1. goober779

    goober779 New Member

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    I need help

    Discussion in 'Plot Development' started by goober779, Jan 27, 2021.

    I'm writing a story and I want to keep the flow of the book going but the book feels rushed, any advice?
     
  2. Selbbin

    Selbbin The Moderating Cat Staff Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    It's hard to give advice without seeing the style of writing or the pace that you have. It could be perfect. I'm all for brevity and pace. I hate stories that meander along or wade through excruciating exposition about curtain colours.

    What makes you feel it's rushed?
     
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  3. goober779

    goober779 New Member

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    I barely have anything written down but its just one action right after the next and I don't know how to draw the story out. I can try to send you the story If you want to read what I have so far
     
  4. Selbbin

    Selbbin The Moderating Cat Staff Contributor Contest Winner 2023

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    No, don't send it. Try the workshop after posting two critiques. State what it is you would like to have looked at.
     
  5. Xoic

    Xoic Prognosticator of Arcana Ridiculosum Contributor Blogerator

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    It's ok to write that way to get your ideas down, and then go back through and slow down, expand it, bring in details and pacing. Make it more vivid etc. I think of it as going into slow motion and close-up on the parts that call for it.
     
  6. Kehlida

    Kehlida Member

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    Consider finishing your first rough draft before anything. I understand what you're saying because I do something similar. Once I enter the revision stage, I implement smoother transitions between plot points and flesh out any scenes that feel too brief.

    Quantity does not equal quality either, not all stories need to reach a certain count and some would benefit from perceived brevity. Intense moments should be fast-paced and some methods to achieve this include using strong verbs, direct wording and shorter sentences.

    A lot of what comes up in a first draft does not go into the final copy unscathed so you might find yourself changing whole ideas. Try not to over-focus on a perfect first draft and consider your inner critic. If you really need a second opinion early on just post a snippet in the shop for reviews.
     
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  7. The Multiverse

    The Multiverse Member

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    If it feels rushed, make filler content in areas you're sure give the greatest sense of being rushed. By filler, i'm referring to character development. A date, a casual day in town, recovery time for injuries, casual banter with people around your characters. Your characters are more than simply a sum of their actions, show how the world interacts with them and how they effect the world around them.
     
  8. Kalisto

    Kalisto Senior Member

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    It's a little hard to say what the problem is without looking at your piece, but there are a few things that you may consider to slow your book down.

    1. Take a step back for a month and then write another draft. Sometimes you just need to get away from your piece for a bit, and then reexamine it from a more objective standpoint. A lot of times after that time away, you can see why it looks the way it does.

    2. Building up the setting. Sometimes things feel rushed because the writer hasn't quite established his or her setting yet. This is particularly true in the sci fi and fantasy genres. The settings are kind of just these places that are there for the plot, but the character of the settings is more like this place where people just talk. Getting a setting to feel living and breathing is really simple too. It all comes down to using the five basic senses of sight, feel, sound, smell, and taste. No, you don't have to use all of these on every single little scene, but these small tangible details can bring a setting alive and slow the book down.

    3. Your characters are lacking, well, character. Now, don't freak out! It's not as big of deal as people make it out to be. It just takes time for some writers to get to know their own characters. If you're on your first, or even second draft, back up a bit and think "Okay what makes this character tick? What makes him or her do what they do and think the way they think?" And until you get to know your characters, yeah, you're going to rush from one thing to another and it's okay. Knowing what the events are going to be and how they're going to play out is vital. You can go back and figure out why they played out and how they affected your character when you understand more about your own story and perspective.

    4. And the final reason why your story feels rushed: You're on the first draft and that's just how you write. You're one of those writers that has to have something on paper. Yes, it's a big blob of clay when you first slap it down, but it's something. Once you know the size and scope of your story as well as the possibilities of what themes you could realistically explore with those characters and settings, you can start to form it into something great. You start to layer on the ideas and add texture to that framework. And you know what? There's nothing wrong with that.
     
  9. alanzie

    alanzie Member

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    Oh boy. . .I'm right there with you. When I first started writing my novel, it was sooo rushed. Action after action after action. I was fortunate enough to be give some very good advice from the president of a certain writer's association. Try writing one of the scenes as first person in the voice of your main character.

    I tried that and the scene went from roughly 700 words to over 3800 words, and it was telling exactly the same story. Suddenly, I knew my main character, along with all of the others within my story. Even more importantly, I began listening to them. They were telling me where the story was going.

    I went back to 3rd person but with a whole new understanding of the story and how to write it.
     
  10. Mogador

    Mogador Senior Member

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    One of the Philip Marlowe books starts with him stalking a blue bottle around the office. Then a call from a client comes in right when he has it where he wants it. He makes the client hold the line whilst he swats the fly. Then the plot starts.

    Books can be full of those things. Think about real life semi-interesting events that intrude upon 'important' events. How your characters react to those will tell the reader much more about who the characters are as people, and about the world they inhabit.
     

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