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physalian · 4 months

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Pacing your Story (Or, How to Avoid the "Suddenly...!")

Arguably *the* most important lesson all writers need to learn, even for those who don’t give a damn about themes and motifs and a moral soap box: How your story is paced, whether it’s a comic book, a children’s chapter book, a doorstopper, a mini series, a movie, or a full-length season of TV (old school style), pacing is everything.

Pacing determines how long the story *feels* regardless of how long it actually is. It can make a 2 hour movie feel like 90 mins or double the time you’re trapped in your seat.

There’s very little I can say about pacing that hasn’t been said before, but I’m here to condense all that’s out there into a less intimidating mouthful to chew.

So: What is pacing?

Pacing is how a story flows, how quickly or slowly the creator moves through and between scenes, how long they spend on setting, narration, conversation, arguments, internal monologues, fight scenes, journey scenes. It’s also how smoothly tone transitions throughout the story. A fantasy adventure jumping around sporadically between meandering boredom, high-octane combat, humor, grief, and romance is exhausting to read, no matter how much effort you put into your characters.

Anyone who says the following is wrong:

Good pacing is always fast/bad pacing is always slow

Pacing means you are 100% consistent throughout the entire story

It doesn’t matter as much so long as you have a compelling story/characters/lore/etc

Now let me explain why in conveniently numbered points:

1. Pacing is not about consistency, it’s about giving the right amount of time to the right pieces of your story

This is not intuitive and it takes a long time to learn. So let’s look at some examples:

Lord of the Rings: The movies trimmed a *lot* from the books that just weren’t adaptable to screen, namely all the tedious details and quite a bit of the worldbuilding that wasn’t critical to the journey of the Fellowship. That said, with some exceptions, the battles are as long as they need to be, along with every monologue, every battle speech. When Helm’s Deep is raging on, we cut away to Merry and Pippin with the Ents to let ourselves breathe, then dive right back in just before it gets boring.

The Hobbit Trilogy: The exact opposite from LotR, stretching one kids book into 3 massive films, stuffing it full of filler, meandering side quests, pointless exposition, drawing out battles and conflicts to silly extremes, then rushing through the actual desolation of Smaug for… some reason.

Die Hard (cause it’s the Holidays y’all!): The actiony-est of action movies with lots of fisticuffs and guns and explosions still leaves time for our hero to breathe, lick his wounds, and build a relationship with the cop on the ground. We constantly cut between the hero and the villains, all sharing the same radio frequency, constantly antsy about what they know and when they’ll find out the rest, and when they’ll discover the hero’s kryptonite.

2. Make every scene you write do at least two things at once

This is also tricky. Making every scene pull double duty should be left to after you’ve written the first draft, otherwise you’ll never write that first draft. Pulling double duty means that if you’re giving exposition, the scene should also reveal something about the character saying it. If you absolutely must write the boring trip from A to B, give some foreshadowing, some thoughtful insight from one of your characters, a little anecdote along the way.

Develop at least two of the following:

The plot

The backstory

The romance/friendships

The lore

The exposition

The setting

The goals of the cast

Doing this extremely well means your readers won’t have any idea you’re doing it until they go back and read it again. If you have two characters sitting and talking exposition at a table, and then those same two characters doing some important task with filler dialogue to break up the narrative… try combining those two scenes and see what happens.

**This is going to be incredibly difficult if you struggle with making your stories longer. I do not. I constantly need to compress my stories. **

3. Not every scene needs to be crucial to the plot, but every scene must say something

I distinguish plot from story like a square vs a rectangle. Plot is just a piece of the tale you want to tell, and some scenes exist just to be funny, or romantic, or mysterious, plot be damned.

What if you’re writing a character study with very little plot? How do you make sure your story isn’t too slow if 60% of the narrative is introspection?

