I think you are brilliant and I make my money as an author and have my master's degree in English. I've learned more from you than I ever did from my grad profs.

@djheadcandy

3 жыл бұрын

totally agree, am blessed to have found this You tube channel

3 жыл бұрын

Same, I studied both French and English lit and I still learn wayyyyy more from Abbie's channel. She is God sent😂🙌🏾🥰

@will_of_europa

2 жыл бұрын

Would you mind answering a question for me? I'd love to get into writing, and even if I don't go published, I think it would be fun. I have a hard time defining what to actually do to build out my story. What would you suggest I do to actually follow through and complete a project?

@yurilookingforhisvictor7674

2 жыл бұрын

@@will_of_europa Abby and plenty of other KZreadrs on here have videos that can help you with that.

@embersparrow1907

2 жыл бұрын

@@will_of_europa Write anything and everything. It's easier to edit what's already written, even if you think it starts out terrible (sometimes you'll surprise yourself!). Mark Twain once said, “Writing is easy. All you have to do is cross out the wrong words.” The more you write, the more you'll discover what you like and don't/what fits in the building of the story. Outlines help. Achievable daily word count goals help (even if you end up not keeping what you wrote in the end). If you are having trouble figuring out what happens next, it's likely you don't have your characters figured out enough yet - you don't quite know how they'd react to situations/writing prompts.

I think your advice is more for an overwriter. Like me as an underwriter I need more words to describe things x3 everyone keep telling me: You need to write more details

@cheesecakelasagna

3 жыл бұрын

I'm an underwriter too. Most advice I gather regarding underwriting is that to read more, and read anything. Be it fellow novels, short stories, screenplays, poetry, magazines, blurbs, dictionaries, thesaurus, etc. Especially since I'm neither fully fluent on English nor my native language, being born in a bilingual country and all.

@shreeyagoyal9568

3 жыл бұрын

yes! I always have people tell me that everything seems to flash by and there's no description (and I have no idea how to fix it)

@Dani_1012

3 жыл бұрын

@@shreeyagoyal9568 I think for us, as I'm an underwriter too, is that when writing our first drafts is to detail everything as much as we can even if it seems exhausting at some points, then when editing just take out and refine wherever you need to

@katendress6142

2 жыл бұрын

@@Dani_1012 When I'm writing along, I feel like deliberately putting in more detail than I need just bogs me down.

@phoebea

2 жыл бұрын

What helps me with under writing is to describe 2-3 out of 5 senses that the POV character would experience throughout in the scene. Ex. For a scene in an alleyway at night. Mention at least 2-3 of the following senses: 1. Smell (i.e. thick, pungent, rotting food, cooking food, etc) 2. Sound (i.e. car honking, car alarm, sirens, buzz of the street light, noise from a nearby bar, squeaking/scratching of rodents, etc) 3. Sight (i.e. figure in shadows, drunk party group, brick walls, garbage bins, homeless people in sleeping bags, turned over shopping carts, etc.) 4. Taste (i.e. stale beer, coffee, dinner, mints, tobacco, vomit, blood from cut lip, etc) 5. Touch (i.e. car keys in hand, warmth of lover's nearness, hardness of asphalt, slippery oil on the ground, dampness of the shirt on character's back, etc.) Descriptions are important in bringing the reader into the story and helping them care about your character. You don't have to describe all 5 senses that the POV character experiences during the scene, but, a few senses indicated helps the reader relate to the character even if it's not a shared experience. Ex. Bob drunkenly stumbled out of the alleyway to his '98 Corolla. vs. Bob grasped for the rough, brick wall for stability as he swayed precariously down a familiar road. Bile pooled at the top of his throat and mixed with the taste of stale beer in his mouth. He heaved once, twice, before fishing out his keys from his trouser pocket. He spat on the oily, scummy ground and squinted at the blurred, lamp-lit sidewalk hoping to spot his rusty, white '98 Corolla.

For those who don't like the 3 act structure, but want a scaffold, you should know there are tried and true alternatives. Mangas and the animes adapted from them follow a 4 act structure called Kishotenketsu, and many mystery stories follow 5 acts because they need a double twist. Some stories just need a different shape to grow along, so it's worth knowing at least. Not that I'm versed in writing them, but as a reader/watcher I know I enjoy both of these as much as the 3 act structure. :3

@Schwa_

4 жыл бұрын

PurpleGhost Truuuuuue not enough people talk about 4 or 5 act structure in my opinion

@gregothy9190

3 жыл бұрын

and there's the 8 part structure, and the monomyth, and many more:) research is your friend, and each genre treats structure differently

@petertjahjadi6219

3 жыл бұрын

Wow that's interesting. I've been watching anime and always wanted to create a story as beautiful as the anime I watched. Thanks for the info.

