The Newsletter Stand

Pace Yourself Action / Adventure 3-5-08

Hey there! I'm Robin and I'll be your guest editor for this week's Action/Adventure Newsletter.

Pace Yourself

Pace, described as a rate of activity, progress, growth, performance, etc.; tempo --is important to you as an author. For your writing, it means how your piece moves along. Is it engaging? Have you captured the reader's attention? For me, it’s ‘what kind of ride’ does the story takes me on. Did I take a leisurely walk thorough the amusement park? Or am I in line to step onto the Z-Force at Six Flags over Georgia?

I love being on that ride. The tallest, fastest roller coaster whizzing through huge loops and even horizontal rotations, like being in an airplane when the pilot decides it's time to take a few rolls while still flying forward. I want a front row seat; my attention absorbed, with zero distractions. Where I've forgotten about my everyday life; the unfolded laundry, the dirty dishes, the bathtub ring I need to scrub. The only things in existence are the experiences of the lives of those in the book I’m reading.

How can you, as an author of action/adventure genre, achieve such a ride for your readers?

Deadwood -Dictionary.com defines deadwood as -(in writing) unnecessary words, phrases, or exposition; expendable verbiage. In other words, get rid of it. Sometimes, writers get caught up in their descriptions and don't know when to stop. As a reader, why do I want to know what the main character ate for breakfast three hours ago? Ask yourself, does my main character’s breakfast choice divulge anything about his personality relavant to the story? Does it hint to upcoming actions or events? If the answer is yes, then keep the morning meal in; if not, toss the information.

Other times, writers just write too many words in one sentence. Wordy sentences weigh your work down, thus interrupting your pace. It's an easy fix. Follow the advice of darkin in "Invalid Entry" .

Foreshadowing- this is where the author drops subtle and not so subtle hints about events or character traits that will come later in the story. These hints engage the reader. Why is Professor Zangler slipping off his wedding ring during lecture? Why does he keep a Leatherman multi-purpose knife locked in the top right drawer of his office desk?

If you've read your story and think it needs more foreshadowing but you’re not sure how to incorporate, why not try this. Name three important facts about your main character, one event s/he will face, where is s/he when the story reaches climax, and a character who influenced his/her current behavior. Then, slide these items/places into your story before the climax.

Example: Let's take Professor Zangler. His wedding ring is important because his marriage is important to him; but, he's an undercover CIA agent pretending to be a professor. He takes his ring off whenever he senses danger. The multi-purpose knife is something he carries where ever he goes, finding it useful for a variety of situations.

I will mention the ring and the multi-purpose knife a time or two before their significance becomes apparent.

One last thing:
Veteran authors suggest reading your work out loud, a practice that can’t be overemphasized. There’s something about hearing your words spoken; the practice magnifies typos, and underscores lengthy sentences while giving you a clear picture from the reader’s perspective.

See? with a few minutes of editing, you can create an exciting ride for your readers.

Going Home   (18+) This is a short piece I wrote in response to a writing promt #1395297 by RevolutionWriter

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