#plot tag: pacing

[brynwrites]

A word on pacing:

Though loading your characters with failure and suffering can be useful, also remember that some of the most tense moments of a story are when the protagonists seem to have the upper hand: 

When they've won.  When they have something amazing to lose.  When the reader knows they have nowhere left to go but down, down, down. 

(That’s when you follow through and crush them again.)

[brynwrites]

General Rule of Pacing for High Tension Segments:

A reader can read through their fingers for a little ways, but they're going to have an awfully hard time finishing the book if they can't pull their hands from their eyes long enough to turn the page!

[brynwrites]

Filling in the gaps.

When you struggle to connect the main plot points.

Anonymous asked:

Hi, I have a big problem with details and little events, like I know the main events that will happen, but I struggle to write between them, do you have any tips on that? Thank you so much for everything you are doing on this blog and I wish you the best of luck with your writing!

Fore word: This is how I do the thing. It’s not the only way to do the thing, nor the “right way,” just one way, which happens to work really well for me. I hope it helps you too, but if it doesn’t, there’s still a good method out there for you. Don’t give up; keep searching and trying new techniques!

Coming out of a main event (plot point) you should have a mix of these things:

A protagonist who made choices they were unsure about, and now carries an emotional burden of some kind.

Multiple primary and secondary characters who are emotionally and/or physically effected by the event.

Characters whose actions and choices during the event conflicted and who are now at odds in some way.

Unresolved plot details.

You also likely have new plot information to set up prior to the next main plot point, which might include anything from the main characters sitting down and physically deciding what to do next, to traveling long distances, to the reveal of information which will lead the characters to the next main plot point.

Usually this connective segment, which can range anywhere from one short scene to many chapters, creates a sense of “downtime,” or a lower point of tension which lets your reader relax after the trauma of the last plot point. 

Not all of them will actually be low in tension. That’s good! We don’t want to drop all tension at any point in the story. We want to let the reader breathe without losing their interest.

How do we actually create these “downtime” sections?

I had to write two of these exact sections to connect a plot point in AFS last week, and this is the progressions it went through:

STYLE ONE: In which I have limited room for creativity because I know the scene must take place during a border crossing, and my goal is to make the border crossing more than just a boring description of four characters worrying about things while they walk across the border.

1. Write down any leftover tension (emotional, physical, mental).

I knew the character had to go from one plot point to the next in order to recruit another main character and have a run in with the secondary villains. These characters come out of the previous plot point with five specific emotional ordeals:

The protagonist and Pine Head were very close once but are now so badly at odds that they can’t seen to work together.

The protagonist has been working with Fairy Child but doesn’t really know her as a person.

Pine Head’s sort-of-boyfriend Teddy Bear has been experiencing health issues that Teddy Bear doesn’t want to talk about.

The antagonist wants something from Pine Head and the protagonist is paranoid they’ll show up at any point.

The protagonist is realizing he’s not the amazing person he thought he was.

2. Make use of the tension to carry the reader through.

The protagonist fears the antagonist appearing, so that’s just what’s going to happen, and I’ll structure the segment around it. On the way to the main event I’ll add a scene where:

The antagonist show up. (Fulfils #4)

Pine Head and the protagonist are forced to work together in a small way, even though they’re still angry. (Fulfils #1)

The protagonist forgets about Fairy Child and subsequently realizes he doesn’t actually know or think about her and feels guilty over that. (Sets up #2).

Teddy Bear gets hurt. (Reinforces #4)

The antagonist implies that the protagonist is a hypocrite. (Reinforces #5)

With these components, I create a full scene (which has a lot of spoilers in it, so I won’t outline it.) This scene is still a fairly high tension scene though. After the protagonist recruits the new character during the next plot point, I want a low tension scene that will lead into the next major plot segment. 

STYLE TWO: In which I can do literally anything I want, as long as it’s good and connective. 

1. Where does this take place?

Setting is important. A good setting provides unique opportunities for the character to interact with each other and their world in a way they wouldn’t in any other setting. 

For this section, the characters are traveling through a rural part of the protagonist’s homeland, in which there are towns build in valleys. I could have them talk while they walk through tree, which would be the epitome of an uninteresting setting. They could enter a town and have some nice little discussions while buying goods at the store, which might give more room for interesting things to happen but is still lower on the interest scale.

I’m choosing to have them enter a town which is having an evening lights festival. The town is built in steps along a valley side, there are traditional games and food abounding, fireworks planned for after sunset, and a spring storm is approaching. This gives the characters a chance to interact with the culture, and a variety of activities and people, and provides a nice aesthetic.

2. Leftover tension and future setups.

During this segment, I have a few points which I need to hit:

The protagonist gets to know Fairy Child.

The protagonist and Pine Head laugh together like old times.

The protagonist can’t tell if Pine Head and Teddy Bear are really dating and approaches Teddy Bear about it.

Addition things I know I want to show:

Fairy Child and the New Character are obvious foils for each other.

Set up New Character’s developmental arc for this book.

Foreshadow a reveal from much later in the book.

Have Teddy Bear get his injuries looked at.

Reveal a piece of information vital to the next plot arc.

