How to PACE YOUR STORY (Write Description Like a MASTER)

[@morningmayan]

I think you are brilliant and I make my money as an author and have my master's degree in English. I've learned more from you than I ever did from my grad profs.

[@djheadcandy]

totally agree, am blessed to have found this You tube channel

Same, I studied both French and English lit and I still learn wayyyyy more from Abbie's channel. She is God sent😂🙌🏾🥰

[@will_of_europa]

Would you mind answering a question for me? I'd love to get into writing, and even if I don't go published, I think it would be fun. I have a hard time defining what to actually do to build out my story. What would you suggest I do to actually follow through and complete a project?

[@yurilookingforhisvictor7674]

@@will_of_europa Abby and plenty of other KZbinrs on here have videos that can help you with that.

[@embersparrow1907]

@@will_of_europa Write anything and everything. It's easier to edit what's already written, even if you think it starts out terrible (sometimes you'll surprise yourself!). Mark Twain once said, “Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.” The more you write, the more you'll discover what you like and don't/what fits in the building of the story. Outlines help. Achievable daily word count goals help (even if you end up not keeping what you wrote in the end). If you are having trouble figuring out what happens next, it's likely you don't have your characters figured out enough yet - you don't quite know how they'd react to situations/writing prompts.

[@rhett-says-hullo4229]

I remember the nerd tip where you said what a character does most of the time, affects their view and how they perceive things. I think that affects description and what imagery matters to the character. A character who works as a designer, will see a house differently as to a character who's a security officer. Makes sense?

[@anamariaramirez9341]

Yeah! And that's not even mentioning each character's personality and personal views?

[@wolkcumulus2547]

I think your advice is more for an overwriter. Like me as an underwriter I need more words to describe things x3 everyone keep telling me: You need to write more details

[@cheesecakelasagna]

I'm an underwriter too. Most advice I gather regarding underwriting is that to read more, and read anything. Be it fellow novels, short stories, screenplays, poetry, magazines, blurbs, dictionaries, thesaurus, etc. Especially since I'm neither fully fluent on English nor my native language, being born in a bilingual country and all.

[@shreeyagoyal9568]

yes! I always have people tell me that everything seems to flash by and there's no description (and I have no idea how to fix it)

[@Dani_1012]

@@shreeyagoyal9568 I think for us, as I'm an underwriter too, is that when writing our first drafts is to detail everything as much as we can even if it seems exhausting at some points, then when editing just take out and refine wherever you need to

[@katendress6142]

@@Dani_1012 When I'm writing along, I feel like deliberately putting in more detail than I need just bogs me down.

[@phoebea]

What helps me with under writing is to describe 2-3 out of 5 senses that the POV character would experience throughout in the scene. Ex. For a scene in an alleyway at night. Mention at least 2-3 of the following senses: 1. Smell (i.e. thick, pungent, rotting food, cooking food, etc) 2. Sound (i.e. car honking, car alarm, sirens, buzz of the street light, noise from a nearby bar, squeaking/scratching of rodents, etc) 3. Sight (i.e. figure in shadows, drunk party group, brick walls, garbage bins, homeless people in sleeping bags, turned over shopping carts, etc.) 4. Taste (i.e. stale beer, coffee, dinner, mints, tobacco, vomit, blood from cut lip, etc) 5. Touch (i.e. car keys in hand, warmth of lover's nearness, hardness of asphalt, slippery oil on the ground, dampness of the shirt on character's back, etc.) Descriptions are important in bringing the reader into the story and helping them care about your character. You don't have to describe all 5 senses that the POV character experiences during the scene, but, a few senses indicated helps the reader relate to the character even if it's not a shared experience. Ex. Bob drunkenly stumbled out of the alleyway to his '98 Corolla. vs. Bob grasped for the rough, brick wall for stability as he swayed precariously down a familiar road. Bile pooled at the top of his throat and mixed with the taste of stale beer in his mouth. He heaved once, twice, before fishing out his keys from his trouser pocket. He spat on the oily, scummy ground and squinted at the blurred, lamp-lit sidewalk hoping to spot his rusty, white '98 Corolla.

[@TimRG]

I think you may have overlooked the importance of some writers who see the picture in their head and need to get it out on the page. For some, they need to get out that picture onto the page the best they can, regardless of how many words it takes. Pacing needs to be kept in mind, but if a writer can't get what's in their head on the page because they keep stopping to focus pacing in their first draft, that is a problem. Pacing is something that can be adjusted over multiple drafts.

