Writing Tips and Tricks-Pacing

So it’s time to talk about pacing. This is one aspect of writing that is incredibly difficult to master. There’s an art to it. Some writers master it, while others struggle. I’m always worried when I’m revising my work if I’ve gotten it right. My basic formula for pacing the story is Fast beginning-some slow(er) story developing-increased action to a climax in the middle-more developing-high action ending. The idea is to keep the story going up ,up, up. The action scenes, and even the slower scenes should move faster as the story progresses. Of course, there are exceptions to this system. Some stories move in a totally different direction. I’m just sharing what works best for me. As a writer, your job is to keep people reading. Pacing is a huge part of that. Find a system that works for you and use it.

Another pacing tip of the trade, is to use a cliff hanger at the end of a chapter. It’s simple and used a lot. And it works. People will keep reading, just to find out what happens.

If you’re not the explosions and apocalypse kind of writer, there are other, more subtle, ways to keep your readers attention. Introducing an intriguing mystery can make people want to know more. They will keep reading to find out the answer to whatever questions you’ve created in their minds. Those mysteries often slow the pace of a story, but they make stories interesting and worth reading. So use them wisely.

Pacing is is really about figuring out how fast the story needs to move and finding the best way to implement it.

Writing Tips and Tricks-World Building

Building a world for your characters to live in is really, really important. You can have the most complex and beautiful world EVER in your head, but if you can’t get your readers to see it, it won’t matter. Everyone has their own way of doing this, but I’m going to talk a little about how I like to do it.

When I’m reading, I hate being bogged down with paragraph after paragraph of descriptive writing. Even the most talented writers can really slow themselves down with too much descriptive writing. That’s why I like to be sneaky about my description. A single, well placed world can tell a reader a whole lot about a character or situation. I often slip descriptive words into conversations or short thoughts. It’s like shaking a little seasoning on the writing. A little here and there goes a long way.

Subtly blending descriptions into the story also lets the reader use their imagination to fill in whatever gaps you choose to leave in the story. And readers love using their imaginations.

That doesn’t mean, however, that you can completely ignore the whole description thing altogether. Every book needs description to ground it and make it real. Sometimes I struggle with exactly how much too add. Building an interesting world for your stories is sort of a balancing act between giving information and letting your readers create their own information. It really boils down to figuring out what works best for you.

The Fear of Failure

Something interesting happened when I made my official FB announcement about signing a publishing contract. Along with happy congratulations, many of my friends, family members and acquaintances started confessing (to my surprise) that they were writers. Many admitted that they someday want to have a book published. “I’ve always wanted to do that,” they said. I’ve been trying to encourage them as best as I can, and point them to sites that might be helpful.

Another thing many of them confessed to me was that they are afraid of having someone read their writing. “Aren’t you terrified of putting your writing out in the word?” they asked.

Of course I am. I’ve always been pretty secretive about my writing. If I’m working on something and a family member (or anyone) walks into the room, I close the laptop. I don’t want anyone to know what I’m doing. I have no idea why.

So the idea of putting my hard work out in the world to be read and judged by everyone is really, truly, scary. I know everyone isn’t going to like it. I mayfail and fall flat on my face. There are going to be bad reviews, critics, and people who just don’t get it.

And I don’t care. Or at least I’m pretending not to. At the end of the day, I’ve created characters and a world I love. All I can do is hope a few other people feel the same way.

Do you write? If so, are you afraid of sharing your writing with others?

Writing Advice

So I've been trying to decide what direction to take this blog. Should I focus on writing? Reading? The publishing industry? Maybe a mix of all of them? I feel a little silly dishing out writing advice since I still consider myself a newbie but  I have learned a whole lot over the last year or so.

I figure today I'll share one thing I've learned about writing... If you don't need it, get rid of it. If a word or chapter or paragraph doesn't add something to your work then it needs to go. Certain words are 'filler words' and are usually good candidates for this. Those words include 'that' 'was' 'suddenly' 'instantly' and a whole host of others. Of course these words do service certain purposes but the trick is using them sparingly. When you really REALLY need them.

And if any part of your writing doesn't progress the plot or the characters it's not a good idea to keep it around. Unless you have a very good reason.

So that's the first lesson i'm sharing on here. Edit your own stuff before you send if off to another set of eye. And cut out any word that might distract them from how good (or bad) the rest of it is.