Avoid repeating information the audience already has, unless a reminder is crucial to understanding the scene

This isn’t 1860 anymore. Every detail must serve a purpose. Keep character and setting descriptions down to absolute need-to-know and spread it out like icing on a cake – enough to coat, but not give you a mouthful of whipped sugar and zero cake.

Avoid describing generic daily routines, unless the existence of said routine is out of ordinary for the character, or will be rudely interrupted by chaos. No one cares about them brushing their teeth and doing their hair.

Make sure your characters move, but not too much. E.g. two characters sitting and talking – do humans just stare at each other with their arms lifeless and bodies utterly motionless during conversation? No? Then neither should your characters. Make them gesture, wave, frown, laugh, cross their legs, their arms, shift around to get comfortable, pound the table, roll their eyes, point, shrug, touch their face, their hair, wring their hands, pick at their nails, yawn, stretch, pout, sneer, smirk, click their tongue, clear their throat, sniff/sniffle, tap their fingers/drum, bounce their feet, doodle, fiddle with buttons or jewelry, scratch an itch, touch their weapons/gadgets/phones, check the time, get up and sit back down, move from chair to table top – the list goes on. Bonus points if these are tics that serve to develop your character, like a nervous fiddler, or if one moves a lot and the other doesn’t – what does that say about the both of them? This is where “show don’t tell” really comes into play.

4. Your entire work should not be paced exactly the same

Just like a paragraph should not be filled with sentences of all the same length and syntax. Some beats deserve more or less time than others. Unfortunately, this is unique to every single story and there is no one size fits all.

General guidelines are as follows:

Action scenes should have short paragraphs and lots of movement. Cut all setting details and descriptors, internal monologues, and the like, unless they service the scene.

Journey/travel scenes must pull double or even triple duty. There’s a reason very few movies are marketed as “single take” and those that are don’t waste time on stuff that doesn’t matter. See 1917.

Romantic scenes are entirely up to you. Make it a thousand words, make it ten thousand, but you must advance either the romantic tension, actual movement of the characters, conversation, or intimacy of the relationship.

Don’t let your conversations run wild. If they start to veer off course, stop, boil it down to its essentials, and cut the rest.

When transitioning between slow to faster pacing and back again, it’s also not one size fits all. Maybe it being jarring is the point – it’s as sudden for the characters as it is for the reader. With that said, try to keep the “suddenly”s to a minimum.

5. Pacing and tone go hand in hand

This means that, generally speaking, the tone of your scene changes with the speed of the narrative. As stated above, a jarring tonal shift usually brings with it a jarring pacing shift.

A character might get in a car crash while speeding away from an abusive relationship. A character who thinks they’re safe from a pursuer might be rudely and terrifyingly proven wrong. An exhausting chase might finally relent when sanctuary is found. A quiet dinner might quickly turn romantic with a look, or confession. Someone casually cleaning up might discover evidence of a lie, a theft, an intruder and begin to panic.

Whatever the case may be, a narrative that is all action all the time suffers from lack of meaningful character moments. A narrative that meanders through the character drama often forgets there is a plot they’re supposed to be following.

#writing advice #writing tips #pacing #writing tools

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fit-resusboy · 4 months

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Just a lil fun from cardio bros 😮‍💨😉

#defibrillator #defib #pacing #cpr #male cpr #resus #cardiac arrest #gay #heartbeat

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novlr · 8 months

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Get the pacing right

When pacing a scene, it's important to know what kind of scene it is.

Less description quickens the pace. More description slows it down.

Keep your action scenes short and punchy, and your emotional scenes deep and descriptive.

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writingwithfolklore · 11 months

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Controlling Your Pacing

Pacing is one of my favourite things to pay attention to when reading or writing something. The pacing of a scene is literally how ‘fast’ or ‘slow’ a scene appears to be moving. Action scenes that spring the story from one place to another tend to go faster than introspective scenes or scenes that explore character dynamics.

