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The Writer's Compass » Entries tagged with "pacing"

New Year’s Approach to Writing

New Year’s Approach to Writing

Donna Renzulli, author of the children’s book “Dangerous Reading,” posted an interview with me on her blog “A Writing Primate” as an inspiration for New Year’s resolutions for writers. http://awritingprimate.com/2011/12/30/nancy-ellen-dodd-author-of-the-writers-compass/. Below are the questions she asked: Tell us what you mean by developing a “mind-set” for writing, and how important is it to the creative process? You equate story-telling with building a house: foundation, adding structure of walls and roof, the flooring, painting and adding designer touches. Elaborate for us … Read entire article »

Filed under: Becoming A Writer, About Writing, The Writer's Life

Dialogue, Pacing, and Tension

Dialogue, Pacing, and Tension

How much dialogue should be used compared to how much narrative or exposition? In stories, the more dialogue and the less narrative or exposition, the faster the pacing. This is one of the reasons that action shots in a screenplay should be shorter and in a play there should be very little to nothing between lines of dialogue, in these forms the story should be a fast read with just enough imagery for the reader to visualize … Read entire article »

Filed under: The 7 Stage Process, About Writing, Writing Exercises

The 7 Stage Process

The 7 Stage Process

Developing the 7 Stages   The 7-Stage process systematically develops a story one level at a time, every stage building on the last. Each stage focuses on an area of development that works through key obstacles to create a strong story. Charting the essential elements of storytelling with your ideas across a story map lays the foundation for your story. Progressing systematically through each stage helps you develop your story with the least number of revisions. The 7 … Read entire article »

Filed under: The 7 Stage Process, Featured