Friday, December 17, 2010

Dec Dare Day 12 2443 Words and More On Cinematic Quality

Day 13 - 2443 Words on Harsh Climate
Running Total: 12120 Words.


12120 / 30000 words. 40% done!

I hope to be halfway done tomorrow.

And after I said I got through the tough sequence with the switching points of views? I forgot that the sequence I started today has seven characters acting independently of one another. Very complicated, highly choreographed, and lots of fun on screen, but really hard in print. And so far, I'm just dealing with four characters, the other three are about to raise this scene to a "mid-movie climax" sequence.

I think the issue is that the scene accelerates. In a movie, that means quicker cutting. In a book, I think you can get the same effect by bringing in more detail. It's ironic but true - when a character's alertness is triggered, he or she notices more detail, and spends less time thinking. More reacting.

And maybe that's like a movie in other ways. In a movie, a sequence like this gets very visual. The words on the page take up less space, but the details on the screen take up more. So slowing it down a little might actually make it all work like a movie. Less confusing, more feeling of "being there."

But because of that it will need a little more rewrite time. One of the reasons I want to get this done soon, so it can sit a few days before I tear through the final draft.

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The Miracle Inspector, a mystery for Kindle, by Helen Smith
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