All of this is created through putting space and words between elements of the scene. What I mean by that is that readers interpret a passage of time between ‘things’ (actions, dialogue, gestures, etc.) on the page, and pacing is controlling that interpretation.

For example,

“Georgia sat on the couch, “wow it sure is hot in here,” she said. “It sure is,” Henry agreed, sitting next to her.”

This sentence is just about the actions with some breaking dialogue, but it goes pretty quickly through what’s happening.

Whereas, if we were to intentionally pace this scene, it may look like this:

“Georgia swiped at her brow, wandering over to sink into the couch. “It sure is hot in here,” she said, peering up at Henry through the wisps of her bangs. He nodded weakly, his entire body sagging from the heat. Crossing the room to collapse next to her, he added dryly, “it sure is.”

It’s not perfect, but you can get a sense of the time between things happening. The added detail between the two characters talking conveys maybe a minute between sentences, which might be accurate for two people dogged down by a heat wave.

To speed things up, we want less space between elements:

“Adam slammed open the door with his shoulder, letting it bounce off the concrete wall behind him. “Everyone out!” He shouted. A crack in the roof snapped above them.”

The added (or subtracted) elements of a scene that control your pacing is the sights/sounds/feelings/smells/maybe tastes of a place. When we’re anxiously rushing to get out of the house we may not acknowledge that the kitchen smells like the bread our roommate baked that morning, or that there are smudges on the window from when the dog climbed up on the couch. However, when we have a second to contemplate, we’re going to notice these things, and it would be appropriate to write them in.

Another important element to controlling pacing is your character’s thoughts or acknowledgement of feelings.

For example:

“Adam slammed open the door with his shoulder, it bounced off the concrete wall behind him. He winced, his mother’s high voice ringing in his head, chiding him for damaging the walls even though he knew the building was coming down on top of them. How long would he live with her constantly in his mind? He tried to wave away the memory. “Everyone out!” He shouted.”

That slows down the scene quite a bit, yeah? And maybe that’s what you wanted in that moment. Play around with the details and pacing in your scenes, you might be surprised how much can change.

Good luck!

#writing #writers #writing tips #writing advice #writing inspiration #creative writing #writing community #books #film #filmmaking #screenwriting #novel writing #fanfiction #writeblr #controlling your pacing #pacing

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thewriteadviceforwriters · 7 months

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Mastering the Art of Plotting a Well-Paced Novel

In this post, I'll delve into the essential skill of pacing, and explore how pacing can make or break your novel. By understanding the impact of pacing on your story's flow and tension, you will be able to create a well-paced narrative that keeps readers engaged and turning the pages. I'll be unlocking the secrets of pacing and learn how to master the art of plotting a well-paced novel.

Pacing is a critical element in storytelling that determines the speed and rhythm at which events unfold in your novel. It encompasses the tempo, timing, and sequencing of scenes, dialogue, and action. Proper pacing ensures that your story moves along smoothly, building suspense and maintaining readers' interest.

Imagine

Imagine reading a book where everything happens at a breakneck pace, with no time to pause and absorb the crucial moments. Alternatively, consider a book where the plot drags on, leaving readers disengaged and tempted to put the book down. Both scenarios highlight the importance of pacing.

For aspiring writers and authors, mastering the art of pacing is key to creating a captivating story that resonates with readers. It involves skillfully balancing action scenes with quieter moments, strategically revealing information, and strategically varying the pace to maintain tension and anticipation.

Throughout this blog post, I'll help you explore various techniques, tips, and strategies to help you unlock the secrets of pacing and plot a well-paced novel. Whether you're just starting your writing journey or looking to refine your storytelling skills, this guide will provide you with valuable insights and practical advice to help you develop a story that keeps readers hooked from beginning to end. So, let's dive in and uncover the mysteries of pacing.

Setting the Stage: The Power of Pacing

Pacing is the rhythm and tempo at which your story unfolds. It's like music for your reader's mind, setting the tone and guiding their emotions. It determines the speed at which events occur and plays a crucial role in maintaining reader interest. Think of pacing as the heartbeat of your novel, keeping your audience eagerly turning the pages.