[@EDDIELANE]

True! I like to “run the scene” through my mind several times, and then it helpsme decide what sort of pace I was to take.

[@Whimsy3692]

This may work for you, but pacing has never been a problem for me. "Reading at the pace of your imagination" is something that's clicked with me since I was little.

[@cocobeanie4704]

Ya ! I’m writing my fist drafts but I want to include more details later

[@piyalichhajed6009]

YES! I believe that the first draft is the writer telling the story to themselves.

[@juparula]

@@piyalichhajed6009 Yes!!

[@kitfairchild9784]

I think you've nailed why I hate reading really descriptive fight scenes, cause it slows down the action in my mind. Common sense but very insightful!

[@purpleghost106]

For those who don't like the 3 act structure, but want a scaffold, you should know there are tried and true alternatives. Mangas and the animes adapted from them follow a 4 act structure called Kishotenketsu, and many mystery stories follow 5 acts because they need a double twist. Some stories just need a different shape to grow along, so it's worth knowing at least. Not that I'm versed in writing them, but as a reader/watcher I know I enjoy both of these as much as the 3 act structure. :3

[@Schwa_]

PurpleGhost Truuuuuue not enough people talk about 4 or 5 act structure in my opinion

[@gregothy9190]

and there's the 8 part structure, and the monomyth, and many more:) research is your friend, and each genre treats structure differently

[@petertjahjadi6219]

Wow that's interesting. I've been watching anime and always wanted to create a story as beautiful as the anime I watched. Thanks for the info.

[@valhatan3907]

Thabk you. I just learn about Kishotenketsu

[@kaedatiger]

I think of the 3 act structure as being four parts. 1, 2a, 2b, 3, where a and b are before and after the midpoint.

[@N.Traveler]

An example of excellent pacing in my opinion is Avatar The Last Airbender. I always go back to this series whenever I'm in doubt with anything. The entire story is just so well written. I literally based my act 3 pacing on ATLA. (didn't copy, I just used the structure! My book is not even fantasy.).

[@DalCecilRuno]

I love ATLA, and yes, awesome pacing there.

[@kaedatiger]

ATLA is a great study in world building too. Wish they gave Korra more seasons so it could have an ending.

[@tiagodagostini]

Pacing is in fact easier on animation, because you have a hard reference on the visual things. Books it is easy to make a 2 second scene take a full page.

[@edmontonboy99]

“I’m runnin’ late, I’m *pacing* nervously.... this is how the Flash *paces*” - Sheldon Cooper

[@myownstory4030]

🤣

[@nikkoleburns3213]

A movie with good pacing for me was Avengers: Endgame. The movie was 3 hours long and yet was able to keep me engaged in every second. Isn't funny how we read the same book, but don't visualize the same book.

[@Lectoracitónica]

Totally agree. That was a very long movie, but it felt shorter. I was like "give me more" xDD

[@diannebdee]

It was the veritable three act structure. Hour one established the world post-snap. Hour two told of how to get the stones and unsnap everyone. Hour three was the resolution in the form of the final battle and the aftermath. The movie does not disappoint.

[@r.c.c.10]

I completely disagree. I thought it had a quite bad pacing. But it seems that it comes down to opinions.

[@isaachiggs1925]

I remember watching that movie. It was intense. At the end, my dad described it as, “a scrambled egg.”

[@jonnievangenuchten7752]

I am always stuck in the narration. I feel like most of my story is just the main characters explaining what they feel and what is going on. I also find it very difficult to switch from narration to description or someone talking. So does anyone have any tips or tricks on how to maintain a good flow while switching between narration and description?

[@serceskywalker]

Yes, reading good fictional books helps a lot. You can see how it’s done.

[@giseledute]

Abbie, I love your tips. I never forget that the action scenes are written fast so the reader can see it quickly. My stories have many action scenes, so I always use this tip. The Captive Prince Trilogy Series is a good example of pacing and description! I loveeee the series and how the author can develop something wonderful, with balanced description and pacing. Loved the video, enlightened me a lot about pacing and description!

