Building Rhythm & Pace in Your Scenes | StoryCraft Advent Calendar Day 12
When I think of my favorite books, I remember the experience of reading them as being similar to listening to a great piece of music. The action, dialogue, and descriptions bounce off each other to create vivid scenes that pulls you through until the end. Each scene is well paced, allowing for moments when my heart is racing and those when I can sink into the beauty of the language, the world, or the emotions of a scene until it leaves a lasting impression.
Creating rhythm in scenes is one of the most difficult things to do as a prose writer. When you’re working in film or creating something for the stage, the entire creative team controls the pacing that audiences experience – from the way that people speak to what actions draw the audience’s focus at any given time. In a novel, you only have the words to bring everything to life. So, how can you mimic a living moment where it feels vibrant and real?
To begin, when working through a scene, you should know the movements of the characters as if they were happening on screen or right in front of you. What are the opening positions of everyone as we get that first picture? How does each character move and interact with the others? Is anyone doing anything while they are talking? What are their mannerisms? What visual subtext is happening?
Because I started writing for theatre and film, I have been trained to have a bit of an advantage when it comes to building scenes — as I have always thought visually about every aspect of what is happening within action. I often joke that it’s amazing that I became an editor because I read so slowly. But I think this is because no matter what story I’m reading, I need to create that visual picture. I can’t skip over movements or points in a conversation. (And, luckily for my editing life, the result is that I have stellar reading retention and comprehension, even if I take weeks to read a book.)
If you’re not someone who naturally thinks of the moments in your story visually, start by just getting into the bodies of your characters. What do they look like? How do they move? What is their body language and level of comfort with the people they are in a scene with? How do they change and adapt to each environment and moment that we see them in?
Next, take some time to think deeper into the minds of each of the people within your scene, what they want within that moment, and how they would go about getting it. This will inform how they are going to speak to each other and will give lots of clues to their physicality.
When I’m building out a book, one of the first things I do is cast all of my characters with actors or a combination of actors. Sometimes I will think “They look like a mix between Robert Downey Jr. and Ewan McGregor and have the humor and mannerisms of Stanley Tucci in Easy A”. This allows me to picture how they would be in an active scene.
As you’re writing a scene, the real key to creating rhythm is to fully embrace and embody the perspective of your narrator. As the action and dialogue is happening in front of them, what are they focusing on? When are they getting distracted and getting lost in a memory? (Hint, it’s likely not going to be in the middle of a fight scene where they are trying to stay alive!) When are they focused on one character and when are they taking in a whole space? By staying in that view, you will allow readers to move with the narrator and feel their experience within the scene.
And keep in mind that the rhythm, tone, and emotion of a scene are all closely linked. If we are meant to dig deeply into a character's emotions and experience in a moment, we want that moment to be slow and to allow us to take the time we need. If the stakes are high and every second matters, we want the read to be fast and easy, allowing us to breeze through pages as if we are running alongside the characters.
Another thing to think about is the environment and tone within the scene. Is this a place where your characters feel comfortable? It is a place where they are altering their speech or movements in any way? We all behave differently at home than we do at work. We would all speak to a police officer differently than we would our partner or best friend.
Lastly, think about the pauses as much as you are thinking about the action and dialogue. When creating a pause on the page, it usually is going to mean that you are going to shift away from the active elements and instead will concentrate on the setting or other senses. Again, if we are stopping to take in a whole space, it is usually happening in a moment of low action. If we are doing a quick glance to catch key details only, time is likely of the essence. What you choose to concentrate on in your writing is going to set the pace and pull readers through the rhythm of the scene.
The perspective, tense, language, setting, and action that you choose within a scene are all going to play a role in how it plays out. Understand how each element can be used to your advantage and you will create scenes that read like an eloquent symphony.
Happy Writing!
-Jess