@valhatan3907

2 жыл бұрын

Thabk you. I just learn about Kishotenketsu

@kaedatiger

2 жыл бұрын

I think of the 3 act structure as being four parts. 1, 2a, 2b, 3, where a and b are before and after the midpoint.

I think you may have overlooked the importance of some writers who see the picture in their head and need to get it out on the page. For some, they need to get out that picture onto the page the best they can, regardless of how many words it takes. Pacing needs to be kept in mind, but if a writer can't get what's in their head on the page because they keep stopping to focus pacing in their first draft, that is a problem. Pacing is something that can be adjusted over multiple drafts.

@EDDIELANE

4 жыл бұрын

True! I like to “run the scene” through my mind several times, and then it helpsme decide what sort of pace I was to take.

@Whimsy3692

4 жыл бұрын

This may work for you, but pacing has never been a problem for me. "Reading at the pace of your imagination" is something that's clicked with me since I was little.

@cocobeanie4704

3 жыл бұрын

Ya ! I’m writing my fist drafts but I want to include more details later

@piyalichhajed6009

3 жыл бұрын

YES! I believe that the first draft is the writer telling the story to themselves.

@juparula

3 жыл бұрын

@@piyalichhajed6009 Yes!!

I remember the nerd tip where you said what a character does most of the time, affects their view and how they perceive things. I think that affects description and what imagery matters to the character. A character who works as a designer, will see a house differently as to a character who's a security officer. Makes sense?

@anamariaramirez9341

2 жыл бұрын

Yeah! And that's not even mentioning each character's personality and personal views?

An example of excellent pacing in my opinion is Avatar The Last Airbender. I always go back to this series whenever I'm in doubt with anything. The entire story is just so well written. I literally based my act 3 pacing on ATLA. (didn't copy, I just used the structure! My book is not even fantasy.).

@DalCecilRuno

4 жыл бұрын

I love ATLA, and yes, awesome pacing there.

@kaedatiger

2 жыл бұрын

ATLA is a great study in world building too. Wish they gave Korra more seasons so it could have an ending.

@tiagodagostini

Жыл бұрын

Pacing is in fact easier on animation, because you have a hard reference on the visual things. Books it is easy to make a 2 second scene take a full page.

I think you've nailed why I hate reading really descriptive fight scenes, cause it slows down the action in my mind. Common sense but very insightful!

“I’m runnin’ late, I’m *pacing* nervously.... this is how the Flash *paces*” - Sheldon Cooper

@myownstory4030

4 жыл бұрын

🤣

A movie with good pacing for me was Avengers: Endgame. The movie was 3 hours long and yet was able to keep me engaged in every second. Isn't funny how we read the same book, but don't visualize the same book.

@Andreaccl09

4 жыл бұрын

Totally agree. That was a very long movie, but it felt shorter. I was like "give me more" xDD

@diannebdee

4 жыл бұрын

It was the veritable three act structure. Hour one established the world post-snap. Hour two told of how to get the stones and unsnap everyone. Hour three was the resolution in the form of the final battle and the aftermath. The movie does not disappoint.

@rafaelc.c.

2 жыл бұрын

I completely disagree. I thought it had a quite bad pacing. But it seems that it comes down to opinions.

@isaachiggs1925

Жыл бұрын

I remember watching that movie. It was intense. At the end, my dad described it as, “a scrambled egg.”

My mind has been blown by those screenplay examples! I would never have thought of that

I love how after reading one of the scripts, Abbie says, "What did you see? Probably something that looks like this:" and then a commercial about beer comes on.😆

Abbie, I love your tips. I never forget that the action scenes are written fast so the reader can see it quickly. My stories have many action scenes, so I always use this tip. The Captive Prince Trilogy Series is a good example of pacing and description! I loveeee the series and how the author can develop something wonderful, with balanced description and pacing. Loved the video, enlightened me a lot about pacing and description!

@shaniceisfalling

Жыл бұрын

I love Captive Prince too! I'm like 3/4 through the second book and it's amazing how it shares so many concepts with Ai no Kusabi while also adding such a new and expansive spin to it

It’s also important to not go into a crazy amount of detail because you want to give readers the opportunity to visualize the environment or characters in their own way. It helps the readers to actively participate in the story, another form of showing not telling.

