Writing Tip Wednesday--Pacing

Yes, I picked another tough topic! Pacing--the movement of your plot from beginning to end. You can have great pacing, where the reader absolutely can't put the book down because she can't find a slow part for stopping. Or you can have mediocre pacing, with sluggish scenes that don't move the story forward fast enough to keep the reader's interest.

While an action-packed romantic suspense or thriller lends itself to faster pacing by definition, you have to take advantage of the twists and turns to make it work. Use fewer drawn-out descriptions and focus on the suspense.

Typically, other genres need a little boost. Contemporary romance won't have the same tension a well-written RS has, but keeping the characters active and the plot moving forward can help maintain good flow. Remember backstory and info dumps??? Those slow down the pacing and give the reader opportunities to stop reading or lose interest.

Ways to create good pacing:

1) Keep your characters as active as possible. Don't allow them to spend much time thinking about things that have already happened. Avoid the cursed beginning-of-the-chapter recap.

2) Don't fall victim to backstory and/or info dumps. Ease tidbits of information into the story as needed--exposition!

3) Don't define pacing by action alone. Sexual tension, good opening and chapter-end hooks, and emotional ups and downs can produce a story that moves along at a steady pace.

4) Use your genre to help decide what good pacing means. It won't necessarily be the same for paranormal and historical.

5) Remember to use POV to your advantage. Show instead of tell. Use active rather than passive sentence structure. Be the character!

6) Avoid unnecessary description, movements, and dialogue.

7) Use tight writing, with minimal adjectives/adverbs and crutch words. Use contractions wherever possible.

8) Internal dialogue can draw the reader in and reveal important details about the character while keeping the pacing strong.

9) Keep GMC a vital part of characterization and the plot.

10) Use POV choice to create tension. Who has the most to lose in each scene?

Are you noticing how almost every part of writing craft ties into pacing? Actually, each aspect of craft overlaps with others. As one area improves, another will follow. The most important point is never stop trying to improve your craft. You didn't think I'd get all philosophical, did you??? :D

Let's take a look at genre definitions next week. Do you know what makes a paranormal a paranormal and not a contemporary or a historical?

Mellanie Szereto
Romance...With A Kick!

Writing Tip Wednesday--Adjectives

If you remember Schoolhouse Rock, you know a noun is a person, place, or thing. Adjectives help describe those people, places, and things. They can come before a noun (car), in the form of a single word (blue), or as an adjective phrase (that had a dent in its fender). The description provides the reader with enough information to visualize the nouns.

Example (*** indicate paragraph indentations):
***Gathering the scattered laundry from the ground, Jane toyed with idea of telling the tyrant laird of the clan to wash his own damned plaids. She might be stranded in his drafty castle, but he had no right to treat her like a common wench.
***A quick check of her pocket made her lips twitch in an anticipatory smile. She'd have plenty of time to escape after she crumbled the few leaves in his stew. "You just wait until the evening meal, Callum MacDougall. You'll be sorry you ever laid eyes on Lady Jane Eastwood."

Here's how the example would read without any adjectives:
***Gathering the laundry from the ground, Jane toyed with telling the laird to wash his plaids. She might be stranded in his castle, but he had no right to treat her like a wench.
***A check made her lips twitch in a smile. She'd have time to escape after she crumbled leaves in his stew. "You just wait until the meal, Callum MacDougall. You'll be sorry you ever laid eyes on Lady Jane Eastwood."

Taking out all the adjectives and adjective phrases makes the scene flat, but can you add too many?

***Gathering the scattered laundry from the ground where she'd laid them to dry, Jane toyed with idea of telling the tyrant laird of MacDougall clan to wash his own damned soiled plaids that he wore as kilts. She might be stranded in his drafty, falling-down castle, but he had no right to treat her like a common serving wench of questionable parentage.
***A quick check of her deep, front skirt pocket made her chapped lips twitch in an anticipatory smile. She'd have plenty of time to escape after she crumbled a few dried foxglove leaves in his rabbit and turnip stew. "You just wait until the poisoned evening meal, Callum MacDougall. You'll be sorry you ever laid your pretty blue eyes on Lady Jane Eastwood."

Hmm, I think we need a shovel to get through that scene. A good rule to remember--Unless a specific noun is vital to the plot, don't over-describe. Moderation again...

Contractions are on the agenda for next week. Write, write, write!

Now I'm off to work on the last few chapters of book one in my foodie contemporary series...or chapter four of book two :)

Mellanie Szereto
Romance...With A Kick!

Writing Tip Wednesday--Adverbs

Happy New Year!

I'm tackling adverbs from both sides this week. On one hand, writers are told to use adverbs sparingly. Please note the use of the adverb "sparingly" in that sentence :) On the other hand, some critiquers and contest judges get carried away with it, marking every word that could be construed as an adverb. Overkill!

BTW, a lot of adverbs end in -ly, but not all of them. Some adverbs are also other parts of speech in context. Don't assume the word is an adverb without checking how it's used.

In some/many cases, a stronger verb makes the adverb unnecessary.

Examples:

1) Jane walked softly up the stairs to avoid making them creak.

Rather than using "softly," you can replace "walked" with a stronger verb, like "tiptoed" or "crept." The writing is tighter, more succinct, and more effective.

2) Silently watching her climb the stairs, Callum waited to see where Jane planned to snoop.

Can you think of a word to replace "watching" when it's done "silently?" Off the top of my head, neither can I. The sentence could be rewritten to omit the adverb, but occasional use is OKAY. The manuscript doesn't have to be adverb-free.

Adverb or...something else?

Examples:

3) Jane pulled a lovely silk gown from the trunk.

"Lovely" ends in -ly, but is it an adverb? No. It's describing the gown (a noun), so "lovely" is an adjective.

4) The floor creaked somewhere behind her, so she ducked under the bed.

"So" is often an adverb, describing an adjective to tell how much. In this example, "so" is used as a conjunction to join two independent clauses. Without it, we'd have a comma splice. Remember those???

5) The very tips of Callum's boots rested on Jane's sleeve, trapping her against the floor.

"Very" is almost always an adverb--and one that shouldn't be used in narrative. Use only when emphasis is needed in dialogue. In this sentence, however, it's an adjective because it describes the tips of Callum's boots (a noun).

Use the rule of moderation with adverbs. Know what they are, what they aren't, and how to use them correctly and effectively.

Next up--Adjectives!

Mellanie Szereto
Romance...With A Kick!