When you read a great story, you don't even notice how
you're engaged. You just are--right? But skillful writers plant a
rhythm into their writing. Like breathing, there are peaks and valleys
of emotion and tension through all great scenes, chapters, even whole
books.
In a class I taught, I drew a diagram of a river on the board to illustrate this. "This makes it very easy. I just put heightened moments of tension at each bend in the river," one student noted. "Maybe a big decision, a change of heart, a new understanding. Or an external shift, like a move or a marriage or a big loss." It made a big difference in her book structure to finally understand these "emotional peaks:" to view her scenes, chapters, and manuscript like a flowing river.
In a class I taught, I drew a diagram of a river on the board to illustrate this. "This makes it very easy. I just put heightened moments of tension at each bend in the river," one student noted. "Maybe a big decision, a change of heart, a new understanding. Or an external shift, like a move or a marriage or a big loss." It made a big difference in her book structure to finally understand these "emotional peaks:" to view her scenes, chapters, and manuscript like a flowing river.
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