Let the New Character and Fairy Child train together in some way.

Let the protagonist angst a bit over one aspect of his character development.

3. Combined to create a fluid scene.

Maybe the protagonist goes to see Teddy Bear while Teddy Bear is getting his injuries looked at, while he’s there they talk about Teddy Bear’s relationship with Pine Head. Teddy Bear’s softness toward Pine Head mutes some of the protagonist’s anger and allows him to have a moment of light-hearted fun with Pine Head when Pine Head appears to check on Teddy Bear. Because of this light-heartedness, they decide to grab Fairy Child and New Character and go enjoy the festival for a bit...

4. Don’t glue yourself in place.

I wrote the above process a week ago and have since finished the scene I outlined during it, and while a lot of what I had originally outlined created a fantastic base, there were also things which happened while writing it which I hadn’t expected (but were great none-the-less), so don’t worry if you start writing and realize you have more you want to include or things you want to flat out change. That’s what outlines are for. They give you a foundation on which you can rebuild things without having to rewrite.

For more writing tips from Bryn, view the archive catalog or the complete tag. Pro-order Bryn’s debut novel, Our Bloody Pearl, today!

[brynwrites]

The First Act.

How to start a novel, set up your plot and characters, and get onto the heart of the story!

This is a combination of the anon questions “do you have any advice for newbie writers on pacing, especially in the first act?” and “I never know how to start my story is there any tips that you can give me,” along with @breannascribbles‘s “do you have any advice on writing beginnings because I really struggle with it?”

I’m writing this under the assumption everyone’s seen these three articles already, so be sure to take a look at them:

A Killer First Chapter

Establishing the Status Quo

How does pacing work?

Other things you should be aware of...

The inciting event(s.)

The inciting event should happen within the first 5% of the story. If you have multiple inciting events due to more than one POV character, a highly complex plot, or a "pre-inciting event" (i.e. something that catches the reader's attention full force and shows them where the primary inciting event will likely occur so they can anticipate it,) then the events may stretch out farther than this. In general though, if you have more than 5k words before the character dives into their journey and the reader glimpses the plot as a whole, then something probably needs to be cut out or rearranged.

The set up. 

Some books require a lot of set up in order for the character's development or the plot's beginning to make sense and hit home, while other books can have the set up built in after the plot starts rolling. Write out a list of what needs to be set up for your story and determine whether the reader needs to know each piece either prior to the inciting event, prior to the second act, or at some other point before the climax. All set up should be delayed until it's needed, except in cases where it's easy to work it into an already important scene.

If you don't need it, take it out. 

If that scene, that conversation, that action sequence doesn't either develop the plot or relay something new and important about the characters in the long run, then it doesn't belong in the first act. First acts, like first chapters, are there to show the reader what the book will be about and catch their interest so thoroughly that they can't look away. That scene you're attached to but isn't really necessary to the story probably won't be interesting to a still critical reader who's only just learning about your story and doesn't yet have the attachment to it that you do.

Something. Must. Happen. 

While there's many things you want to hold off on in the first act because they'll hit harsher after some tension is built up, this in no way means that nothing interesting or important should be going on! Don't leave your characters to a series of mild unemotional successes and quiet conversations simply because it's still the beginning of the story. Hit them where it hurts, make them taste the failure that will soon all but destroy them, give them choices they don't want to make. A novel length story can be a very long journey — don't give it a slow, monotonous start by treating your characters too tenderly in the beginning.

Play with different starting points. 

Think about the way the story would change if you started it at different points, with different characters, or in different locations. What does that do to the overall tension of the first act? How many scenes and chapters would you need with different starting points? Try plotting out "tension vs time" graphs. From there, which starting points give you the most consistent cycles of rising and falling tension with more rising than falling? (Remember to include both action-created tension and emotional tension in your graphs!)

Remember, this deeper look at your pacing through the first act can be done either during the outlining phase or after the first draft has already been written. For the first draft it’s always best to write your novel in whichever way helps you get the words on the page. 

There’s a lot more information in the linked articles, so check those out!

For more writing tips from Bryn, view the archive catalog or the complete tag!

[brynwrites]

How do I bring up my word-per-part count without having to add many things after the first write? Because at the moment I can rarely hit 1000 words on a chapter's first draft, I usually hit 800-900, but I want to be able to write more than just that.

Strengthening the Underwritten Chapter. 

The most useful advice I can give is the general chapter outline I use to help with pacing. I touched on it in this post, but I’ll expand a bit here in order to (hopefully) steer you away from underwriting. 

The Opening. 

This may be longer or shorter depending on how much time has passed since the last chapter, whether there’s an atmospheric change, and whether the characters are someplace which has been described before, but it’s always worth touching on at least one of these points:

Where are the characters? Describe something about the place, including at least one sensory detail like smell, temperature, sound, taste. Keep in mind the general feeling you want to give off.

What are the characters doing? Describe positions throughout the space, general actions. Show emotional states through this, using body language, expressions, relative positioning. 

How does the pov character feel? Set up their internal state through emotions, thoughts, and related actions.

The Initiating Point.

