It may seem trivial, but how long to make the chapters in a novel is a detail worth paying attention to. But this item also bears some explanation. ☐ Chapters are of approximately similar lengths. Generally speaking, you want your chapters to be consistent in their length, as jerking back …
Tag: Elements of Fiction
The mechanics of chapterization
Last time we talked about chapter breaks from a story standpoint. Now let’s look at the mechanics of how to do it. I don’t recommend breaking your book out into chapters until you’re in at least your second draft and maybe even later. If you put chapter breaks in early, …
Flashbacks useful if handled carefully
Many writing teachers and critique partners will tell you not to use flashbacks at all. I’m never one to discard a potentially useful technique. It is possible to use flashbacks, and to do them well. You don’t want to use too many of them, or readers will start to wonder …
Two flashback-like gimmicks to avoid
Last time we looked at how to use flashbacks effectively. But in new writers’ stories I often see a couple of ineffective ploys akin to flashbacks. One is what I call the Pointless Flashback—it flashes back to something that happened within the span of the story’s timeline. A flashback is …
Transitions are key to maintaining story flow
The next item on the Elements of Fiction Editing Checklist has to do with continuity: ☐ Transitions clearly show how much time has elapsed and show how events relate to each other. At the start of each scene, and especially at the start of chapters, give the reader some clues to …
Editing is like construction: seal the joints
When you’re renovating a house and you put up new drywall, you have to seal the joints with putty so that when the wall is painted, the joins between the drywall don’t show. Sometimes our first drafts need a similar treatment. ☐ Vestiges of earlier versions have been edited into …
Is your epilogue necessary?
Everything that’s true for prologues goes for epilogues as well. ☐ Epilogue, if used, is necessary and engaging. It’s not enough that your epilogue be sweet and show how your characters live happily ever after. It has to wrap up the story in a way that, if it were omitted, …
Pacing is a matter of proportion
Pacing is one of the more difficult elements of fiction because it is so subjective. A reader who loves rich description will enjoy a scene that lingers over the setting details, while another reader will complain that it’s slow and boring. Nevertheless, there are some aspects of pacing we can …
Tension Keeps Readers Turning Pages
Writing teachers often say there should be “conflict” in every scene. There’s a problem with this, because too many writers think this means everyone always has to be arguing with everyone else. As if no two characters can ever agree on anything. There’s a difference between conflict and tension. We …
Logical Flow Propels Pacing
As we look at this item about pacing, it may sound familiar, because it is related to plot: ☐ Events flow logically in cause-and-effect relationships. That is, each scene doesn’t just happen after the prior scene, it happens because of the prior scene. When events flow from one to the …