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Fiction Writing Tips

How to Control the Narrative Pace

December 10, 2019

Controlling the narrative pace is an aspect of writing that most authors aspire to learn. However, it’s also a fairly misunderstood concept. To learn how to control the narrative pace you must know three things: how, when, and – most importantly – why.

First of all, a quick definition: The narrative pace (or narrative pacing) of a story refers to the speed at which the author offers the story. Obviously, this isn’t linked to the speed at which the events of the story occur.

Indeed, as we’ll see in this post, the discrepancy between the two is a key component. The difference between these two – speed of narrative versus speed of plot – is integral in figuring out how to control the narrative pace.

How to control the narrative pace — To learn how to control the narrative pace, you must understand three things: *how*, *when*, and – most crucially – *why*

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Irony in Fiction Writing: a How-To Guide

September 15, 2019

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

art, fiction, irony, literature, writing

Most people understand what irony is – whether they can always recognize it when they see it, is another subject altogether. Or, actually… it isn’t. This is precisely our topic today, only from a writer’s perspective: How to successfully include irony in your fiction, in a way that you can help the audience understand it.

Having said that, there’s a limit to what an author can do to help their audience. Some people won’t get it no matter what you do. Irony, in particular, is harder to get than a simple explanation of how something works or why.

The reason, as we’ll see in more detail below, is that irony heavily relies on cultural background information. And irony in fiction is an even more complicated matter, as it might overlap with other non-literal meanings and symbolical elements.

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How to Write Vivid Descriptions for Your Novel

August 7, 2019

Fiction Writing Tips, Writing

art, descriptions, fiction, literature, meaning, writing

When I was a young(er) and stupid(er) author, I thought I needed to write long, elaborate descriptions of my settings. I read books where writers spent three pages on describing a wall, and I thought that’s how you write vivid descriptions.

Only much later, as I became more experienced, did I realize the truth: To write vivid descriptions that actually offer added value to your novel, you shouldn’t focus on wordy details. Indeed, more often than not, I’d advise against it.

But that’s not the end of the story, either. And so, with today’s post, I want to share some of my experience and offer you a tip or two about how to describe the setting of your novel in a way that does your story justice.

How to Write Vivid Descriptions — If you want to write vivid descriptions, focus **neither** on lengthy, detailed depictions, **nor** on fancy words

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