Turning away from the 3-act structure - what guides my pacing now?
Not all stories follow a 3-act structure. As an example, Les Misérables is rather episodic in its nature: first there's the story of Bishop Myriel and how he meets Jean Valjean, then there's Fantine's ...
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The three acts and their relative length
Let's take for granted that the 3 acts structure is relevant and exists. This, of course, is an assumption. How the three acts relate with the length of the novel?
In a standard book - let's say 50k ...
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Is there a balance between a page-turning read and an exhausting 'too much' reading experience?
I have learned over the past fifteen months of writing fiction that every scene needs to have tension and advance the plot.
This is good. But, I find that as I read my novel (again and again) to ...
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Is my story pacing too fast?
I have a quick question- I'm just a bit confused about the story I'm writing.
So earlier today I posted the first chapter of my story, and someone commented that the story "escalated too fast for me ...
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Does a page-turner have to be continually high-octane?
I've experimented with both critique partners and people I know (be they friends, family or colleagues) as unrewarded beta readers. The latter are very slow, sometimes reading slower than I wrote a ...
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How long can a fantasy novel stay in metaphorical Kansas?
I am writing a novel with the basic Wizard of Oz, Alice in Wonderland or the Matrix if you want structure. The novel begins in perfect modern day, and at some point in a very sharp way takes a turn ...
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Cutting down story length without leaving out locations
I'd like to write a story and I have plenty of elements for it, up to and including a set of locations, characters and events, as well as some loose sequence for those.
This is still a planning phase,...
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How do you deal with Chapter 2 when Chapter 1 is a volcano opening?
I know the logic behind volcano openings and why they’re problematic (they set the expectation that that level of action and excitement will continue; they’re a hard act to follow; they make a promise ...
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How to know if the story is going too fast?
I have a question, part subjective, part common sense I think...
The conjunction of experience of some writers can be helpful for me.
How you know if the story is balanced?
...I mean,how you know it'...
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What are common attributes of the Steampunk genre?
These attributes could be character archetypes or traits, attributes of the setting, characteristics of plot or pacing, and broader themes. Essentially, I'd like to build a definition of the genre by ...
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How can I improve my writing's pacing and sophistication?
How can I improve my creative writing skills? I have many ideas for short stories but I feel as if my writing is very slow paced and not sophisticated enough. How can I integrate literary techniques ...
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How to show a character being bored for multiple chapters without boring the reader
When my protagonist is learning to use their magical skill, they must remain in hiding. Because they have not yet mastered their magical skill.
My protagonist is bored from being holed up for so ...
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How do I write that years have passed in my story? [duplicate]
How do I write that years have passed in a short story, but without stating it? I have been trying all sorts of techniques, but it's just not sounding right in my story. I really don't know what to do....
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Descriptive words to slow down the pace of the story?
Is it true that to slow down a story, you add descriptive words in place of an action?
I feel like the pace my story is going at, I'll finish it in less than 200 pages. It just doesn't feel right to ...
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My readers are losing interest halfway through. What is a list of possible remedies?
I see a pattern among my readers, specifically where they tend to stop reading - it is about 2/3 through the story, during "Act 2." A few readers push through to the end and say they are ...
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A Question of Pacing - Trilogy or Quadrilogy - Cluttered Story
So I recently had a discussion with a reader and who pointed out a significant flaw in my work that I hadn't seen.
When I first started writing my series, I had a trilogy in mind - based on exploring ...
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Do you need to have your major plot point established in the first few chapters?
Background
I've now reached 10,000 words on the second book in my trilogy. Wow, goals. I have just got to the first major plot point which basically spells out the relationship between two characters ...
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Splicing/Mixing Scenes
Remember the end of the Godfather, where they spliced all the different assassinations with the christening? Or any film with good cutting, where they swap between different characters and what they'...
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How do I portray a particular moment as climactic?
It's a first person novel, and the main character has just overcome some emotional and mental barriers in order to unlock his telekinetic potential, under the training of his mentor.
“Do it, ...
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