But why is pacing so important in storytelling? Well, imagine reading a book where nothing exciting ever happens, or one where everything is rushed and there's no time to breathe. It's like having a roller coaster with no thrilling drops or a movie without any suspenseful moments. Pacing is what keeps your readers engaged and invested in your story.

One of the key aspects of pacing is its ability to increase tension. By carefully controlling the speed at which events unfold, you can build anticipation and leave your readers on the edge of their seats. Whether it's a nail-biting chase scene or a climactic confrontation, pacing can make these moments all the more exhilarating.

Pacing also allows for crucial moments to be savored. It gives your readers the chance to fully immerse themselves in the emotions and details that matter. By slowing down during these pivotal scenes, you can create a deeper connection between your characters and your audience, making the experience more impactful.

Additionally, pacing can be used to maintain tension throughout your story, even during quieter moments. By varying the speed of your narrative, you can keep your readers engaged and curious about what's to come. This ebb and flow of tension will keep them hooked from start to finish.

So, by understanding the power of pacing, you will be equipped to create a well-paced novel that captivates your readers. Stay tuned as we dive deeper into specific techniques for creating suspense and savoring crucial moments in the upcoming sections. Your journey to mastering the art of plotting a well-paced novel starts here!

Speeding Things Up: Techniques for Creating Suspense

Suspense is a powerful tool for keeping readers on the edge of their seats. As a writer, you have the ability to control the pace of your novel and create nail-biting suspense that will captivate your readers. In this section, we will explore techniques for speeding up the pace of your story and intensifying the suspense.

One effective technique is to use short, snappy sentences. By keeping your sentences concise and to the point, you can create a sense of urgency and make the action feel more immediate. This will keep your readers engaged and eager to find out what happens next.

Another technique to consider is the use of cliffhangers. Ending a chapter or section with a cliffhanger leaves your readers hanging and desperate to know what happens next. This can be achieved by introducing a sudden twist, revealing a shocking secret, or leaving a crucial question unanswered. The suspense created by these cliffhangers will keep your readers turning the pages.

Plot twists are also a great way to speed up the pace and create suspense. By introducing unexpected turns of events, you can keep your readers guessing and on the edge of their seats. These twists can be major revelations or small surprises that add intrigue to your story.

Lastly, foreshadowing is a technique that can heighten anticipation and create suspense. By dropping subtle hints or clues about future events, you can build tension and make your readers eager to uncover the truth. Foreshadowing can be done through dialogue, descriptions, or even symbolic elements in your story.

By mastering these techniques, you will be able to weave a thrilling narrative that keeps readers hooked from the first page to the last. So, grab your pen and get ready to speed up the pace of your novel, creating suspense that will leave your readers breathless.

Slowing Down: Savoring Crucial Moments

While it's important to maintain a fast pace in your novel, it's equally crucial to slow down and allow readers to savor crucial moments. These are the scenes that make your story come alive, the moments that leave a lasting impact on your readers. By creating breathing room in your narrative, you give readers the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in poignant scenes and important character development.

One effective way to slow down the pace is through the use of vivid descriptions. Paint a picture with your words, allowing readers to see, hear, smell, and feel the world you've created. By providing rich sensory details, you transport your readers into the heart of the scene, making it more memorable and engaging.

Internal monologues are another powerful tool for slowing down the pace. These moments of introspection allow readers to delve deeper into your characters' thoughts and emotions. By revealing their innermost desires, fears, and conflicts, you add depth and complexity to your story.

Reflective moments also play a crucial role in savoring crucial moments. These are the pauses in the action where characters contemplate their choices, reflect on their past, or ponder the future. These moments of introspection not only add depth and texture to your story but also give readers a chance to connect with your characters on a deeper level.

