Comments on: Thou Shalt Not Flatline: Managing Pacing In Fiction

By: Minstrel

Minstrel — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:19:02 +0000

Twilight. You have two cows. They’re fighting over the milkmaid.

By: Josh

Josh — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:29:56 +0000

Chuck: Not really. I can ignore the fact that he’s a bit of a kook outside of his fiction because he writes such a good yarn. My wife is the same way: she acknowledges him for being a bit of a crazy, but loves his work nonetheless.

By: Everything Is Cooler In Space: Rolling The Dice :Blue Ink Alchemy

Everything Is Cooler In Space: Rolling The Dice :Blue Ink Alchemy — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:25:53 +0000

[...] and best wishes. If you want some really good advice that will make milk shoot out of your nose, go here. You’ll need to be drinking milk for it to shoot out, of course, milk won’t [...]

By: Chuck

Chuck — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:14:16 +0000

Josh: Do you have any intellectual disconnect with Card from his “social agenda” standpoint? Some do.

Justin: I will talk deep shit about Jane Austen Deep, deep, wretched shit. I will go roadhouse on her ass. I will let the Bronte sisters elbow her in the throat.

– c.

By: Josh

Josh — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:38:15 +0000

Whenever I get stuck in writing sci-fi, I reach for my Heinlein, Card & Bova. Horror has me going for Lovecraft & Poe. For dialog I look up Heinlein (again) and Shakespeare. And, occasionally, I pick up a comic book by JMS or Matt Fraction.

Also?

CHUCK AND EDDY, KNOCK IT OFF RIGHT NOW OR I WILL TURN THIS INTERNET AROUND AND WE’LL ALL GO HOME.

By: Justin

Justin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:25:11 +0000

What the fuck? If you talk shit about Jane Austen again, I’ll running Cambodian chop your clavicle.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:44:23 +0000

Stoney:

For the record, I am the werewolf dude.

And our passion is eternal.

– c.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:14:39 +0000

Yeah, that’s pretty much it — it’s an obscure enough thing, pacing, that it has no clear rules. But it’s not so mysterious that you can’t get a feel for it.

- c.

By: Will

Will — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:11:35 +0000

I should be clear, though: senses can be honed. Writers should hone their senses. One man’s quickly paced tale is another’s rollercoaster. One reader’s luxuriously languid exploration is another’s brick of unreadable text. Make peace with it, writers.

By: Will

Will — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:09:43 +0000

A fine metaphor, the music. Pacing is tricky, though, because it’s governed by a sense, not an easily taught metric. It’s like teaching someone how to taste food — possible, but for some people it ruins the experience.