In which some goal is introduced or brought up. This can be anything from an object, to information, to convincing another character of something, to relationship development, etc. 

But the protagonist must want something. All other prominent characters should want something as well, though sometimes the things they want are the same as the protagonist, sometimes they’re less important to the plot, and sometimes only the writer is aware of them.

The characters set about achieving this goal, through actions and dialogue.

The Rising Tension.

The thing the characters want becomes harder for them to reach. The protagonist is forced to make choices they think will best lead them to this goal, and face consequences for these choices. 

If your chapters aren’t long enough, the most likely problem is that you’re not giving your protagonist enough of a challenge during the rising tension phase. Think about include at least one of these things to heighten the challenge:

Who or what is physically stopping your protagonist from reaching their goal?

Which of your protagonist’s flaws or conflicting goals are making it hard for them to do what they much to reach the goal?

What new obstacles can you throw at your protagonist to keep them from it and what bad things can happen to disrupt the progress the protagonist has made?

What hard choices must your protagonist in order to reach their goal?

What must the protagonist give up in the process?

Don’t forget to include emotions during this segment, not just dialogue and action! Characters react and feel and that’s what governs their actions. Leaving the emotional aspects out will produce a scene with feels flat and is too short.

The Climax.

This is the highest point of tension, with the most to gain and the most to loose. The protagonist makes a choice and either gets what they want, or fails so thoroughly they know they will no longer achieve their goal at the present time.

The Falling Tension.

The protagonist either relishes in their spoils for a moment, possibly before a new goal is introduced (either long or short term), or they wallow in their loss, and possibly begin a path towards planning their next move to achieve the old goal or something better.

In this segment you can return to the slower, more contemplative pace of the opening, giving the reader a moment to dwell on what happened and what it means to and for the characters.

More things to consider:

Most chapters should be between 2k and 5k words, but this will vary drastically between genres and individual chapters. 

Unless you’re writing a children’s book or using chapter length for experimental purposes, you should not have more than one or two chapters under 1k words, and hopefully not many below 2k words. (Short chapters help the reader move quickly through the book but you must provide enough time to ground them in a scene.)

When cutting a scene into two separate chapters, the best place to end the first chapter is generally during the second half of the rising tension.

Sometimes it works fine to cut off the wrapping up segment and apply the ‘wrapping up’ basic concepts to the next chapter’s opening section. This is especially the case when you’ve had a few extremely tense scenes/chapters in a row and are now preparing to have a less tense chapter to give the reader a break.

Not all chapters/scenes must follow the above pattern!!!! It’s a guideline that’s extremely helpful for giving you chapters which flow well and have just the right amount of meat in them, but it’s still just a guideline.

tl;dr You can flesh out your chapters by providing a strong set up, thoroughly challenging your protagonist before you allow them to succeed, and closing with a moment of contemplation on what’s to come, with a good balance of both action and emotion throughout the chapter.

[brynwrites]

Hi Bryn! I’ve been following your blog a while and really appreciate all the resources you provide. I’m a newbie writer trying to chug along on my very first first draft! I was wondering if you had any advice on how to perfect pacing. It seems like I’m so anxious to get my ideas down (because it’s hard to) that it all feels very rushed when I work in my large draft. I can write drabbles with appropriate pacing, so I’m not sure why it’s happening on my draft. Thank you so much! Have a great day!

How does pacing work?

A quick apology here, because I fully meant to do a long post with in depth explanations, so I put it off a bit because I didn’t have enough time to sit down and write something like that. But now that I’ve finally gotten to it, I’ve realized that my take on pacing is very vague and relies on a lot of simplistic concepts. Realizing that you can looking at pacing from this vantage might be helpful in and of itself though!

From a fundamental perspective, here are the golden rules of pacing: 

   1. Alternate between high tension and low tension.   2. Always steadily but gradually increase the tension.

You do this on every level of storytelling. 

Paragraphs introduce a concept (lowest tension), develop that concept (mid levels of tension), and reach a conclusion (highest tension).

Chapters and scenes alternate between description (lowest tension), dialogue (higher tension), emotion (lower* tension), and action (highest tension), generally in that basic order. 

Stories start with a point of low tension and move through arcs in which the tension gradually increases until the climax.

*Emotions created by tense situation can be very tense, but when you take a full paragraph to describe them, it slows down the story a bit. 

If we break this down to its core components you get a neat little guide that your scenes, chapters, arcs, and full story should all follow to some degree:

The initiating moment: The moment when the goal is made clear. This generally happens very early on, and in some cases is just a reiteration of the goal decided upon in a previous scene/chapter/arc.

The rising tension: As the characters pursue their goal, things grow steadily harder and the consequences for failure become more extreme.

The climax: The period of highest tension, with greatest consequences vs greatest success, where the protagonist’s choices have a major impact on the outcome of the situation.

The falling tension: A short period of rest where the reader is allowed to bask in the accomplishments of the last climax (or mourn for the failures). 

Not all scenes and chapters must fulfill this pattern, of course, but it’s a good outline to follow if you want your pacing to feel natural and the reader to remain engaged but not overwhelmed.

You can find more writing advice by Bryn here!