By finding the right balance between fast-paced action and slower, introspective scenes, you will create a well-rounded narrative that captivates readers on multiple levels. So, take the time to slow down and savor those crucial moments in your novel. Your readers will thank you for it.

The Art of Variation: Maintaining Tension Through Pacing

In this section, we will dive deeper into the art of variation in pacing and how it can maintain tension throughout your novel. As a writer, it's crucial to understand that pacing is not just about maintaining a consistent speed throughout your story. It's about strategically alternating between faster and slower-paced scenes to create a rollercoaster effect that keeps readers engaged and guessing.

By varying the pace of your narrative, you can effectively build and release tension, keeping readers on the edge of their seats. Faster-paced scenes filled with action, suspense, and conflict propel the story forward, while slower-paced scenes allow for character development, introspection, and reflection. This ebb and flow of pacing creates a dynamic reading experience that captivates your audience.

Strategic placement of high-intensity scenes is also key to maintaining tension. These scenes should be strategically scattered throughout your novel, serving as climactic moments that heighten the stakes and keep readers invested. However, it's equally important to provide moments of respite, where the pace slows down, allowing readers to catch their breath and process the events unfolding.

By mastering the art of variation in pacing, you can create a well-paced novel that holds readers' attention from start to finish. So, as you plot your story, remember to carefully consider the pacing of each scene, alternating between faster and slower moments, strategically placing high-intensity scenes, and providing moments of respite. This will ensure that your readers are taken on a thrilling and immersive journey through your narrative.

Beyond Words: Enhancing Mood and Atmosphere

Pacing is not just about the words on the page; it has the power to enhance the mood and atmosphere of your narrative. By understanding how the speed of pacing can influence the reader's emotional experience, you can take your storytelling to the next level.

One technique for using pacing to set the tone is to vary the speed of your narrative. By slowing down during introspective moments or important scenes, you can create a sense of depth and allow readers to fully immerse themselves in the atmosphere you're trying to convey. On the other hand, speeding up the pacing during action-packed sequences can generate excitement and keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Pacing can also be used to create tension. By gradually increasing the speed of your narrative, you can build anticipation and make readers feel a sense of urgency. Conversely, slowing down the pacing can create a sense of unease or suspense, leaving readers hanging on every word.

Furthermore, pacing can evoke specific emotions. By carefully choosing the speed at which events unfold, you can elicit feelings of joy, sadness, fear, or even nostalgia. Experimenting with pacing as a tool to guide readers through important plot points and evoke desired emotional responses will add depth and richness to your storytelling.

Remember, pacing goes beyond words. By mastering the art of pacing, you can enhance the mood and atmosphere of your novel, captivating readers and keeping them engaged from beginning to end.

Plotting with Purpose: Pacing and Story Structure

Pacing is not just about speed; it's also about structuring your story in a way that keeps readers hooked. In this section, we will delve into how pacing works hand in hand with story structure. We will explore how to strategically escalate and release tension, ramping up the pace during pivotal moments and allowing for quieter moments of reflection. By aligning your story structure with the pacing of your novel, you will create a cohesive and engaging reading experience that leaves a lasting impact on your audience.

To plot with purpose, it's important to understand the relationship between pacing and story structure. Your story structure provides the framework for your plot, while pacing determines the rhythm and tempo of your narrative. By carefully crafting your story structure, you can strategically place high-tension moments and slower-paced scenes to create a dynamic reading experience.

Consider the rising action, climax, and resolution of your story. These key plot points should align with the pacing of your novel. As you approach the climax, the pace should quicken, building tension and excitement. This is the moment where readers are on the edge of their seats, eagerly turning pages to find out what happens next. After the climax, the pace can gradually slow down, allowing for reflection and resolution.

By understanding the relationship between pacing and story structure, you can create a well-paced novel that keeps readers engaged from beginning to end. So, as you plot your own story, remember to consider the purpose behind each scene and how it contributes to the overall pacing of your narrative.

