ZAINAB JIWA AS GERALT OF RIVIA

ZAINAB JIWA AS GERALT OF RIVIA

How I Approach Pacing and Tension in Writing (with graphic!)

(Fuck the gremlins, we're posting things TODAY)

Hi, welcome to the first actual post on my Tumblr page in where I ramble about how to write the goodest things.

Today's lesson is on PACING AND TENSION!

Hard to explain in many words, so behold my crudely drawn graph of how I handle this shit in my own writing (and I apologize in advance for my chicken scratch kekw)

I tend to have very high-stakes plots, but I feel like this could end up applying to any sort of genre or plot. I know a lot of these graphs I saw in school were a single bell curve with a gradual incline into the climax, but in my experience, the best way to build tension, keep pacing as even as you can, and really build into the peak of a story is to have small points of buildup to smaller peaks (aka the tension points) with sharper curves down into downtime (allowing the character to breathe), before building up again. Each tension point gets more and more intense, with the downtime acting as the small buffers between the gradually increasing intensity of the tension until SURPRISE, SHIT HITS THE FAN, IT'S THE BIG BAD ISSUE COME TO A BOIL.

But of course when shit hits the fan, things aren't the same as they were before (or at least, they won't be for a while), so the shape changes. Instead of sharp curves up and down, you're looking at a more gradual downward incline, with dips for moments of recovery/acceptance before there's little spikes in tension as a result of whatever occurred in the climax. This isn't an exact science and definitely can be toyed with, but this is a model I like to attempt to adhere to when I'm focusing on coming up with my story beats and creating the groundwork for the big climactic explosion.

Happy writing!

“To know what is right and not to do it is the worst cowardice.”

— Confucius, Analects

🖋️ Confessions of a Writer 🖋️

You know you’re a writer when:

Your coffee consumption could fuel a small country.

You have intense debates with your characters about their life choices (spoiler: they never listen).

You get emotionally attached to fictional characters, but your own plants are thriving better than your plotlines.

Your friends have stopped asking “How’s the writing going?” because they can see the existential dread in your eyes.

You’ve accidentally named a character after someone you know, and now you’re avoiding them like they’re your ex.

In summary, writing is 10% creativity and 90% existential crises. Happy writing, fellow word wranglers! 😂✨

Gregory House, House M.D., 1×9 // Thorned Jesus, recreation of Guido Reni's "Ecce Homo", circa 1640

Gregory House, House M.D., 1×11 // Head of Christ Crowned with Thorns, Guido Reni, 1620