Saturday, July 19, 2008

Pacing

I have to shout out for the University Bookstore and Reading with Rover this week. They helped make my Book Launch Party a rocking good time.

It's funny how life and our stories reflect each other. Sometimes we will feel like our life is spinning out of control; our stories feel that way too. Other times, things feel slow and lazy; our stories can reflect that too. I think being aware of the connection between our stories and our life can help us with pacing.

When you put on your editor hat and read your story, open yourself to the heart the pacing. Have you spent five chapters on one day and the rest of the chapters take several weeks? Ask yourself why you've done this. I find if I feel stagnant in my real life some of that will sneak into my writing. Being aware of this connection, let momentum in your life translate itself into momentum in your story.

I write from a story telling tradition and this is only true for a small percentage of writers that I meet. I feel the connection with the rhythm of telling. This rhythm deals with pauses and expressions of the teller. When you write, you lose this part of the story. In writing you fill in the pauses with releasing the tension in the story. Word choice holds the expressions. Be aware of what might be missing from your story and compensate.

I hope that find something that helps.

I call this week's doodle Storybook.



Remember: ©Molly Blaisdell, all rights reserved. If you want to use my cool doodles, ask permission first. It is so wrong to take people's doodles without permission!

I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once.

--Ashleigh Brilliant

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