Conclusion

Mastering the art of pacing is a journey that requires practice and experimentation. As a writer, you have the power to control the ebb and flow of your story, guiding readers through a rollercoaster of emotions and keeping them engaged until the very end.

By understanding the impact of pacing on your story's flow, tension, and emotional resonance, you will be able to create a well-paced novel that keeps readers hooked from start to finish. Whether you choose to speed things up to create suspense or slow down to savor crucial moments, pacing is a tool that can enhance the overall reading experience.

Remember, pacing is not just about the speed of your story. It's about finding the right balance, the perfect rhythm that suits your narrative. Experiment with different techniques, play with the pacing of your scenes, and pay attention to how it affects the overall structure and tension of your novel.

So go ahead and unlock the secrets of pacing, and embark on the exhilarating adventure of plotting a well-paced novel that captivates readers and leaves a lasting impression. Happy writing!

#thewriteadviceforwriters #writing #on writing #creative writing #writeblr #writers block #how to write #writing tips #writers and poets #pacing #writing advice #advice

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aritany · 2 months

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real question. how do other writers manage story pacing. is it intuitive or do you have a system

#alex talks #pacing

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prokopetz · 10 months

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"What happened? Did they not know they weren't getting another season? Were they just making it up as they went along?" I mean, yeah, a lot of time time that is what happened, but it's also true that if you know you've only got a relatively small number of episodes to work with, front-loading a show with decompressed pacing and overwritten character pieces, then speed-running the back half of the plot in the final two or three episodes is actually a fairly effective way to build an audience. Better to ask your viewers to forgive your wonky pacing than never to have a viewership in the first place, and all that.

#media #television #writing #pacing

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startrekdreams · 5 months

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That's some expert angry pacing there.

Star Trek: Lower Decks, Season 3, Episode 4

#startrekdreams #star trek gif #star trek lower decks #becket mariner #d'vana tendi #brad boimler #lower decks #pacing

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bloodycowboyclub · 6 months

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And if I have to give you...one piece of advice, in this next week that you've got...I'd tell you to take some time. Take some time to walk around Swerve's House...I'd tell you to look at every photo on the wall, look at pictures of your mom, your dad, your kids, your nephews, your nieces, your cousins, aunts, uncles, and I want you to imagine every single PRECIOUS moment that you could've had with them.

I want you to see every birthday, every prom, every funeral, every wedding, and I want you to know that you will never...NEVER be there.

Not while you can walk.

Not while you can talk.

#hangman adam page #adam page #aewedit #aew #hangman page #collisionedit #*#gifs #pacing #he was sooooo

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deception-united · 1 month

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Let's talk about pacing.

Pacing is crucial to consider in plot development. It refers to the speed at which events unfold in your story.

It's important to vary the pacing to keep readers engaged. By effectively managing it throughout, you can maintain reader interest, build tension, and create an overall compelling narrative.

Fast-paced scenes: Use quick, action-packed scenes during moments of high tension, such as intense action sequences or pivotal plot points. Short sentences and rapid-fire dialogue can help create a sense of urgency and keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Slow-paced scenes: Slow down the pacing during moments of introspection, character development, or when you want to build atmosphere. Take the time to delve into emotions, descriptions, and inner thoughts to deepen the reader's connection to the characters and world.

Transitions: Smoothly transition between fast-paced and slow-paced scenes to maintain momentum while allowing readers time to catch their breath and process information. (See here for more on how to effectively implement transitions!)

Avoid prolonged lulls: While it's essential to have slower moments for character development and world-building, be cautious of prolonged lulls in the story where nothing significant happens. Keep the plot moving forward, even during quieter scenes, by introducing new information, conflicts, or character dynamics.

Balance: have a balance between fast-paced and slow-paced scenes throughout your narrative to create a dynamic reading experience. Too much action without sufficient downtime can exhaust readers, while an excessive number of slow scenes may lead to boredom.