This is the first time someone explained to me how to understand pacing in details. I'm in the process of revising my novel and this video helps a lot. Thank you for this gem.

Also, with description, it depends on the kind of writer you are--my favorite books are the ones with beautiful, lengthy descriptions, but they're done well. Auralia's Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet does it really well. His description is written in active language instead of passive, and that also helps move the scene forward while feeling like stuff is happening.

UGH abbie--such a genius video. I've watched it three times already!

I've been struggling with pacing a lot so this is helpful

I love taking screenshots of your notes onscreen. Thank you for being so professional.

I love the description of seeing your writing like a movie! That is EXACTLY how I view it!🤣 love your work! Just got on the train and wish I would have found you sooner. Great work! And thank you for the inspiration!

Thanks Abbie! You've got really reflective quick tips. Every time I click on your video I find something new, nothing obvious that I've heard a hundred times before.

When I was first writing I was so concerned that it would be too slow and thought I was writing way too much. When I went back and reread what I had written I realized that the only reason I could feel any emotion in the scene is because I was thinking about it while writing it. Nobody else would’ve no one what was going on, it was way too fast! i definitely need this video 🤞

Abbie, this is revolutionary! You are my hero!

I'm new to your videos, and I'm new to write stories. Every video from you so far has been a aha-moment, and my writing improves every time. Thank you!!

The way that each object on the shelf is perfectly balanced/symmetrical, as well as color coded, is extremely satisfying.

You are amazing...I really needed a video like that because I worry so much about the pacing and description (since I’m writing my first book/novel )😊

Something I always do and just love doing is writing scenes from movies and tv shows. It has helped me so much mastering pacing and how to describe something happening. It’s also great because you can focus on improving your writing without even having a storyline. I totally recommend!

Im so glad for this video especially the screenplay advice because I have the opposite problem of too much detail. Like 75% of my first draft is dialogue with little to no detail

YES! I see my books and all books as a movie, girl! One thing I absolutely love in movies is when they have dialogue before they show who's speaking. Like it's almost a voiceover for two seconds and then they show who's talking. Great way to keep the pace going!

Love your videos they are so inspirational! I’ve self-published 4 books - my last one was a children’s book so the pacing had to be perfect! Great advice as always - I’m creating more how to write content on my channel and you always spur me on! Thank you! Xo

I actually can’t really see images in my head, but i still *feel* it playing out like a movie if that makes sense? I can, like, feel all the pieces moving around, i could tell you exactly where a character is, what they’re doing, how they’re standing. But it’s all black, I see nothing, except for occasional flashes of a still image of what’s going on, and even those images are blurry, dark, and faded. But it’s interesting to me that pacing still works for me in the same way! I still imagine everything happening at the rate i read, i still somehow “visualize” the stuff without actual images.

@cottoncandycloud1675

3 жыл бұрын

That is so interesting 🤔 Is it like that when you read a novel as well?

@valeskakid_

3 ай бұрын

I was searching for such a comment! I have the exact same thing, just without occasional flashes of still images! But good to know that this does still work for someone who sees nothing/just as less than I do! I got kinda worried I will have problems with this (I might still do have problems, but I am eager to try make it work!)

Your videos have helped me tremendously! Thank you!

Thank you for explaining this! I have just started my first novel and enjoying every minute of it but felt I wasn't describing things enough. This is super helpful thanks!

You have such great advice! So good, I can't watch one of your videos for more than five seconds because I see another video of yours that I really want to watch!

I was feeling less motivated but I started school and that really made me waay better cause I see my friends and I have an ACTUAL timetable

This is my first book I am working on. So I really appreciate all your advice. Thank you for making these videos😊

Thank you Abbie! Every time I watch one of your videos I learn so much, you are phanominal.

I’m actually an aspiring visual comic artist and writer more than a novel writer and I still found your channel really helpful for me when it comes to trying to draw my imagery. I’m still working for my debut comic and I hope this will work out well.

@christina22klol12

Жыл бұрын

What's your comic called? I would love to read it!

@soyaliovee

Жыл бұрын

@@christina22klol12 It’s still in my wip and not sure when to actually post it on WEBTOON, but sure, I’ll comment about it here when I’m at my 50% of work. Thx ☺️

@Escxpe_21

9 ай бұрын

How's it going love?

This video just changed everything for me! In such a beneficial way. Thanks 🙏

Your videos are well paced. Thanks for sharing!

