Aspects of Writing: A Quick Look at Pace

As I mentioned in my last post, I do tend to write piecemeal, accomplishing little segments of prose from various points in the story's structure, and then losing track of what I've written and where it belongs on the narrative as a whole.

I finally managed to get them in the proper order (and deleted some old versions that have been edited and assimilated into newer files. I've even had a chance to print out some segments and not only add to them, but gussy them up so they read as well as newer chapters, be they scene (action unfolding in real time, and fixed in one place) or summary (action condensed, lots of telling rather than showing, and not anchored in time). The exercise taught me that, when writing a single story over an extended period of time, my writing style (as well as the quality of my writing) changes just a bit. In essence, I like to think I've gotten better at writing over the last five plus years.

But it's also revealed an important element of writing that I think will make or break this story wide open -- namely, the element of pace.

Most aspects of writing are directly affected by pace. Point of view, characters, personality, themes, backstory, you name it: the scaling of time in your prose is very important for how you want your reader to engage with your prose. How you pace your work impacts everything from the story's momentum to the packing of the climax's punch to the resonating of the theme.

There are four major styles of pace, all taken from the original Italian musical markings for tempo. There's

• Allegro -- meaning bright and lively
• Largo -- meaning sway
• Staccato -- meaning rhythmic
• Legato -- meaning elegant

For Babushka, the entire narrative rests on the shoulders of its protagonist, Sergei Orlov. For the story he needs to tell, there has to be a healthy ratio between scene (for when he's in the present, trapped aboard the sentient vessel) and summary (for when he's recounting the events that led him to be a stowaway).

Everything depends on pace: how long are the scenes going to be? How long the paragraphs, the sentences? What about detail? On what details am I going to linger, on what will I pass over? How will I unfold the various facets of characters both major and minor -- and how will I focus on the myriad relationships? Also -- and this is pretty important -- I need to manage the passing of time and chronology through pace elements like stretches, ellipses and the all-important flashbacks.

These strange times brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic have been trying for all, some more so than others. There's a lot of free time, but how it's being managed is paramount. I can't say I've been very efficient over these last few weeks -- let's just say that I'm almost finished binging Schitt's Creek on Netflix -- but the groundwork for my pacing is just about done. I can do this, but much like the element of pace, I need to manage the momentum: get it going, engage with the prose, balance my needs with my desires, and unfold the story with grace.