Getting to the climax

[TheokinsJ]

I've been writing for a solid two months, and just reached roughly 30,000 words. Everything I've written has been building up to this massive, epic plot twist that I've only ever dreamt of writing, and now it's here. However, have I left the hook a little too late? Is 30,000 words in, too far? I started off the book with a first chapter that I think was a killer, to get the reader hooked. The second chapter was very much the same, building upon the first chapter's mystery and intrigue. But now at chapter 10, the twist, the other 8 chapters were basically my main character travelling, I added in some side plots along the way and a few other things to make the journey interesting, but I must admit I didn't really like writing them, because my eyes were set firmly on the chapter I'm about to write.
I suppose my question is, how long will you read a book- before you put it down, if nothing happens? If my first and second chapters really hook the reader, but then nothing very exciting happens until 8 chapters later, will the reader still be interested?

 

[Feo Takahari]

I've been writing for a solid two months, and just reached roughly 30,000 words. Everything I've written has been building up to this massive, epic plot twist that I've only ever dreamt of writing, and now it's here. However, have I left the hook a little too late? Is 30,000 words in, too far? I started off the book with a first chapter that I think was a killer, to get the reader hooked. The second chapter was very much the same, building upon the first chapter's mystery and intrigue. But now at chapter 10, the twist, the other 8 chapters were basically my main character travelling, I added in some side plots along the way and a few other things to make the journey interesting, but I must admit I didn't really like writing them, because my eyes were set firmly on the chapter I'm about to write.
I suppose my question is, how long will you read a book- before you put it down, if nothing happens? If my first and second chapters really hook the reader, but then nothing very exciting happens until 8 chapters later, will the reader still be interested?

On the one hand, lit-fic has shown that people are perfectly willing to read 20 chapters of the same unchanging situation, so long as that situation is interesting. On the other hand, that's a pretty big "so long as." If you yourself were bored writing it, it's not likely your readers will enjoy it more than you did.

As a side question: what purpose does the travel serve? Does it illustrate the character, or the world, or the situation?

 

[TheokinsJ]

As a side question: what purpose does the travel serve? Does it illustrate the character, or the world, or the situation?

The journey is an essential part of the plot. Basically, to simplify it; my main character is summoned to see the king in the capital of the kingdom, and he lives quite some way away. So, he and his family pack their horses and ride on a twenty day journey to get there, once he gets there, things get a bit more interesting before hitting the big plot twist that changes everything, and starts off the action. The journey must be done- it's not something I can leave out, so maybe I just need to find a way to make it more interesting.

 

[Feo Takahari]

The journey is an essential part of the plot. Basically, to simplify it; my main character is summoned to see the king in the capital of the kingdom, and he lives quite some way away. So, he and his family pack their horses and ride on a twenty day journey to get there, once he gets there, things get a bit more interesting before hitting the big plot twist that changes everything, and starts off the action. The journey must be done- it's not something I can leave out, so maybe I just need to find a way to make it more interesting.

I'm not sure I understand. Hamlet skips two months in which nothing interesting happens. A mere twenty days can be skipped over just as easily--you can even put in some bolded text saying Twenty Days Later. Is there anything that happens on the journey that shows anything or means anything?

 

[The Dark One]

And presuming there is, it can still easily be condensed into one chapter...or not.

The fact you weren't enjoying it yourself ought to be telling you something.

The most important thing is to get the story down on paper. The editing phase is all about pulling the story apart and putting it back together again. Worry about your pacing and the interest of a putative reader then.

 

[BWFoster78]

Does each scene:

1. Advance the plot and give us new information about it?
2. Develop character?
3. Contain tension?

If you accomplish these three things in each scene, you're good. If not, you probably need to delete some of it.

 

[teacup]

If there is enough things happening that can interest me, eg character development and tension, and subplots, I will keep reading. However, I would be a lot more interested in the reading if along with these things I am also given more information on the plot, just something to make me look forward to reaching that point of the plot.

 

[PaulineMRoss]

There is a theory that story structure can conform to a three-act arrangement: there's an inciting event early on that triggers the action, followed by a setup phase (act 1) culminating in a turning point, then there's a confrontation phase (act 2) culminating in another turning point, and finally a resolution phase (act 3) containing the climax and a winding down stage.

It sounds as if your 'twist' at 30,000 words is exactly right for the turning point at the end of act 1. So long as the traveling isn't just filled with descriptions of the scenery, but contains interesting snippets about the characters or the world/backstory, I would say it's fine. I read books with this kind of structure all the time.