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Hitting play button to watch this again.

Great video. Extremely valuable information. Thanks for your great work. 👍🏾😎. I’ve made sure to save this video to my favourites.

Aside from the useful content, your videos are a visual and audio treat.

GREAT VIDEO AGAIN, ABBIE!

I literally can’t take my eyes off your kallaxes - the colour aesthetic is great!

I hate how we had no idea that we would be in quarantine back then. However, I also didn't know that I'd have an almost finished manuscript! Thanks, Abbie!

Such a great video on pacing. That's what was missing in my writing.

It's like I get the answer every time I watch your videos, seriously I got best video for my videos and stories

Im not sure if it was mentioned in previous comments at all, but I'd like to share what has been another handy tip for pacing. I am visually impaired, the vision loss is recent. But I have discovered audio description. Since everything is so blurry now, I miss visual cues. But audio description tells what I NEED to know in order to understand what's going on. Some audio description isn't that great, but it has helped me in my writing. There's a whole category on Netflix for movies that have audio description. By the way, I love your videos Abbie!!!

Exactly the video I needed to watch! Thank goodness you exist! You're amazing!!!!~~☆

I am new here, very good video on pacing, thank you so much. I like your style and will check out more of your tutorial clips. You speak fast, you get to the point fast, lots of information in small amount of time, perfect!

The vintage green in your room is stylish. I like to write for my blog and I am writing a novel based on my experiences as an Italian moving the the US trying to find a way to remain here for good, so basically the mission is trying to get the green card. I like your videos.Very interesting and informative.

Brilliant information. I am studying film practice and your tips help me to finalize my screenplay scripts!! Thank you

I love how optimistic you are. All the writing mentors have discouraging thumbnails with even worse titles like "the WORST Amateur Writing Mistakes" or "Middles Suck". The message they're giving out to the world is "This is a hard thing to do, and you're actually not equipped to do this!" Hell, this one person I just watched said "The second act is really really really REALLY hard to write." Umm. Okay. I'll just quit then :D But you actually encourage your viewer, give them formulas to "make it work", solutions to overcome the hard parts. Writing is a lonely act and it's full of self doubt. You're not feeding the monster inside my brain telling me that I suck. You're helping me overcome it. Thanks Abbie. Really, thank you for putting this uplifting and educating stuff up here

Please make a video about Character Arcs. I've been seeing a lot of blogs recently for tips but I find your tips more helpful.

I love your statement about determining why something matters in the story! I write screenplays and I think of it as, is this scene/moment/line worth $100-$10,000 it would cost to make it? Is it so important to the story, that I must include it at the monetary cost.

Hi Abbie, I've learned more about writing from your videos in 10 months than my entire school life

Great advice! Very helpful!

Best pacing and balance between description and narrative I have ever read... The pool of the black one by Robert e Howard.

@theelmozusflame3015

3 ай бұрын

. Leaving this here

This has been the best video I've seen from you yet, and I've seen at least a hundred of your videos and you're my favorite writing youtuber! This was exactly the advice I needed. Too bad it doesn't have more views.

@AbbieEmmons

3 жыл бұрын

Wow, thank you!

@TFrills

3 жыл бұрын

@@AbbieEmmons You're welcome, Abbie! :) By the way, I'd love to see some more videos on indie publishing. I like the videos you made about it so far and it's something I'm very interested in learning more about.

🤯 Thanks, Abbie!

i never knew I need this. Thank you

Great content. Thanks Abbie.

This is a great help

I subconsciously knew this but it was great actually understanding it so that i know how to manipulate it in the future

Amazing as always

I remember there was a book I read with reaaallllyyy slow pacing I was so tempted to put it down, but I did finish it and it was amazing! I just wish they sped up the build up

2 of my favorites are historical fictions “Issacs Storm” by Eric Larson “Close to Shore” by Michael Capuzzo Great balance between details and pacing … serious page turners Love your videos . Great suggestions

When she said "This is your art, this is yours." I felt the with blow in my face and my heart was filled with warmth. "It's been a long time since I felt alive."

One thing I did to help me, months ago is took a favorite book and wrote the first 3-5 chapters as a script. It helped me see important details and pacing.

I write screenplays and your vids have helped me so much!