[@shaniceisfalling]

I love Captive Prince too! I'm like 3/4 through the second book and it's amazing how it shares so many concepts with Ai no Kusabi while also adding such a new and expansive spin to it

[@spacedani2]

I actually can’t really see images in my head, but i still *feel* it playing out like a movie if that makes sense? I can, like, feel all the pieces moving around, i could tell you exactly where a character is, what they’re doing, how they’re standing. But it’s all black, I see nothing, except for occasional flashes of a still image of what’s going on, and even those images are blurry, dark, and faded. But it’s interesting to me that pacing still works for me in the same way! I still imagine everything happening at the rate i read, i still somehow “visualize” the stuff without actual images.

[@cottoncandycloud1675]

That is so interesting 🤔 Is it like that when you read a novel as well?

[@valerie_loves_me]

I was searching for such a comment! I have the exact same thing, just without occasional flashes of still images! But good to know that this does still work for someone who sees nothing/just as less than I do! I got kinda worried I will have problems with this (I might still do have problems, but I am eager to try make it work!)

[@pixelskull6984]

Hi! 3 years late, but that phenomenon is called Aphantasia! It is said that 1-4% of the population has it, myself included.

[@jeoenriquez7151]

This is the first time someone explained to me how to understand pacing in details. I'm in the process of revising my novel and this video helps a lot. Thank you for this gem.

[@BeccaDayAuthor]

My mind has been blown by those screenplay examples! I would never have thought of that

[@EmilynWood]

Also, with description, it depends on the kind of writer you are--my favorite books are the ones with beautiful, lengthy descriptions, but they're done well. Auralia's Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet does it really well. His description is written in active language instead of passive, and that also helps move the scene forward while feeling like stuff is happening.

[@theonlypandamonium]

00:00 The secret to perfect pacing in writing 02:24 The three-act story structure provides a foundation for a unique story. 04:39 Pacing is important in writing 06:54 When writing a book, less is more. 08:55 Learn from screenplays to make stories more visual and immersive 11:05 The importance of pacing in screenwriting 13:11 Pacing is crucial in novel writing 15:10 Good pacing is key to creating a visual experience for readers.

[@ekaterinabotziou]

Love your videos they are so inspirational! I’ve self-published 4 books - my last one was a children’s book so the pacing had to be perfect! Great advice as always - I’m creating more how to write content on my channel and you always spur me on! Thank you! Xo

[@simona1512]

Where can you get the screenplays? Is there any good website to download? Thanks for all your Videos. They really help me improve my writing☺️

[@alexiacerwinskipierce8114]

In one sentence, Abbie just describes Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder. "If your brain had to process everything all at once, you probably couldn't even function"

[@vandini8185]

I love taking screenshots of your notes onscreen. Thank you for being so professional.

[@masonposte3364]

When I was first writing I was so concerned that it would be too slow and thought I was writing way too much. When I went back and reread what I had written I realized that the only reason I could feel any emotion in the scene is because I was thinking about it while writing it. Nobody else would’ve no one what was going on, it was way too fast! i definitely need this video 🤞

[@IsabellePeterson69]

I'm sure you've read Save the Cat! for Novels by Jessica Brody? It's 3-Act structure... and in her book she actually breaks down a bunch of super amazing novels - and lays out how the book fits into the structure (for those readers who are like - "Not all great books follow that structure." (BTW - Save the Cat! is originally a screenplay format by Blake Snyder)

[@elviejodelmar2795]

Two numbers that may be helpful: 296 and 800. 296 is how many words per minute the average reader reads fiction. 800 words per minute is how fast the brain works. You start the reader at 296 wpm, but their brain races ahead at 800 wpm. In other words, pace will be supercharged, for good or bad.

[@mykellecarter7345]

Mostly completely off-topic - but, how do you write time skips. I feel like if I just put a lot of space between paragraphs and start writing again, I just cheated a reader. I'm not a fan of; *** to show that the time was changed because I'm picky. And I don't really want to say "a few hours later.."

[@HellsMirror]

Start a new chapter

[@charlesroeckeriv6226]

I love how after reading one of the scripts, Abbie says, "What did you see? Probably something that looks like this:" and then a commercial about beer comes on.😆

[@dark_xcaliber_7183]

I love the description of seeing your writing like a movie! That is EXACTLY how I view it!🤣 love your work! Just got on the train and wish I would have found you sooner. Great work! And thank you for the inspiration!

