One word of advice Sophia shared with us was a recommendation she received from... I believe Jayne Krentz. She said when pacing is really slow, try writing the story as a screen play first. So there's just dialogue and a tiny bit of stage direction. Then go back and revise in the other stuff. But be careful not to add too much. It will keep the story moving at a faster pace.
I decided to try an altered version of this. I didn't write only dialogue, but I really tried to minimize the extra stuff and I found that I was pickier about the filler I used. While the setting was neat in my head, the reader could care less about how dark wood stain is when my heroine is asking the hero to take off his pants. Really.
Don't get me wrong, there are stories in which rich detail and setting are invaluable. But I don't think that's the case with where I am here and I have a tendancy to get really bogged down in all of these little details that I think give the story wealth, but when I get bogged down so does the story. So I decided to keep using this new approach and see how it works for me.
What about you? Ever get bogged down in the details?
April
PS The picture is just because I'm always looking for inspiration when I'm starting something new. Ok, I'm just always looking for inspiration :-) Enjoy and have a good weekend!
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5 comments:
What a pic! Oh my! :)
That's interesting about just writing it w/ dialogue. I have a problem w/ details - I always feel like I don't have enough. Some authors get it just right and I feel like I'm actually there! I'm always afraid I don't have enough details and you can't get a sense of place. You know what I mean?
Sigh...the life of the writer. At least we can stare at naughty pics for inspiration.
Wow, that is a really hot picture!
You're so right. It totally depends on the kind of book you're writing as to how much detail and the speed of the pace you use.
Glad to hear you're ticking along!
Steph
That's a really cool way to look at it.
Oh oh oh! I see Stephanie! Haven't been able to get to her site for a while, will have to pop over and say hi!
I have one CP (who's writing an ST) who constantly tries to get me to add more details. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't -- ModX is a short word count, and you're right all that extra stuff slows it way down...
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