I'm sure you've read Save the Cat! for Novels by Jessica Brody? It's 3-Act structure... and in her book she actually breaks down a bunch of super amazing novels - and lays out how the book fits into the structure (for those readers who are like - "Not all great books follow that structure." (BTW - Save the Cat! is originally a screenplay format by Blake Snyder)

I appreciate this discussion of pacing. The film 2001: A Space Odyssey used “show, don’t tell” to the extreme with stunning visual imagery without dialogue. (And without explosions every 30 seconds!) Compare that level of cinematic wonder that Kubrick gave us with the descriptions first conceived by Clarke.

I hadn't thought of reading screenplays for making descriptions, that seems like something ome would have thought of already but it somehow never came to mind, thanks so much that's such a great advice, I guess that let's me know I should start reading different writings to help me become better

When it comes to description less is more but too little is not enough this helps

Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perrotta is amazing. I can't say I really liked the characters but they were so expertly written and the book's pacing was so spot on that I couldn't put it down.

Thank you sister I so heart you!

The movie I liked the most with a nice pace was *Signs*. To me it was perfectly suspenseful and thrilling. I use it as my inspiration for pacing.

Thanks Abbie!!

I am finding your videos very helpful.

thank you! this is great

I am writing a draft and this video has talk me quite a lot thank you

I am always stuck in the narration. I feel like most of my story is just the main characters explaining what they feel and what is going on. I also find it very difficult to switch from narration to description or someone talking. So does anyone have any tips or tricks on how to maintain a good flow while switching between narration and description?

@serceskywalker

4 ай бұрын

Yes, reading good fictional books helps a lot. You can see how it’s done.

Great video thanks you for the information

Thank for the excellent tips. I'm becoming a word sniper, hitting my desired visuals with a minimum of words used.

This! This is what I was hoping to learn when getting my creative writing degree! Instead we analyzed literature and talked about what it means (I "learned" Shakespeare is a racist misogynist that didn't care about the mentally ill 🙄) and for the actual creative writing: we were just told to write a story and then workshop it. No mechanics. Even if my Craft Worshop, we were told to read stories and then we talked about it, never really getting into the mechanics. Why this scene felt faster or slower, why is this scene much sharper, ect. I'm learning more from you than I did in four years of college for the same art.

@rymaru2138

2 жыл бұрын

Homeschoolers be like

Excuse me for introducing a new kind of element or dimension if you please, but more than a scene I enjoy a particular piece of music. If I'm not mistaken it's the result of the work by Hans Zimmer, "Molossus" to be exact. Its pacing is a perfectly precise auditory depiction of what maniacal fear feels like, which transforms itself into a violent fit of rage, albeit accurate as a Barett sniper rifle, lightning paced, agile like a butterfly knife and devastating like a battle axe. Not just great, not just majestic, simply put, divine. Thanks Abbie, great content all around, very inspiring. 😉😊

Miranda Marie goes *super* in-depth with a lot of her description in her Whispers of White Duology, because it matters to the character and character is focusing on all of these things. Both of those books handle pacing *super* well, because one is slower-paced while one is more fast-paced, but it *makes sense* because the first book is all from the MC's POV, and she analyzes *everything*, and in the second book there are more points of view that the story is told from, and it's *SO* good. ^-^

I'm so glad I'm not the only one imagining my book stories like a movie playing before my eyes.

I'm a screenwriter and I'm good with that but as I venture over to your-side I find the "NARRATIVE" (voice) the most challenging. I suppose like you said it's a matter of just writing and discovering as well as looking at my fav novelist...which I do...but still this I find the most challenging. Thanks for touching the subject. Would love to know more however. Thanks for being you Abbie.

For me, the most immersive reading experience is from a writer that gives me just enough for me to create the picture in my mind instead of trying to transplant their precise vision into my mind.

Where can you get the screenplays? Is there any good website to download? Thanks for all your Videos. They really help me improve my writing☺️

One of the best paced books I've read in recent times, Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. It runs in my mind like 1 real-time 10 hour movie.

The opening of By Force of Arms by James L. Nelson. He depicts the pursuit of the Judea by the HMS Rose perfectly.

Abbie: pick your favorite screen scrips. Me: Inception!

Fantastic video! I have never thought about pacing, but now I am. One book that I think does it well is the second in a series. The book is The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling). There is a scene where a person discovers a dead body and it is intentionally slow paced in order to emphasize the condition the body is in, which is very important to the story. The entire series is phenomenal. But what else do you expect from the author?

The Stars My Destination has great pacing.

Nice!

First comment. Hi Abbiee. Remember me? Tq for the video. Loved it

I was waiting for "writing description" like eternity.

Should you ask people around you to comment on your story when you're half way through it ? I love your videos 👏👏👏