[@myownstory4030]

You are amazing...I really needed a video like that because I worry so much about the pacing and description (since I’m writing my first book/novel )😊

[@Writing4Jesus247]

YES! I see my books and all books as a movie, girl! One thing I absolutely love in movies is when they have dialogue before they show who's speaking. Like it's almost a voiceover for two seconds and then they show who's talking. Great way to keep the pace going!

[@tatianaamill8230]

Im not sure if it was mentioned in previous comments at all, but I'd like to share what has been another handy tip for pacing. I am visually impaired, the vision loss is recent. But I have discovered audio description. Since everything is so blurry now, I miss visual cues. But audio description tells what I NEED to know in order to understand what's going on. Some audio description isn't that great, but it has helped me in my writing. There's a whole category on Netflix for movies that have audio description. By the way, I love your videos Abbie!!!

[@KingDannyT]

Im so glad for this video especially the screenplay advice because I have the opposite problem of too much detail. Like 75% of my first draft is dialogue with little to no detail

[@audreystrother1163]

It’s also important to not go into a crazy amount of detail because you want to give readers the opportunity to visualize the environment or characters in their own way. It helps the readers to actively participate in the story, another form of showing not telling.

[@CanYouKeepSecrets]

I agree with you. right now I am writing a novel and it comes to the end of the story; but I am thinking of how to end it. I want to leave something hanging but on the other hand I want to expose every detail to the readers😂😂😂.

[@nikkithompson7635]

Your videos have helped me tremendously! Thank you!

[@gregahunt]

abbie, when i came to your book-signing, you rejected me and called me a beta reader. i swear, abbie, i’m an alpha reader. gimme another chance!

[@TFrills]

This has been the best video I've seen from you yet, and I've seen at least a hundred of your videos and you're my favorite writing youtuber! This was exactly the advice I needed. Too bad it doesn't have more views.

[@AbbieEmmons]

Wow, thank you!

[@TFrills]

@@AbbieEmmons You're welcome, Abbie! :) By the way, I'd love to see some more videos on indie publishing. I like the videos you made about it so far and it's something I'm very interested in learning more about.

[@fizzledits2433]

English teachers need to hear this: *nobody cares what the blue door symbolises*

[@Bluenamii]

I've been struggling with pacing a lot so this is helpful

[@patrickskramstad1485]

When it came to making "The Matrix," thee was far more than a script. A script is like a skeleton. I may suggest a use of storyboards. A type of comic book format. Storyboards help you see what is in front of you and the audience. Paint the picture literally.

[@Nemo-Nihil]

This! This is what I was hoping to learn when getting my creative writing degree! Instead we analyzed literature and talked about what it means (I "learned" Shakespeare is a racist misogynist that didn't care about the mentally ill 🙄) and for the actual creative writing: we were just told to write a story and then workshop it. No mechanics. Even if my Craft Worshop, we were told to read stories and then we talked about it, never really getting into the mechanics. Why this scene felt faster or slower, why is this scene much sharper, ect. I'm learning more from you than I did in four years of college for the same art.

[@rymaru2138]

Homeschoolers be like

[@kitwayne4891]

If I may offer another suggestion: You can cut out a lot of description entirely. I wrote a scene about a drunkard coming out of a bar during a thunderstorm and walking into the street to see what a person left there. The only description of the bar was that a light was out. The only description of the street was that it was an intersection. The only description of the storm was that it was happening. I let the reader fill in the rest of the scenery because none of it was important to the story.

[@sarahg4613]

UGH abbie--such a genius video. I've watched it three times already!

[@bluemacaroons]

I remember there was a book I read with reaaallllyyy slow pacing I was so tempted to put it down, but I did finish it and it was amazing! I just wish they sped up the build up

[@lillianlevine8200]

2 of my favorites are historical fictions “Issacs Storm” by Eric Larson “Close to Shore” by Michael Capuzzo Great balance between details and pacing … serious page turners Love your videos . Great suggestions

[@obsessedwithart231]

Something I always do and just love doing is writing scenes from movies and tv shows. It has helped me so much mastering pacing and how to describe something happening. It’s also great because you can focus on improving your writing without even having a storyline. I totally recommend!

