Thursday, January 8, 2015

Pacing by Dianne K. Salerni

I recently received a long-awaited revision letter, and one of the first items on my editor’s list of things to address was: Speed up the pacing at the beginning.

Immediately, my mind started running through what events I could cut. Or make more exciting. Could I slash more words from the text? Should I make things happen faster? (There’s a reason Jax is running on the cover of the first two books, right?)

This is the third book I’ve revised for this editor, and I really should know her better by now! After reading through her letter it became apparent she wasn’t looking to cut events or slash words. In fact, to improve the pacing, I often needed to add words to scenes—spelling out the very important element I hadn’t made clear in the text: the stakes.

I know what the stakes are. My characters know, too. Therefore I mistakenly assume that my readers know as well. But sometimes the stakes get lost or buried in the events of the story, and when the reader forgets what they are, that’s when the pacing falters.

What’s the goal? What’s the deadline? What happens if the goal isn’t met, and how much time is left? These are the things that need to be hit – repeatedly and hard – in a MG adventure. In my books, days of the week are important because there’s a secret eighth day and some characters exist only on that day. My editor wants me to remind readers what day it is. Often. They should practically hear the clock ticking in the background.

She also suggested I avoid talking about people waiting even when they must do so. Instead of writing “There was nothing he could do until Grunsday, when Evangeline would be back” I need to describe what other people are up to during that time. How are they striving to meet their goals, overcome the opposition, or raise the stakes for the main conflict?

Perhaps the third time will be the charm? Maybe I’ll learn the lesson my editor is teaching me and improve this skill on my next manuscript. Pacing isn’t about writing nothing but pulse-pounding action scenes.  It’s about focus and tension. 

11 comments:

  1. Great tip. I've recently learned to recognize those moments in books, where the author reminds us what's going on and why it's so important. Like, "If we don't blow this dam by five o'clock, the space chickens will invade the Vatican!" It's like a reset button, where the other things fall aside and all is focused again on the goal.

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    1. Gradually, I'm learning to recognize the places in my manuscript where I *should* put those reminders. Sometimes it's hard, because as the author we know what the goal is all along. We forget we have to make sure the reader keeps up with us!

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  2. It's really interesting, because as a writer, I'm always paranoid about repeating myself, and reminding readers of things, but when I'm a reader? I love being reminded. I NEED it.

    It is a fine line though, I suppose. Finding the right balance is key.

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    1. Yes, Matt -- that's exactly it! I don't want to repeat what I already said, but the readers need the reminders. Balance is key!

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  3. Your editor sounds very wise. (I will be rereading this post many times as I put what I hope will be the finishing touches to my current ms.)

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    1. She is awesome! And congrats on wrapping up your latest manuscript! Hope this helps!

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  4. This is such a great post, Dianne! When I think about pacing, I think about things very scene-by-scene - the trees instead of the whole forest, if you will. So next time I'm going to think about the big picture (the stakes!) when I'm fixing the pacing. This'll come in handy as I have an MG adventure in the wings myself!

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    1. Julie, I think that was my mistake, too -- looking at the sequence of events instead of the story as a whole!

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  5. I love the idea of talking about what others are doing while the MC is waiting...that will save me a finger-slap next time. Thanks!

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    1. Yup. Seems so simple, once it's pointed out, doesn't it?

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  6. I have been there, Dianne! When my editor told me the same thing about The Ravens of Solemano, the book became 50 pages longer and faster for it!!

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Thanks for adding to the mayhem!