Pay attention to your sentences!I've found that my stories always end up feeling, at least to me, like they aren't going anywhere, or they're going crazy fast. What are some of the best practices you guys have found to write good pacing into your stories?
Thank you! Very helpful resources.Read up on writing Scene and Sequel. Google will give you the basics. It should be enough for you to get started, but if you want to learn more and get into the minutia of it, check out the Elements of Fiction series of writing books, specifically the book called Scene and Structure.
Sometimes I just feel like I have to write a slow travel or dialogue scene because the book has been really fast paced for a while. I struggle making those scense feel meaningful and like they are driving the plot forward, while also staying true to the characters.Could you elaborate on your question? If a story isn't "going anywhere", what make you feel that way? Have you written the story all the way to the end? Is it that you're getting bored with the story, or is it that you like the story but are having trouble telling it well, making it exciting? Does every story that doesn't go anywhere all seem to have the same problem?
Because I feel like I am weaker at writing slower scenes I spend a lot of time just jumping straight to all the cool events I've thought up, without any breaks in between.At the other end, I'm not sure what "going crazy fast" means here. Too many characters? Power characters scaling up too quickly? Here again, are we talking about you judging your completed stories, or are you saying these are reasons why you have yet to finish a story?
This is very helpful! Do you have any general tips on making the slower scenes, espescially dialouge scenes, engaging?Pay attention to your sentences!
If you want the scene to be a faster pace, you'll want to give less info and generally keep sentences shorter. Spend less time describing things and more time making things happen.
If you need the text to slow down, maybe you need to lengthen your sentences. Show more. Stay with a character's actions or thoughts longer (say more about them).
OK, but there are other ways to slow down the action. You might consider a philosophical discussion, a bit of comedic fooling around, charging off turns into a slog and then a dead end, a little romance (which of course can also be face paced), or just stopping to pet the dog. Lots of ways to slow down without necessarily having to write travel.Sometimes I just feel like I have to write a slow travel or dialogue scene because the book has been really fast paced for a while. I struggle making those scense feel meaningful and like they are driving the plot forward, while also staying true to the characters.
Jumping forward is fine, it really is. I do it often. It can lead to a very messy first draft, but I have been able to find at least one benefit; namely, that now that I have Action Scene 4 and Action Scene 5, I am able to see better what needs to be done in between. Typically, things have happened in Scene 4 that call for some sort of reaction from my characters. At the very least, they can review what was done, debate next actions, and make a decision. That whole process works better when I know what Scene 5 looks like. I can foreshadow. I can present what sounds like good arguments, only to show their weaknesses. And so on. The only real mistake would be to leave the jumps without providing any connecting material.Because I feel like I am weaker at writing slower scenes I spend a lot of time just jumping straight to all the cool events I've thought up, without any breaks in between.