[@lorettalittlefield5551]

This is my first book I am working on. So I really appreciate all your advice. Thank you for making these videos😊

[@cadengrace5466]

You need to ad a 3rd type of pacing - the viewer demographic. A YA novel is going to pace differently from a Middle Grade or Adult. Science Fiction is going to pace different that erotica and fantasy is going to pace differently than a historical drama.

[@rcschmidt668]

I appreciate this discussion of pacing. The film 2001: A Space Odyssey used “show, don’t tell” to the extreme with stunning visual imagery without dialogue. (And without explosions every 30 seconds!) Compare that level of cinematic wonder that Kubrick gave us with the descriptions first conceived by Clarke.

[@jaleesah]

This is good advice for screenwriting but idk about it translating to fiction as easily. Writing a novel and writing a screenplay are different. Scene descriptions in screenplays can be incredibly sparse and minimal. You can’t describe anything the camera can’t see, like the characters inner thoughts. For fiction writers who struggle with telling instead of showing studying screenplays can help (it did for me) but don’t forget that screenplays serve a different function that fiction. They are a blueprint meant to guide the film and only part of what makes the story (the final film) work. Study fiction if you want to write fiction. Read read read.

[@imbored3063]

a story could be a novel but i turn it into a page long story im currently witing a story and to much has happend in the short amount of time

[@andrewah15]

Great video. Extremely valuable information. Thanks for your great work. 👍🏾😎. I’ve made sure to save this video to my favourites.

[@HeatherShreve]

Ok, here's a question... a science of story question that I always feel I have to keep Top of Mind: POV of the main protagonist and which type of narration! Can you do a video, because if you are saying "your art" and there are no rules...(Boy, that would be so freeing) but what about POV and narration? First, second, third,...subjective or objective, oh my--or a third person omniscient narrator...whoof...!

[@blaircolquhoun7780]

The opening of By Force of Arms by James L. Nelson. He depicts the pursuit of the Judea by the HMS Rose perfectly.

[@krampus7520]

"And I know some of you are screenwriters, and some of you aren't" Me: Yeah, screenwriting is SUCH a different thing from writing, in my experience. In screenwriting, the main purpose to be as CONCISE and CLEAR as possible, it's very structured (even when it looks like it isn't) every scene has to have a reason and a message to convey to the bigger story, and it has to be written in a very 'bare-bones' way; a lot of the artistic choices happen AFTER the screenplay is already written; because the screenplay is NOT the 'finished' product, it's a MEANS to an end, the movie. The actors, camera directors, set makers, costumers, light-setup, all of THOSE people are the ones realizing it into a 'finished' product. The movie is what you're meant to see. The screenplay is a spine, a directions page for a team to follow. I don't care about the word count when I'm writing a screenplay; that stuff doesn't matter, what matters is reaching the scene i want and getting the pacing right, putting tension and action and flow where it's meant to be. It has to be clean and simple, there are very few descriptive things in it, and NO fancy-schancy prose,; I don't need to read through that when i'm giving out lines or setting up the set/cameras. But a book is VASTLY different, I like seeing some descriptive stuff, i like certain prose when it shows up (but not too much, i like seeing character action/interaction as the main thing) When I'm writing (fanfic, lol) i do care about the word count and beating my prev. score, and writing descriptive scenes, mental monologues, and some fancy/clever prose. I also think reading is a very different (action??) compared to watching a movie--it's alot more private--more intimate--it's just you alone with the book, the words and images in YOUR head. It's the most basic language manipulated into beautiful and touching sentences that affect you emotionally. You want that with a book. A movie is visual and auditory art (emotional, as well); the realization of incredibly hard work by A LOT of different people, working together to make art. Also books, just in general, have more *scenes* than movies, you're experiencing a lot more *time* with the characters than you do with a movie, and that's fine. When i'm reading, i WANT to sit down and relax and spend 200,000+ words with the characters (fanfiction, lol) and just *feel*and take in the author's lone creation come alive (sometimes there are more than 1 author working together on a story, but for the most part it's just 1) When i'm watching a movie, i like analyzing, looking at the imagry and symbolism, using my brain's advanced data-functions (lol) and that's also fine. They're 2 different types of medium in wich to tell a story. Lol whoops wtf did i do. was not expecting it to be this long

[@LeeWhittaker]

I'm a screenwriter and I'm good with that but as I venture over to your-side I find the "NARRATIVE" (voice) the most challenging. I suppose like you said it's a matter of just writing and discovering as well as looking at my fav novelist...which I do...but still this I find the most challenging. Thanks for touching the subject. Would love to know more however. Thanks for being you Abbie.

