By Cassandra Dean and Lucy Clark
Cassandra and Lucy provide insight into a common mistake. In their capacity as editors, they come across the same misstep all too often – a rush through scenes and situations, so that all emotion and depth is lost.
A reader wants to feel the emotion deeply, wants to experience what the heroine and hero are experiencing – laugh when they laugh, cry when they cry, joy, despair, they want to experience all of it. In order to do this, the prose must be slowed down.
Here’s some tips to help slow down prose:
Linger
Really take the time to develop the emotion. Describe it, feel it in your bones!
Senses
Using the senses adds texture to a scene, especially a love scene. Write a list – sight, sound, smell, hearing, touch – and make sure each is crossed off by the end of an intense emotional scene.
Close ups
Think of your writing like a movie. When things are tense, there’s a close up. When things are romantic, there’s a close up. When there’s action, there’s frenetic editing. Your story is paced the same.
For more tips and insights, why not join us for the Slow it Down workshop? Details can be found here.
