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| My clock in my office |
The last year has left me feeling as if I’ve been living my
life in fast forward. There have been many changes in my life, and that of my
family, that have resulted in the months flying by. The swiftness of passing
time has often left me fatigued from trying to keep up, although It’s struck me
that as a reader this pace is something I enjoy in a book, and as a writer, it’s
something I’ve strived to achieve.
Fast Forward
Start with the action. That’s the advice often given to
writers, and what I look for as a reader. I don’t want to be weighted down with
a lot of backstory before I even get invested in the character. As a writer, it
can be challenging to achieve since I know these characters, and I want
you to know them as I do and either love and hate them the same. Thus it tempts
me to share all those little idiosyncrasies that make up their character right
from the get go, and to tell you their whole backstory so you know why they act
like they do.
Don’t Constantly Rewind
As a reader, I don’t care to learn everything about a
character as soon as they walk onto the page. It’s as if the rewind button is
constantly on during the story and we aren’t making any progress. Consider that
when we meet a real person—not that our characters and book buddies aren’t
real to us in our mind—we don’t usually start with hearing their whole life
story. There are those people. You’ve probably met them. I know I have and most
of the time I'm tempted me to flee, or to try to avoid running into that
person again.
Press Pause
The trick is finding that balance between learning just
enough about the character to become invested, but not too much that you want
to CTLR- ALT-DEL the story just to make it stop. When I read I love the
action, but I also want some dialogue, and perhaps to pause a minute and tell
me what’s going on in the environment. To allow me to see through the
characters eyes and pause and reflect on what’s happening now and what might
happen next.
Hit Reset
This hurried pace of this year has caused me to neglect some
areas of my life as other areas demanded all of my time and attention. As the
year rapidly comes to a close, I hope to spend some time reflecting on the
things that make up a good story and apply some to my own. To make more time to
pause so the fast pace doesn’t prevent me from appreciating the little
things that make up each day.
One thing I have achieved this year was to find more time
for reading. There’s nothing like a good story to reduce stress and add
adventure into an ordinary day. If you’re still finishing up your shopping, or
perhaps you deserve a few gifts yourself, you can check out this Holiday Gift Guide. A few of my books are featured, but there’s a variety of books to choose
from.
What Was the Pace of Your Year?
Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in
small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four seasons—hockey, biking, sweat
pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading
paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and
laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. Find Maureen on her website, Facebook & Twitter
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