[@sumadey4993]

Please make a video about Character Arcs. I've been seeing a lot of blogs recently for tips but I find your tips more helpful.

[@ander2317]

Another tip for writing descriptions; listen to audio description in movies.

[@billharm6006]

I'm two years late to this video but I have a couple of questions: 1. Where can I find movie scripts? I'll do some digging on my own, of course, but learning about others' resources can be oh so helpful. 2. Do you classify dialogue as part of narrative? I would think, "usually yes." However, I can see it occasionally falling under description. Perhaps dialogue is in a classification all its own? I did like the Dunkirk and Matrix script/video overlays. Instructive.

[@soyaliovee]

I’m actually an aspiring visual comic artist and writer more than a novel writer and I still found your channel really helpful for me when it comes to trying to draw my imagery. I’m still working for my debut comic and I hope this will work out well.

[@christina22klol12]

What's your comic called? I would love to read it!

[@soyaliovee]

@@christina22klol12 It’s still in my wip and not sure when to actually post it on WEBTOON, but sure, I’ll comment about it here when I’m at my 50% of work. Thx ☺️

[@Escxpe_21]

How's it going love?

[@thefatbat5556]

My favorite books have little along the lines of description or narrative,, and are mostly story. I could say The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, but he dragged down the pacing with long politician-esque monologues. Not much better than 20 pages of description like the Mrs. Perivale books by Dash Hoffman. I also feel that chapter length should be considered, I don't like to stop mid-chapter, but there are books where it's hard not to if I want to be on time for anything. For example, the Xanth series has chapters that in audio book format run an hour and a half, some of the chapters in the Mrs. Perivale books run almost an hour, and the ultimate mega-chapter, Chapter 37 of 'A Memory of Light' the final book in the Wheel of Time, Running a whopping 10 hours long by itself. I prefer when the chapters in audio book format would run up to 20 minutes at maximum, that way I'm not sitting around twiddling my thumbs for an hour or stopping mid-sentence to be on time.

[@PanagiotisKokkinogenisPanos]

Excuse me for introducing a new kind of element or dimension if you please, but more than a scene I enjoy a particular piece of music. If I'm not mistaken it's the result of the work by Hans Zimmer, "Molossus" to be exact. Its pacing is a perfectly precise auditory depiction of what maniacal fear feels like, which transforms itself into a violent fit of rage, albeit accurate as a Barett sniper rifle, lightning paced, agile like a butterfly knife and devastating like a battle axe. Not just great, not just majestic, simply put, divine. Thanks Abbie, great content all around, very inspiring. 😉😊

[@christianknickerbocker604]

One thing I noticed while editing a friend's book recently was that a longer sentence actually takes longer to read than the sum of it's words. So for example a 20 word sentence will take longer to read than 4 five word sentences. A sentence is essentially a road logically connecting it's subject, object, and everything in between and the reader is the bricklayer. The longer the road the harder your brain has to work at connecting its various elements. I never noticed before but my friend had sentences with over fifty words in them many if which were not small. For the first time I had to actually tax my brain to connect together the long flowing thoughts his monster sentences convey. I think the same thing is true for 15 word sentences. It's just that we don't notice that we're slowing down to understand the sentence because it's still not a strain. It does however slow us down, especially if it's one long sentence after another.

[@BbGun-lw5vi]

Great point!

[@tSp289]

Ironically I found myself getting increasingly frustrated until about the 45 second mark before putting it on double speed and skipping forward. Good points though.

[@girafficpark1113]

Yes! This is so helpful! What do you think when you read this? Good pacing?: In the middle of the dissension, a large pale giraffe came walking over to them, his face cross. His sandy colored spots gleamed in the beating sun and muscles rippled under his dusty fur. His gaze was fastened on Rocket.

