Writing Tips &Tricks

Slow Your Roll

Sometimes writes get into the swing of writing and add event after even into a chapter because they're inspired. We've all been there. Writing is great. Being inspired is even better.

  The problems start coming up when your chapter reflects the pace at which it was written. In other words, it's too fast and feels rushed. When a chapter feels rushed, it doesn't flow. You may also be missing a lot of your chapter's length because you moved through it so fast.

  Take advantage of the inspirstion. Get all the ideas 'on paper' as fast as you can. Then, after all the new ideas have slowed down, go back through it and slow the chapter down.

  Not only with this make it more enjoyable for your readers, but you'll also have a longer chapter, or multiple chapters if you break the parts up some.

  The next question is, of course, how do I slow my writing down?

  One thing I will say, is that new writers get all caught up on content. Everything has to have meaning or serve a purpose. They don't include anything that doesn't directly further the plot. It may not further the plot to see your character go to the drug store, get groceries, or do chores, but it helps your story in a lot of ways.

  Number one, it humanizes your character. It makes them more relatable to your audience. Seeing characters do normal everyday things allows the readers to connect to them.

Secondly, it gives you a way to pass the time realistically. It gives you a way to slow down.

  Is your character expecting guest in half an hour and then two paragraphs later the guest arrives? I see it all the time and it looks lazy and it feels unbelievable. What happened to that time? Did they time travel? Are they not bound by the dame laws of nature?

  A good way to slow the story down and avoid these spots of ambiguity is to put in a time frame. A time frame would be anything that accounts for all or part of that time spent in dead space.

  A time frame doesn't have to account for every single second. You don't have to plan it out by the minute. As long as it could believably account for the amount of time that is elapsing, your readers will buy it.

  Say, for example, that were trying to kill half an hour. That is too long to leave up to the imagination but too short to do anything that takes a considerable amount of time. So, maybe they could do a small every day task. Try to think of things that you might do to pass that time and see if any of those would fit your character's personality.

Here are some simple ways one might pass 30 minutes.

They could fold the laundry and put it away.

They could take a quick shower.

They could scroll social media, though I don't recommend using this example in most stories because media is hard to convey in story form.

The tasks can always be little things that sort of bring your characters back down to Earth between all the adventures, romance, and saving the world or whatever it is that usually occupies their time.

Don't oversell it. I can't stress that enough. You add too many little things and you will slow the story down too much and it will become tedious to read. You have to find the right balance for your story.

  My general rule is that, fill most spaces if they are 30 minutes or longer. That being said, you don't have to fill every space. You could do time skips if there is a large chunk of time where nothing happens that furthers the plot. In fact, I would encourage you to do so instead of trudging through a bunch of pointless tasks or activities.

  Even though you need to slow down your story and account for your character's position in the universe, it is alright to leave some things to the imagination. It's alright to say, "A few hours later John left for the theater after spending most of the day deep cleaning the kitchen."

  Your readers don't need to know all the details about how he cleaned the kitchen. They can all picture what that might look like so that is where you let the readers do the work for you. Work smarter, not harder.

This strategy has worked well for me in the past but it isn't a one size fits all approach. There is no such thing when it come to writing.

  Honestly, it really depends on the character, the scene, and the type of story when it comes to how you fill those spaces. You need to know your characters, your aesthetic, and your target audience.

  Is the character very introspective? Do they spend a lot of time in their head? If so, it could be believable that they could get lost in thought for half an hour or so at a time.

  Is the character very grounded and success driven? Then the lost in thought excuse probably isn't the one you want. In this case it might be better to set them on something productive like chores or career planning.

  You will come to learn what feels best for your story and your characters as you go along. Remember, it is always ok to go back and change things later.

Next, what is the aesthetic of your story? Is it a surrealistic story where the whole point is that nothing feels real? That's great, but your story might actually be enhanced by throwing in a jarringly human task. Remind them that there is still a real world out there.

  However, if your story is focused around the real world, a normal task will help to slow your story down but it might not do much else.

What is the feel that your story is giving off? What is the vibe? Is it a coffee shop AU? A burning romance? High fantasy? Whatever it is, you need to be careful that the tasks or descriptions that you choose to add stick with that aesthetic.

  Your aesthetic also ties directly back in to your target audience. Who are you writing this for? What age? What kind of genre? What gender, culture, and/or ethnicity? What kind of people are you trying to entertain through the use of your aesthetic?

  Once you know that, you can better identify what tasks or filler portions would best appeal to those people. Audience has a lot more to do with your stories than you think. That's why I highly reccomend reading comments and maube even going through them with someone to see what is valid and what isn't.

  Remember to keep writing! Also, if there are any specific topics you want advice on, feel free to PM me or comment right here on this story! If you have more questions about what I covered in this chapter please let me know! I hope this helps you slow your roll just a bit and feel better about your work!