Pacing

Novels have pacing and so does life. Sometimes life's pacing precludes working on a manuscript. I will probably have to strike all three of my October writing goals. Life is like that.


During my many hours of sitting in a hospital and not sleeping at night, I managed to finish Brisingr by Christopher Paolini (Alfred A. Knopf, 2008).

Publishers Weekly reported the first print run was 2.5 million, and 550,000 copies sold the first day.

I'm starting to think that everything I know (about pacing) is wrong.

In case my notions about plotting, pacing, tension etc. are on track, I plan to attempt Darcy Pattison's shrunken manuscript trick as soon as I finish the current draft. Sarah Miller has photos and a short video on her blog.