[@IShy2]

I'm a writer Sorta, I call my stories parodies because I use characters, locations, and stories from other media, and I'm planning to just post my comics to Deviant Art (I don't write novels, I write comic books), and even though the characters aren't all MLP ponies, I draw them as such because I suck at drawing humans, not to mention their stick horses so it feels more like a child's coloring book than a comic book Anyway, I'm mostly trying to just write the lore for the universe I've placed every character in existence in while writing interesting stories for the main group at the same time One problem I have is a giant main cast, there are like 45 characters in the main group (3 are OCs, 1 is my in-universe version of myself, and the rest are from existing media), and I try not to dump them all into one story unless it's a truly epic/important one (where the stakes are incredibly high and the plot also sounds really cool), so normal stories only show like 10 or 15 of them, which granted is still a lot but not in the context of there being 45 main characters, luckily, I'll try to not add any more, my obsessions into new series is the reason there's so many, so I'll try not to go too crazy if I get a new obsession From everything you here any advice to improve, I want to keep this giant main group, my art style, and "comic book" feel to let you know what I want to keep

[@shosty575]

First comment. Hi Abbiee. Remember me? Tq for the video. Loved it

[@osamaruta4540]

What is the best way you've figured out for delivering the different character perspectives... without a lot of perspective shifts? One of the biggest issues with my novel right now, is that the MC and the natives doesn't actually understand each other until about 20 chapters in. I didn't want to rush a "learning the language" plot because that always felt unnatural and weird to me. That being said, It means I have a lot of perspective shifts between characters, sometimes about the same scene, and I'm Trying to think of ways to shorten or reduce that in a way thats natural, but don't slow down the pacing so much. Anyone have any ideas.?

[@Blabbermouth-w5w]

You must hate Stephen King novels but love his short stories. I could not get into any of his novels but his "Four Past Midnight" (a book of four short stories) was excellent.

[@r.c.c.10]

The Return of the King, Saving Private Ryan, Frozen II, Harry Potter and TDH Part 2 (and almost any other HP movie) and Gladiator, for example, have amazing pacing. The pacing in The Big Short is strange, but the result was excellent. Titanic for instance, begins too slow, but half into the movie it masters pacing.

[@epiphoney]

"There's a little rule of thumb that I actually believe in, which is that the story needs to turn every four to six pages [8 to 12 minutes]." -- Ken Follett. He also said you should only have to read his sentences once.

[@Thechaoseditz2.0]

I’m trying to write some horror fiction stuff and here’s some things I have The dead forest kept going on. It seemed like there was no end, no escape in sight. An transparent and impenetrable mist covered the sky. He had longed to see the blue hue of the sky. It had been so long since other life had existed. It might only be a myth in the future of existence itself, that life had once existed here. And he might not have lived to see it. He traversed through the forest, the dead trees stood as high as the eye could see. As thin as a pencil lead. The branches stretched out, as if they were bones of a giant creature. The bones of something that shouldn’t exist. He had travelled for miles without seeing anything, he knew that he could never go back to the once vibrant stronghold of humanity. He knew that there were eyes watching him at this very moment, eyes that were not human. He needed to run but his body couldn’t go any further. He collapsed to the ground out of exhaustion and physical pain. He needed to lay down for a long time before he could continue, but he couldn’t care more. He knew he was being chased. The things that were behind him were somewhere close so he crawled into a dark spot under an open crack in the nearby boulder.

[@EmilynWood]

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse had some really good pacing, I thought--/almost/ too fast, but it flows really well as a whole.

[@walteroakley9115]

Oddly enough your "screenplay" suggestion is very similar to an exercise I stumbled onto. While I was watching a movie (preferably one I had seen many times before) I would say how I would describe the scene I was watching if I were writing it in a novel. Great minds think alike. The movies I always use as an example of 3 act structure is The ORIGINAL Star Wars trilogy (theatrical release and NOT special edition). George Lucas himself said it was originally intended to be one movie but he had to split it into 3. I use some TV series as examples for pacing I.e. the last few seasons of Star Trek Deep Space nine, and I use Lost for how to handle multiple timelines. I also use Disney's Gargoyles (Xanatos was such a great villain) now because of you I have to re-watch The Matrix...there is no spoon

[@breannafrizzell6515]

"Seeing" a novel play in your head actually isn't universal. I have aphantasia and I cannot generate mental images. I think and "see" in words, so imagine an image but every object in it has a beautiful description as a placeholder instead of the object. It's different, but it makes reading and writing a beautiful experience for me.

