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I’ve found that when I’m trying to write a long-ish project, at least over 20k words (which I realize might be pretty short compared to other people’s count XD), my pacing feels off. It’s either feeling WAY to hasty, where big things happen and are resolved on the next page, or everything’s moving slower than a snail.
Tips? Advice?
I’d especially like those short bits to be longer, but filler is the LAST thing I want.
“Everything is a mountain”
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@whalekeeper. First off, such a relatable question. (I’m often facing the same problem. 😂)
Second, I really wish I could help, but I’m afraid I don’t have much aid in this area. (especially since I’m always battling the same problem, lol) I really wish I did, but I’m wishing you the best of luck! 😁🙏
One thing I can say is remind yourself that your book is only a draft as of this moment. You can always go back and revise (listen, I need to tell myself this all the time 🤣) and change things that need to be changed. 😉
I’ll be lurking this topic to see what others have to say. 😜 Speaking of which, let me tag a few for ya! @gracie-j. @joy-caroline. @koshka. @elishavet-pidyon. @godlyfantasy12. @queen_of_alvastia. @lydia-s.
I hope this will be helpful…
- Loosely plot your book out on note cards, with about how much time in the storyline you think that section should take.
- If things are going too fast, step back and try writing a character point by point through a scene. Add some description or dialogue.
- If they’re going too slow, look for unnecessary dialogue and/or lengthy description that can be shortened/cut/moved. Remember, in longer works you don’t need to show every moment of the day. Skip over some down time.
- Maybe try ignoring the word count that you’re trying to get to. If the story’s long enough it will be a good length. You can go back and lengthen/shorten scenes if you need.
And there’s probably several articles on here that would be more helpful than me.
What has been the most help for me is the book Save the Cat writes a Novel. It basically works you through each part of the plotting/first draft stage as you go.
(There is some profanity, but if you can find yourself a your own copy a black pen takes care of that.)
First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the GorkSo I might not be getting the problem *exactly* correct, but if you’re having a hard time with the pacing of your story, I’m gonna recommend to try plotting it out. Plotting doesn’t have to be all that complicated at all! Basically, there are certain major points that need to happen in every story besides just beginning, middle, and end. You have your inciting incident that happens about 10-15% into the novel, your midpoint twist that happens in the middle, climax near the end, etc. I don’t know if this will help, but when I realized I was having pacing problems with a story, one thing I did was plot out the major key points of the story. I LOVE Jill Williamson’s scene plotting worksheet she has. It’s an easy-to-follow guide that you might find helpful. I hope this helps. Best of luck with all your writing. You’ve got this!!!
God gives His hardest battles to His strongest soldiers.
TeenWritersNook.com
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