By now you all know I have been editing my current novel. It's been an uphill battle and I have learned so much along the way. One thing that has made a tremendous difference in my story is 'pace'.
I get so excited to put it on paper I forget to delay the Conclusion and build suspense. I use to think a this actually slowed down the story and could possibly frustrate the reader. But when done properly it will not only keep the reader hanging on but keep them satiated until I deliver the climax. When you think about it, for the reader pacing is what keeps the pages turning as it thrust the story forward. The reader wants to know if the heroine jumps out of the car just before it plunges over the cliff.
So, now I am doing another pass through my manuscript revising my pace. Something that has helped with that is dialogue. I found that I spent a lot of time on voice and making it more life like and this left me with a lot of useless jargon. Now my focus is still keep it real but snappy quips back and forth between my characters deleting every word I can do without. Huge difference.
I didn't want this post to be long but I wanted to share some of the things I've learned about . Maybe I will continue with tips for pacing in a later blog if there are any newbies who want to improve their skills.
Until next time...
