Is there a balance between a page-turning read and an exhausting 'too much' reading experience?
I have learned over the past fifteen months of writing fiction that every scene needs to have tension and advance the plot.
This is good. But, I find that as I read my novel (again and again) to identify and address weaknesses, I become sort of... overloaded on any given day. Like the advancement of each scene is another chunk I carry forward. It is advancement, make no mistake. Each scene provides another puzzle piece or resolution, another mystery solved or twist.
Another chunk.
(Edit: To clarify: these plot advancements are not all thrills and death. Some are cementing a friendship that needs to be cemented, or reaching a personal goal to address/overcome the 'shadow' of the protagonist. They advance the plot. That does not mean that they are fights or what not.)
It's hard for me to read (and edit) more than about eight chapters of my novel at a go. But those eight chapters are solid, and the next day I'm ready to edit eight more. The edits are word smithing--I think all the structural stuff is solid.
So the question is: Why do I feel 'full' when reading/editing eight chapters on a given day? On the one hand this makes sense to me because those eight chapters (about 12 scenes) has twelve plot advancements. On the other hand, I believe we are aiming for page-turners. Should I be concerned that after eight chapters on any day I am sort of ... 'full?'
Another way to ask this is: Is the goal that a reader should be able to page-turn the entire novel at one go? And if not, what page-count is the target? I know that sounds stupid. I trust you to grok the sentiment.
Additional edit, there are exactly two 'fight' scenes in the entire novel, and one death scene. This is not a hollywood action film--that's not what I am saying.
This post was sourced from https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/40734. It is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
1 answer
Yes, the goal is to make them want to read the whole novel at a sitting.
You may be tiring because you are reading analytically to find words to smith, and because you already know the story and how each scene turns out.
What makes a story a page-turner is the reader wants to know what happens next, literally in the next page or two, and constantly.
So reading another page or two seems like a small investment of their time, and they do it for the payoff, especially if your writing has been delivering on this pattern since early in the book. It isn't enough to just have a "plot advancement", it must be an advancement that the reader has been waiting for.
So as a reader, I come to the end of some page, and I have to decide if I am going to bed. Now as an author you don't have complete control of where the pages end (save chapter breaks), but say my page ends with character A telling character B what her plan of attack is going to be. Okay, I can go to bed, and pick this up tomorrow.
But say instead my page ends in the middle of a disagreement between character A and character B. I want to see how this micro-drama turns out, so I turn the page, because how long is that going to take?
So the best compliment I have received on a book from a beta reader is "I read it cover to cover, in one sitting."
In contrast, the feedback I have on my most recently "completed" work (different beta reader) is "I can't wait to see how it turns out, but the pace is killing me [too slow]." So, I am likely not completely completed. The tension is there, I don't think I need to cut any story elements, but I'm not delivering on it quickly enough. That means I probably need to be more ruthless with some of my darlings, some exposition or unnecessary dialogue or side-character descriptions.
Without creating more work for you, I think you already know how every scene turns out. At the end of every "resolution" (perhaps what you call a plot advancement), ask yourself, Why does the reader want/need to start the next scene?
You have resolved one unknown, something else needs to take its place; how have you primed them so they really want to see what is next? Solving "A" means you can now solve "B", or whatever. You can have short, medium and long term outstanding tensions, removing one should create another or increase the tension on something outstanding.
If you are switching characters and have finished the chapter on Barb, and it is time for the chapter from Charlie's POV, I hope you left her in trouble: That can also be the reason to turn the page.
On revision, part of the job, even in a solid story, is to figure out how to remind the reader of things they will want to see resolved. They don't have to be game changers, but what they want to know next is what pulls them through the story and keeps them turning pages.
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