Tag Archive | pacing

Fast Five: SJ Tilly’s 1st POV

Nov23

Hello my lovelies! How are you today? I’m reading the third book in S.J. Tilly’s Mountain Man series and I have to share some thoughts about Tilly’s use of Alternating 1st Person POV. These books are Romance, so some of these comments are going to tie specifically into that specific genre.

  1. Remember how the old romance novels used to slip between perspectives, especially in the spicy scenes? Making the scene well rounded on both sides of the relationship and keeping the pacing? She is able to do this…. How? Well…..
  2. Chapters vary in length, some only a few paragraphs (I want to say one was only a sentence, but I could be wrong.)This tightens suspense, especially in a predator / prey or romantic chase  type of way.
  3. In the shorter chapters, the sentence length changes as well, leaving the reader slightly breathless. It makes the pacing completely on point for spicy scenes.
  4. In the longer chapters we get more depth– varied sentence length as well as the gamut of emotions– heart break to hilarity. These books have both made me laugh so hard I cried, and just ugly cry for the character.
  5. I don’t really have a 5. I feel in love with the way she uses the structures of writing to help tell the story, both in chapter and sentence lengths.

Have you read anyone lately who makes you think about writing a little differently? I have a few more books to review through the lens of how’d they do that writing edition LOL. So I’ll see you very soon!

Book Review: Almost Perfect

Sep10

Book Review: Almost Perfect

Note: I have never before reviewed a book that I DNF’ed, however NetGalley said it was appropriate (and recommended!!) so here we are.

Almost Perfect by E. F. Todd
Publish Date: 10/31/23
Publisher: Sugar Beaver Books

First off, I want to thank Sugar Beaver Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this book. I was excited to give it a try, the cover looks fun—it’s a Christmas Romance. My favorite!!

The writing was good, with some stellar examples of great writing shining through. So why did I DNF?

I DNF’d Almost Perfect at almost the 20% mark. 18.6% I believe, if you want precision. The reasons why we’re two fold: character and pacing.

V is a Doctor. A practicing doctor. The disconnect may have been the choice to have the heroine go by an initial instead of something like Vee, even. For me, naming a character by an initial would be more appropriate when the character is edgy and wise. Or if the narrator is slyly trying to make things “anonymous”. To further the disconnect V felt incredibly young and sheltered. Her and her friends struck me as more college age than professionals—and it had nothing to do with the Doc in love with a bar tender aspect.

The pacing was also off. When it came to the first love scene (I think) is when I finally closed the book. It felt like it was taking two chapters for him to kiss his way up her leg. It did not in fact take that long, but when a romance reader is bored by the love scene and is a few pages into it…. It needs to be tightened.

But worst of all, there was no Christmas in that 20 percent. I know it comes, I just couldn’t hang in there to get to it.

We can be honest and say the pacing issue might have been because I could not connect with the main character, V. It probably was.

There are some great lines in this story though, and I look forward to the next story this author has up their sleeve.

Thank you again to Sugar Beaver Books and Netgalley for providing me a copy for review.

Jane Bites Back, pacing the floors

Jul22

I’ve been posting lately both on book reviews and on my writing journey. This time, I’m going to give a little of both. Hopefully 🙂

 

Jane Bites Back, by Michael Thomas Ford.

 

Jane Austen is alive, er… un-dead and well. She’s a little peeved at all the people making money off her, royalties that she cannot receive because the world thinks she’s dead. Ford deftly imagines a world where Austen, Bronte and Byron are still hanging around in modern times. Two out of the three are doing ok.

The third? Crazy as a loon.

This novel was captivating, not only because of the subject matter. Instead of writing it in a modern style, it reads a bit… old fashioned, sweet. Not simple, but not the frenetic fast pace that seems to dog the urban fantasies that I read most of the time. It was a relaxing read, being able to sink into Austen’s modern world and take a look through her eyes.

Over all?  I’m glad Jane is kind of alive, and plan on seeking out the next two books in the series.

 

This book did bring to mind the importance of pacing. If the story is too slow, your reader will close the book and go watch paint dry. Too fast, too intense, and you risk burning the reader out or worse, garnering the wrong response from the pivotal scene. People need ups and downs, and we need to conserve the readers energy.

Which sounds really strange. The reader’s energy? We’re not running a marathon when we pick up a book. Have you ever read a novel written in first person, present tense? Ok, how did you feel while reading it? When I read one such novel, the author plum wore me out. How does that happen? I don’t know, but I know it does.

The best stories take a reader and wrap them up in another world. One where romance is possible, or unicorns prance through the forest. In the hands of a good author, we as readers are wrapped up in the book. We’re not reading it, we are living it. Vicariously, but still.

And that’s why books will trump movies every single time.

Till later, my lovelies. Have a wonderful week.

Read more! And write even more than that!