More writing help on my blog! ❤

#writeblr #writing #writing tips #writing resources #writing help #plot development #creative writing #pacing

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opbackgrounds · 6 months

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I like how Oda paces all these emotional moments with Franky and Usopp. Right before all the stuff with the Great Speedo Heist he drops this little hint showing that the Straw Hats have talked about Usopp, then leaves it completely alone for a couple chapters while he handles Franky's goodbye, before jumping back a little in time to focus 100% on Usopp

It lets both characters get the attention they deserve while setting up the ending of the arc

#opbackgrounds #one piece #ch438 #ch436 #that's how you comic #pacing

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physalian · 2 months

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Writing Tone #2: Avoiding Manufactured Sincerity

There’s a scene in season 5 of My Hero Academia where two beloved teachers have been brought to some high security prison to interrogate a captured villain that turns out to be a brainwashed childhood friend of theirs. The scene is really dramatic, these two teachers are screaming at this guy, heartbroken, and when I saw the episode (shortly before quitting the entire show mid-episode over how bored I was) I was not at all as outraged and horrified as they were.

It was so tonally jarring, and so unfounded within the plot, that it was almost uncomfortable to watch. The villain they’re interrogating isn’t unfamiliar, but the plot-twist-surprise childhood friend is a stranger no one but these two care about.

I didn’t care, couldn’t empathize with why they were upset, knew nothing about their relationship with the guy beyond the ham-handed flashbacks given right that moment. I wasn’t prepared to mourn the loss of this random character, wasn’t primed ahead of time with the idea that this was a possibility to dread the scene before it happened. I was just waiting for it to be over and when it finally was, the impact it had on me was a resounding: Well that was weird. Now back to the plot.

Unfounded sincerity is the uncomfortably ugly step-sibling of plots that are starved of sincerity—look at most of Phase 4, but really, starting with Thor: Ragnarok in the MCU. Many Marvel properties are afraid to embrace the emotional moments and resort to bad jokes to laugh at themselves before the audience can laugh at them. Because how dare a late-stage superhero story about mythical gods be at all sincere in its relationships, its quiet moments, its tragedies. Nope, time for jokes.

Unfounded sincerity is when a story goes far harder with the drama, the love-declarations, the angst, the humor, where it’s trying really hard to convince the audience to care and it just isn’t working.

This happens when arguments start out of nowhere, as well, when characters explode at each other in a heated screaming match that hasn’t been left to fester for nearly long enough, undercooked and hard to swallow.

This happens when characters fall suddenly, madly in love with each other with zero dubious intervention to explain away the sudden passion.

It happens particularly when characters care a whole heck of a lot about someone the audience doesn’t, at the expense of characters the audience is invested in.

It happens when characters have emotional breakdowns and start crying over what ends up reading like spilled milk. When stoic and strong characters break over something they normally would never, for ~drama~.

This is usually both a tone and pacing issue, and a serious case of telling. The author hasn’t done any of the work ramping up a situation or relationship for proper delivery of these emotionally charged moments that are written like critical character beats we’re supposed to care deeply about.

So how does this happen?

1. The author *really* wants this scene, but writes it too early into the story

Unless there’s foul play involved, or this is a romantic comedy that isn’t supposed to be a realistic and healthy depiction of how romance works, characters suddenly declaring love for each other at the cost of their own well-being, their own character arc and journey, and their other motivations can be very frustrating to read.

But the author wants to get to the Good Stuff, so they coast on the “male + female leads = relationship” expectation without writing the why (and so ensures the rise of so many gay ships in the process). Or the male + male leads” or what have you.

2. The author cannot fluidly change tone and characters explode, instead of simmer

An argument that comes out of nowhere can really take your audience out of a scene. Your characters suddenly look ridiculous and your audience can’t follow what’s going on or why they’re so upset. This is different than a character exploding seemingly out of nowhere, but who we know has been building resentment for dozens of pages and loses it over something otherwise inconsequential.

These scenes are painfully, obviously there for manufactured drama and don’t feel natural. These characters don’t feel like people, but playthings, action figures manipulated by the hands of the author.

3. The characters involved are underdeveloped

As in the My Hero scene mentioned above, of the three characters in the scene, the “friend” we’re supposed to care about is a non-entity. The two teachers could have lost their minds over this guy’s sudden death, or the reveal that he turned traitor, or that he murdered younglings and puppies and kittens, to the same emotional impact, because we don’t care about this guy (or, I don’t, at least. I didn’t, and shouldn’t have to read the manga).

You can of course have characters who grieve non-entities, like the fridged wife trope. The difference is the audience knows we’re not supposed to know or care about that lady and the character she never was. This happens pre-plot, not mid-season 5. The frigid wife is the catalyst for the character we then come to know, not a character whose death radically changes our heroes from the people we’ve already established.

4. The tonal jump is just too extreme from the established rules of the story

Abrupt changes in tone can be very tricky to pull off, and almost always fail when it surrounds an abrupt shift in character dynamics (as opposed to something more plot-related). As in, your lighthearted comedy suddenly stops the plot so two characters can scream at each other, when this level of emotional charge hasn’t been established as a possibility.

Or the aforementioned emotional breakdown that just leaves audiences uncomfortable like the awkward friend trying to soothe a weeping companion.

—

Unfortunately, the fixes to these situations are either delete that entire scene, or go back and do a lot of rewriting so there’s enough build-up to justify its existence. Go back and write in that simmering resentment, all the little frustrations, a pre-existing tension within the relationship that is always primed to snap.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder and there’s a reason the “slowburn” is so popular. Setting out from the beginning to write a fast-paced, passionate romance tells your readers to expect exaggerated displays of emotion.

My favorite musical is Moulin Rouge. This movie is insane. Everyone is hyperbolically emotional and nothing is half-assed. The dances, the belting singing, the costumes, set-design, editing, the declarations of love– they’re all dialed up to 11. So characters screaming their love or rage from the rooftops is a *lot* but you’re prepared for it from the opening scene, knowing exactly what kind of movie this is.

Even if you don’t start your story with the level of drama it will eventually reach, there should still be some sort of progression when it comes to character drama.

Last Airbender didn’t open episode 2 with the emotional intensity of Zuko and Azula’s last Agni Kai… but it did show you that this isn’t just a lighthearted comedy in episode 3, with the reveal of Gyatso’s body and Aang’s violently emotional reaction.

Speaking of episode 3, they didn’t throw in Gyatso out of nowhere. We know from the show so far that a) Aang is the last of his kind, and b) he doesn’t know this. Everything leading up to this reveal is lighthearted, sure, but with that undercurrent of dread, waiting for Aang to see for himself, waiting for that other shoe to drop.

So some things to keep in mind are:

Prime the audience with dropping that first shoe, make them aware of the building tension (romantic, aggressive, grief, or otherwise), even if not all the characters are aware.

Build that tension. If your characters will eventually explode, let them be mildly irritated first, then annoyed, then frustrated, then angry, then raging until they can’t contain it anymore.

Make sure every party involved in this dramatic moment is someone the audience actually cares about, not just someone they’re told to care about.

TL;DR: Don’t pull the trigger prematurely. It’s most obvious with suddenly passionate arguments, characters flinging insults and hurts the audience isn’t prepared for and doesn’t know about, in effort to move the plot along before it’s fully cooked.

So unless there’s some drugs or fairy magic involved, or one of these characters has a gun to their head forcing them to do this right now, people don’t just explode in a rage without some buildup first. People can explode in a rage over a seemingly inconsequential and unrelated thing, but they’re likely already upset and this one little thing is the final straw. Audiences love the anticipation of what that final straw will be, and whether the explosive drama is rage or romance, “slowburn” is immensely popular for a reason.

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