TECH: Quick Trot?

[mbarker.livejournal.com]

Original posting 4 February 2009

Moving Right Along

Writer's Digest, January 2006, in the Fiction Essentials column by Nancy Kress, has an article called, "Pick up the Pace." As the subhead points out, "Certain genres require a rapid-fire succession of scenes. Here's how to keep your fiction moving quickly."

Why quick pacing? "It hooks readers, creates tension, deepens the drama and speeds things along."

So what is this pace? Basically, it's the speed at which you introduce events and characters. Nancy suggests that you can think of it as the number of story events divided by the page count. Higher ratio, faster pace. So when you put your foot to the keyboard, there are more events in fewer pages.

How do you decide? Start by looking at the genre you're writing in. Thrillers, mysteries, westerns, adventure -- these are fast-paced. Keep your story moving. One of the advantages of having lots of events is that it raises lots of questions in the reader's mind, so he's going to keep reading seeking answers, trying to understand the connections of all these events and possible outcomes.

Women's fiction, character driven fiction, historical novels -- you may want to take more time to develop scenes and introduce events. And with literary fiction, you may want to go even slower. Notice the slow pace probably means a more polished style, more complex characters, something to keep the reader interested. Complex character development, detailed description, stylistic nuances -- go ahead and help your reader form a deep interest and concern.

Pace increases tension. Fast events mean characters get into trouble more quickly. Conflict is the engine driving stories. When the pace goes faster, there's more chances for conflict. And conflict also sets out and pushes tension. Characters want to get out -- and so do the readers.

A quick pace also increases tension because readers start connecting scenes, even if the characters don't. Changes in bit characters are more obvious when their appearances are back-to-back. Events that happen close together often lead readers to imagine cause-and-effect relations -- whether they are appropriate or not.

Nancy doesn't mention it, but I think there's also the roller coaster ride effect. With a fast-paced story, the reader is wondering what's going to happen next, and reacting to the repeated surprises. Sure, they could read the story more slowly, but that's not what they want.

How do you make your story keep the pace? Some suggestions:

• start your story in the middle of dramatic action
• keep description brief. One or two key details
• combine scenes. Stack the action into one scene instead of splitting it over several.
• rely on dialogue. Spoken conversation reads rapidly.
• minimize backstory. Let the reader learn about characters through what they do now in story time.
• keep chapter short
• remove unnecessary words. "Wordiness not only kills pace; it bores readers."

So you want to keep the wheels turning, the metronome clicking, tick-tock, tick-tock, as the sweep second hand spins across the clock face!

An exercise. First, take a look at your work in progress. What would happen if you tried picking up the pace? Suppose you wanted to position it as a thriller -- how would you change the pace, the setting, the arrangement of scenes, etc.?

Second, pick a scene or situation that lends itself to the fast-paced thriller description. The automobile accident, the race in the ambulance to the emergency room, or the sudden preparation for an unexpected dinner guest after a phone call? Pick your own problem of time, and then write up the description. Make us feel the anxiety of the situation through the pacing of the story.

Okay?