Re: Chapter pacing...

ShellyS wrote: 
Remus Shepherd wrote:

Not sure anyone can help me here, but this is a good place to bounce ideas
and sort out my thoughts.  What I have in the current WIP is this:

  Chapters 8 and 9 are occurring at the same time, with different characters
in different places.  Character A is in ch. 8, and character B is in ch. 9.
Let's call them Abe and Bob.

  Chapter 8 is mostly exposition and character development, where Abe
learns how important Bob is.

  Chapter 9 is mostly action with a spot of comedy.  But Bob dies at the
end of it.

  (Chapter 10 is where Abe tries to resurrect Bob, but that's not important
right now.)

  I'm wondering whether I should reverse the orders of Chapters 8 and 9.
If I have the reader see Bob die first, without Abe's knowledge, then there
might be additional poignancy to the character development and the revelation
of Bob's importance.  On the other hand, if we first learn about Bob, the
action scenes will be more exciting as the readers will have a greater sense
of what's at stake.  We'd also roll out the exposition earlier, which might
(or might not) be a good thing.


<snip>

I see that you've already mostly decided on what to do based on what
others have said, but I thought I'd toss my 2 or 3 cents worth in,
anyway. I think, as others have said, that it could work either way. I
certainly have no preference as a reader if the writer does a good job.
What is more likely to bug me is if the exposition/character
development chapter goes on too long. My impatience as a reader might
kick in and I'll be thinking, enough already, lets get back to things
happening.

Also, the length of the chapters would be a factor for me, both as a
reader and writer. I tend to be on the instinctive end of such things,
writing-wise, and unless these are short chapters, I'd be inclined to
break them up a bit and alternate the characters. If both chapters had
the same or similar tones, I wouldn't, but if they're as dissimilar as
you say, then I would have a sense that it's too much one thing or the
other.

Just a couple of other things to consider, if you want. :)

Shelly


I would probably consider cutting the two chapters together, whipsawing the reader between two characters coming to know a third in very different ways, with the death as tragic end to this sequence.

This method has pros and cons. You probably get a long chapter. You'll have to be careful to keep your readers on track. But, you can control the pace to build to as exciting a finish as you like, and nobody has to read a whole chapter with nothing but exposition. They get a nice mix of thought and action, building hopefully to a more poignant end, and a clearer desire to see resurrection.

Bill

Bill

--
Bill Swears

Ever Inappropriate, always contrite, and now... Ironic!  How cool is that?
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Chapter pacing...
    ... Character A is in ch. ... > Let's call them Abe and Bob. ... > Chapter 8 is mostly exposition and character development, ... certainly have no preference as a reader if the writer does a good job. ...
    (rec.arts.sf.composition)
  • Re: Chapter pacing...
    ... Character A is in ch. ... > Let's call them Abe and Bob. ... > Chapter 8 is mostly exposition and character development, where Abe ...
    (rec.arts.sf.composition)
  • Re: Chapter pacing...
    ... Character A is in ch. ... >Let's call them Abe and Bob. ... For me as a reader, comedy before dying would be a tricky thing; ... Yes -- but it may also seem to be leading up to the resurrection attempt. ...
    (rec.arts.sf.composition)
  • Re: Chapter pacing...
    ... >>I would probably consider cutting the two chapters together, whipsawing ... >>the reader between two characters coming to know a third in very ... >>read a whole chapter with nothing but exposition. ... exposition, there's a good amount of character development there, too. ...
    (rec.arts.sf.composition)
  • Re: Fallen
    ... where one character explains something to another character ... for the benefit of the reader. ... Brian? ... Your name's not Bob. ...
    (rec.arts.sf.composition)