[@mossberg8817]

Makes video about pacing, cuts out Every. Single. Pause. between sentences 😩

[@will_of_europa]

Ah maybe this is why I don't like Brandon Sanderson's writing style. In a lot of his book he's descriptive but the descriptions don't seem to matter to anything other than serving the worldbuilding. The character certainly doesn't care. So why should I?

[@paulbytnar434]

The way that each object on the shelf is perfectly balanced/symmetrical, as well as color coded, is extremely satisfying.

[@Masenken]

I know this is years old, but how do you apply this to someone who is aphantasiac? I'm guessing treat it like giving a speech where can cadence and pitch become more important, since they are incapable of visually imagining what's being described

[@TristanRetzbach]

excellent pacing would be The Maze Runner series by James Dashner.

[@tedgreene4248]

Oh hello! Love the videos Abbie. Quick question: I'm trying to figure out how to write and I watch alot of videos on the utuber and seem to come across different advice. One guy says that pacing is "the rate of revelation (the rate new important info is given to the reader). You seem to say that pacing is about the speed at which the reader is able to read your writing based on how short the sentences are and using as few words as possible to get the point across. Are you both saying the same thing in a different way? It seems not so to me. They both seem good advice but very different views of what pacing is.

[@KutWrite]

Aside from the useful content, your videos are a visual and audio treat.

[@AnnoyingMoose]

Ironically the placement of some of the ads in this video completely destroys the pacing of your wise instruction!

[@annaliesestalonne7011]

Thanks Abbie! You've got really reflective quick tips. Every time I click on your video I find something new, nothing obvious that I've heard a hundred times before.

[@darkyboode3239]

I also read books as if they’re movies playing in my head, and even play music in my head that goes along with the scene I’m imagining. Sometimes if the book has a film adaptation, if I’ve seen the movie first I’ll imagine the music in each scene it was in while reading the book.

[@remem95]

Thing I find important to note: Seeing the book like a movie is not universal actually. Aphantasia is a thing, some people are better at it than others. Some people are better at imagining touch, sound, smell or emotions and including multiple senses in descriptions can make or break the experience.

[@SlipsunLightOfHeaven]

The funny thing is is that my brain filtered out some of what you were saying when it didn't directly relate to what I needed to know. Now, I am really really tired right now, so that caused some of it, but I found that funny.

[@harbindersinghrai6955]

Should you ask people around you to comment on your story when you're half way through it ? I love your videos 👏👏👏

[@polvotierno]

Best pacing and balance between description and narrative I have ever read... The pool of the black one by Robert e Howard.

[@theelmozusflame3015]

. Leaving this here

[@maxvoroshilov3207]

GREAT VIDEO AGAIN, ABBIE!

[@ProSkillzDragonGal]

I can give u an example of excellence pacing: 100 Days of Sunlight

[@robynevershed9292]

WHERE, IN A SCREENPLAY DO YOU FIND THE PICTURE BEING DESCRIBED IN A MOVIE/FILM…IN THE BEGINNING, MIDDLE, OR THE END?

[@juliabeers4869]

INCEPTION!!! With Leonardo DiCaprio!

[@mikecastle9555]

An example of pacing that has stuck with me is a scene in Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot. A character breaks into a creepy house and slowly explores up to the attic where something scares the crap of of his and he bolts down the stairs and out of the house. The sentences of the character going in are long and descriptive and on the run out short and to the point.

[@bellelovesbooks_]

The pacing of “ The Hunger Games” (book 1) was so good I had to put the book down to grab a notebook.

[@michaellayne-vw4jp]

This is a great help

[@tophat2115]

What about the Snowflake Method or the Hero or Heroine's Journey (the latter two are similar but not the same.)

[@melonmode4128]

I definitely didn't read that thumbnail as "Master pacing" at first lmao

[@rowan404]

I have the exact opposite problem. I forget that other people don’t have the movie in my head and add too _little_ detail as a result.

[@brandonkoh8361]

Nice. You basically said that pacing in a book is the same thing as pacing in a movie. Now I just have to learn how to pace a movie.

[@faithfelton3150]

Me, whose aphantasic:

[@Natalie-cv2nt]

I once read a book and everybody seemed to have the same personality and talked the same. They all gave the same damn speech, over and over. The plot was nice but omg I guess that was the only thing that person got their book published

[@diasana9445]

Exactly the video I needed to watch! Thank goodness you exist! You're amazing!!!!~~☆