Dissecting Dragons: Episode 223: Jump on the Train, or get off the Tracks - Pacing, Prologues & Bridging Distance in Speculative Fiction

One of the trickier aspects of getting a book to hang together is getting the pace of the narrative right. Not only does the required pace vary based on story, it also varies based on genre and reader expectations. This week the dragons unravel how to pace a novel, looking at pacing related to structure, genre and style; cheats and tricks for various genres; how sentence structure can help manage pacing; and when to prologue or use bridging distance. Join Jules and Madeleine for a writing focused episode, as they look at some of their favourite examples of books which got the pacing right.

 

Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic