Story Pace: The Speed That's Just Right

The pace at which you tell a story is a critical part of story telling. Knowing if you're moving too fast or too slow at any given time will help keep the flow of your story at its perfect speed. It's not always easy to know what that ideal pace is, but instinct mixed with your best judgment will help you figure it out one way or another.

Just like tempo in music, stories have their own form of tempo. If you change the tempo of the song, you can turn a fantastic work of art into an indistinguishable shrill. The same thing can happen in writing. If you don't follow the right pace, what might have been a masterpiece could read as much less. Pace is an element that no writer can afford to ignore.

Like most things in life though, saying its important is easy, but actually doing something once you know that isn't always as easy. It's not like you always sit down, begin writing, and the story hits the perfect pace right off. It isn't always recognizable, or obvious from the get go. It could be at any stage of your writing process that you suddenly grip the natural pace for that story.

Writing is a journey of self discovery, and many times you just have to follow your gut and go with the pace that feels right to you. As we write, we grow, and that experience allows us to write better. That includes finding and writing the correct pace. Depending on personal situations, you may have editors, and others working who can help you find the correct pace. If you're just starting out, this may not be something you've ever even considered. No matter what stage you're at in your writing life though, pace is an important element in what you do.

My advice to writers when it comes to pace is to keep it in mind. When you're reading lines, or writing them, make sure you give pace a thought during the process. It's important to remember to look at the project as a whole, and not just as individual paragraphs and sentences. If all those don't come together to establish the right pace, it may damage the flow. It is just another of the many factors that must be considered when writing. The story will be all the better for doing so.

I'm Benjamin C. Andrews, an author sharing my writing knowledge with others. Visit http://magicjarpublishing.blogspot.com/ for more writing tips and tricks, and other quality information.

Writing a Story That Wants to Be Written

Do we create the stories, or just tell them? I'm of the mind that we are just telling the stories. We make the ultimate decisions, but in truly great writing, the author can feel the flow of the story and where it's going to go. You can feel when something is forced, or just doesn't fit quite right. You can also feel when things are progressing smoothly. You get that feeling of balance and elation that automatically tells you you've made the right decision.

It is a key element of writing to be able to accept everything you write straight off is not necessarily gold. Sometimes you have to change the story even if you don't like that change. In many ways, writing a book is like putting together a puzzle, only you have to contend with pieces that don't belong at all as well. The words have to work together to create the story as a whole. If pieces that don't fit are used, it detracts from the final product.

Looking at the big picture is a great way to think about telling the story. If you're questioning anything, be it a single sentence or an entire section, think about how it affects the story as a whole. Does it fit with what is going on? Is that where you want to take the story? How will it change future parts of the story? Trusting your gut is essential. No matter how much work it may require, if you feel it doesn't fit with the story, follow that instinct and rectify the situation.

So what is this feeling exactly? It's hard to describe really. For me personally, I would compare it to the feeling you get when on a roller-coaster. That weightless feeling just before you drop down at high-speed. When I can really feel the story, that this part is definitely how it needs to be told, that's the feeling I get inside. It may be different for different people, but it is an important thing to recognize. It's just as important, if not more so, than being able to recognize what doesn't fit. Few things grab a reader's attention like a story that invokes this type of feeling throughout the story.

Ultimately, you have to be aware of not only your thoughts and desires, but those of the manuscript. Jamming whatever you want in there will only serve to bring the story down. Listen to the story that wants to be told, and follow the guide posts you'll see along the way. Whatever you may be writing will be the better for it.

I'm Benjamin C. Andrews, an author sharing my writing knowledge with others. Visit http://magicjarpublishing.blogspot.com/ for more writing tips and tricks, and other quality information.