I have been Xtremely busy lately working on my WRITING FICTION FOR DUMMIES book. It’s coming along nicely and I’m getting a chance to rethink everything I’ve ever taught and figure out how to say it better.
Yesterday I got an email from a friend asking me a question about writing and inviting me to answer it here on my blog. Good idea! Here’s her question:
I’ve been working on the scene/sequel rhythm to my story and I have a question about pacing. Do scenes tend to be longer than sequels? It seems like if they’re the same length, my characters are going to spend a lot of time wallowing in self-reflection. Can you address the length of scenes vs. sequels some time?
Randy sez: That’s an excellent question. For those not familiar with Scenes and Sequels, you can get a lightning introduction to them in this article on my site: Writing the Perfect Scene.
Now to answer the question. In modern fiction, the Sequel has suffered at the expense of the Scene. It’s common to drastically shorten Sequels. It’s even fairly common to skip the Sequel entirely and go straight to the next Scene.
I don’t favor letting those pesky characters wallow in self-reflection. Better to let them wallow in more car chases and exploding helicopters. That is the reason God invented fiction — to let us safely enjoy car chases and exploding helicopters, without the usual problems.
Gotta question for me on fiction writing? Just click through to my Contact page and email it to me. I’ll answer all questions in the answer I receive them. I’ll try to do one quick answer every day.
Thanks for reminding us about Scenes, Sequels and those pesky MRUs. Especially thanks for putting in the link. I needed the refresher.
Thanx for pointing out the length difference, and why!
The Writing for Dummies book’s going to be great. And thanks for the reminder about sequels. Perfect timing for me, as always.
I look forward to this book, it’s going to be a top of the stack, one of a kind must have. I can’t wait. I’d like mine autographed AND pre-highlighted, please.
I think every novel needs an exploding helicopter. Or at least a highly intelligent, behaviorially challenged, movie-obsessed kid with a fantasy about blowing one up. Just like his hero Det. McClane. (wait, that kid sounds eerily familiar……)