Pacing is the one of the biggest reasons I put a book down, so I really enjoyed this podcast episode.
I read a lot of middle grade, and there are two main pacing issues that crop up there. I call them "And then and then and then" and "That one BIG thing." "And then" is when there is one thing after another happening in the plot without actually moving the plot. It takes a perfectly reasonable 225 page story and makes it a blah blah blah 300 page book. "That one BIG thing" is when there is something Really Important that the author reminds the reader about every third paragraph. You are right - readers are smart - even kids! Don't beat them over the head with it.
In my experience, adult books suffer from "And then" most of the time. That's why they are often way too long for the amount of character development that actually happens. Maybe 15 self-destructive acts is plenty...no need for the next 5. (That's my other problem with adult books - so much destruction, not nearly enough hope. If you want hope, middle grade is the place to be.)
So far, I think your pacing is spot on. Brisk enough to be intriguing but not so breakneck that I can't (or don't want to) keep up. Every plot point has a purpose and there's no extra stuff. This chapter is a great example - you could have had him have a whole altercation with the guy in the pick-up truck...for no reason. Or you could have had one of the kids in the car start up a whole vapid conversation with him...for no reason. So, thanks for that.
It's funny because as authors we're told a word count for our books. ~50k for middle grade. ~80k for an adult book. Longer for fantasy. Longer if you're Steven King or Brandon Sanderson, and you have a built in audience. But for the rest of us . . . we have to take our story and fit it into the right number of words so that the book looks "right" on the shelf.
I believe that you can still write a well-crafted book and hit that mark, but it does take some thought and care. A side excursion just to add a few thousand words can make a great story just okay.
I have more thoughts on pacing, but I'm going to wait a few chapters, so as not to give away spoilers. :)
Pacing is the one of the biggest reasons I put a book down, so I really enjoyed this podcast episode.
I read a lot of middle grade, and there are two main pacing issues that crop up there. I call them "And then and then and then" and "That one BIG thing." "And then" is when there is one thing after another happening in the plot without actually moving the plot. It takes a perfectly reasonable 225 page story and makes it a blah blah blah 300 page book. "That one BIG thing" is when there is something Really Important that the author reminds the reader about every third paragraph. You are right - readers are smart - even kids! Don't beat them over the head with it.
In my experience, adult books suffer from "And then" most of the time. That's why they are often way too long for the amount of character development that actually happens. Maybe 15 self-destructive acts is plenty...no need for the next 5. (That's my other problem with adult books - so much destruction, not nearly enough hope. If you want hope, middle grade is the place to be.)
So far, I think your pacing is spot on. Brisk enough to be intriguing but not so breakneck that I can't (or don't want to) keep up. Every plot point has a purpose and there's no extra stuff. This chapter is a great example - you could have had him have a whole altercation with the guy in the pick-up truck...for no reason. Or you could have had one of the kids in the car start up a whole vapid conversation with him...for no reason. So, thanks for that.
Looking forward to next week!
I love your thoughts!
It's funny because as authors we're told a word count for our books. ~50k for middle grade. ~80k for an adult book. Longer for fantasy. Longer if you're Steven King or Brandon Sanderson, and you have a built in audience. But for the rest of us . . . we have to take our story and fit it into the right number of words so that the book looks "right" on the shelf.
I believe that you can still write a well-crafted book and hit that mark, but it does take some thought and care. A side excursion just to add a few thousand words can make a great story just okay.
I have more thoughts on pacing, but I'm going to wait a few chapters, so as not to give away spoilers. :)
Thank you for your comments, I love reading them.