Literary prose and paced action

Luluo

I do often struggle with this. I read a TON of older literature and developed into a natural over-writer. I tend to course correct waaaay too much and cut it down to the bone, however, which is hardly better. I like the tip offered here of focusing on a single thing—or maybe a few small details—to paint a complete picture without dumping a ton of excessive, flowery prose.

Shotgun

Clifford, thanks for the blog. Are there any books you could share as examples of literary prose + the pace of action that you’re referring to?

Ak0

To bring some balance to this blog, quick pacing should be used where it helps to tell the story.

Likewise it must suit the author’s style. Modern authors such as Jonathan Franzen and Ali Smith are known for their detailed styles, not only older authors such as J.R.R. Tokien.

With most genres, the usual best approach is to very the pace over the course of the story, to reflect what is happening at that point.

A slower paced section gives the reader/viewer essential time to recover from something drastic, making it much easier to emphasise the faster sections where they are needed in the story.

Learning pacing is a real skill that needs to be developed in its own right, and is as important as the choice of words.

In filmmaking, the pace is planned out beforehand, but it is mostly determined on the cutting room floor, during the editing process. Pacing is the main reason for scenes to be trimmed, or entire scenes to be deleted.

New shots are rarely generated for reasons of pacing due to the costs and time constrains, but are becoming more frequent with the use of CGI. This usually occurs towards the end of filming. Cut material is often added back in during Director’s cuts (later editions), where it improves the story.

As writers we often have more freedom to cut and add.

I’m rarely precious about deleting or adding parts, sections or scenes if they don’t service the story well, keeping interesting parts in a scrapbook file.

In a novel, I periodically read through an entire section of the book to check for pacing.

Honzo

Yeah, no. You lost me at ‘modern readers.’ WTF are those? Well, reading down, they seem to be people with small vocabularies and short attention spans.

Blockquote A vigorous pace does not preclude literary prose–just makes it all the more important to select the right words.

The right ‘concrete’ words? Or is the sentence intentionally devoid of meaning?
Then we have an over-generalized rule, although at least it is followed by an equally vague ‘And yet.’
" When writers appear to languish in one place, it is often because the reader is impatient and immune to complex evocations." I fixed it for you.

At the ‘very least’ know what you want to have happen at the end of the story? No, thank you. Some writers drive their plots via the development and interaction of characters- what would Billy do when the barn burns down? How does Betty react to it? How does Billy react to Betty’s reaction? Do people’s actual stories conform to some cosmic plot-arc, or are they a moe than slightly chaotic collision of a complex and not fully knowable reality with dreams, delusions and vain imaginings?

People who read books have never been a single audience. There has always been a division based on class, education, gender, and some more individual traits. There is no ‘modern audience,’ there are just some characteristics perceived as ‘typical’ which some people, and all corporations, wish to exploit for maximum return on investment. Since film has been brought into the discussion, I think we are clearly seeing the failure of this strategy in real time. Are novels different? Of course. For starters, there are much lower barriers to entry, and this creates both opportunities and challenges. Getting your own little minnow noticed, by anyone, in the vast sea of codfish and mackerel is a part of the selection process that has little or nothing to do with the merits of the work. The current evolutionary pressures have produced a literary renaissance, if measured by ocean bio-mass, but have not served the intererests of either readers or authors very well. This race to the bottom is only good for the flounders.

Travalgar

And your point is? Will driving the plot in this manner serve your goals better as a writer? Seems like more of a support for the “pantser” style of writing than helpful advice for those who wants to improve their writing.

I knew this kind of rant was coming. You went from reinforcing the idea that “book readers are varied” into whining about “today’s literature sucks”. What has it got to do with what the blog is talking about? If there’s nothing about our writing that is relevant to the market, why bother writing for the market at all?

Honzo

You obviously know the correct way to write. Nothing else can be helpful. It does in fact serve my goals, but I can see now that those are not valid goals.

Chloescat

Thanks. I’ve been prone to overwriting and will try to keep this in mind. I just need to make sure that what I am elaborating on is important to the overall story.

Scuffling

…read by the masses… Hmm. You lost me there. I write for an audience of one: my ideal reader.

Frannyglas

Hmmmmm. I agree that I disagree with this blog’s sentiment.

Honzo

Frannyglas brings new meaning to the phrase, ‘agree to disagree.’

Plaker

When Critique Circle requested bloggers, I submitted a short piece on writing as I see it evolving. I didn’t realize I’d get so many responses.
My stories don’t always end where I initially planned, but I stand by the notion that having an end game in mind is helpful.
Also, I realize some readers are into sagas and enjoy curling up with a long and involved story. My comment was to the reader who reads for entertainment. Their busy schedules demand a tight use of time. I enjoyed reading your feedback on the blog. Clifford Morris

picking up a rich story that movesd along is desirable.
Thanks for your inputr on the blog. Clifford Morris

Plaker

Good question, but I don’t have any specific examples at my fingertips. The purpose of the blog was to caution writers not to belabor setting or character descriptions. Some new, different, or nuanced must constantly be added to the story. The comment by Ak0 is a good reflection of my intent for the blog. As Ak0 alludes to – a story about grandma recovering from her stroke to possibly play the piano again is going to be a slower-paced story than one about cops and robbers.

Plaker

Honzo slow down, catch your breath. My reference, which I did not make clear, was to readers of the 19th century who had the time and inclination to curl up with a 200,000-word tome for a month or more. Beyond that, you stretch your response to my blog way beyond the scope of the piece, and what’s your conclusion – I doubt if anyone knows.
Maybe you should put on your big-boy pants and submit a REAL piece of writing to this site and dispense with piecemeal comments on blogs.

Honzo

Maybe you should make your ‘reference’ clear. I still disagree. There are still readers that have the time and inclination to curl up with a 200kw tome for as long as it takes. What’s the benefit of reading two 100kw ‘easy read’ books bereft of style and substance? I suppose from the point of view of an ‘author’ who just wants to churn the market and sell as many books to as many people as they can it might make some sense.
I admire your audacity in asserting that just because you don’t understand something, nobody does. As far as you advice: fuck off. The forums provide me something useful, the structure of CC’s crit system doesn’t. I get substantive crit elsewhere.