Pacing a Book
On the way to work this morning I was listening to The Dragon Page's Cover to Cover (#161) and an interesting statement was made that has caused me to become embroiled in the thinking process. The interviews on the program were both with young adult authors, and William Sleator made the statement that young adult fiction is better than adult fiction, and this was due to the more strenuous editing the books go through in order to make the points clear. Along with this comment another was made, that being adult fiction books don't have room for flowery descriptions and “boring” sections; a young adult book needs to be full of action; something always needs to be happening.
I've been reading Harry Potter of late, and I have been impressed with the pacing of the books. I find myself always wanting to turn the page to see how something will work out and see what will happen next, and I know that if I read just a few more pages I will be rewarded with an answer. I have been impressed, and have even thought of figuring out how to do that in my own writing, and now, perhaps, I see what is going on. I'm still impressed, and I still love to read the books, but now I have to stop and think about the many different kinds of books, the styles of pacing, and decide what I like best.
On the one hand, I enjoy the books that have a rich world that is slowly introduced but is still quite lively. I like knowing I'm in a foreign environment the author took time to craft and is taking time to explain. I enjoy the subtle plots they craft and the chess game the characters play. On the other hand I like reading books that have me turning every page waiting to see what happens next and agonizing that I have to actually sleep. I think it is not whether one is better than another, but what you prefer to read and what you are in the mood for. I think each book has something to offer the reader, one being more intellectual and thought provoking perhaps while the other being more action packed.
I'm not sure how this will affect my own writing other than I know now that I have some options. I can choose more than one style for my stories and my books, and I think I will not complain when one book is slower and the other faster. I will have fun with this, and see what I come up with. For me, writing is a hobby and an art, so I'm less concerned with pleasing masses of people than with pleasing myself.
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