As an editor, I have the pleasure of working with writers of both short and long fiction, everything from microfiction all the way up to novels. These are very different beasts, different forms. Longer flash fiction is different to microfiction. Short stories are different again. As are novellas. But one thing that applies to all lengths of fiction is the importance of pacing. There is a difference between how time works in the real world and how time works in fiction. The number of words we dedicate to describing any one event is important and it is often something that I pick up on in my editing work, especially in how writers have tackled the biggest, most dramatic moments within their stories. I often find myself writing things like “does this description feel too hemmed in?” or “have you given yourself enough space here to do this moment justice?”
Thank you Matt! It took me a while to master the art of time manipulation, to be able to stretch a moment to its exact scale that would best serve the story. Your post It reminds of a line from the movie A.I Artificial Intelligence (2001) "Maybe the one day will be like that one day inside the amphibicopter. Maybe it will last forever."
What a helpful article: thank you! This concept, in particular, resonated for me: "So, we have the inverse of real life. The “boring”, non-important minute rushes past, but the exciting or dramatic minute is stretched outwards to its limits."
Loved this Matt, particularly relevant to me at the moment, not just for my Novella-in-flash, but for the short story I'm currently working on, an anti-fairytale where the protagonist lives thousands of years and feeds on the 'life essence' of men to keep her young. If she doesn't 'feed' within a particular period, her age will catchup to her within 48 hours, and she'll disintegrate into dust.
I'm working on the details of the man she meets that will lead to her inciting incident and it's a tough decision working out where to focus in the journey. This has really answered some of the question for me, so huge thanks as always!
Really liked your diagrams of how to visualise time
Thank you Matt! It took me a while to master the art of time manipulation, to be able to stretch a moment to its exact scale that would best serve the story. Your post It reminds of a line from the movie A.I Artificial Intelligence (2001) "Maybe the one day will be like that one day inside the amphibicopter. Maybe it will last forever."
What a helpful article: thank you! This concept, in particular, resonated for me: "So, we have the inverse of real life. The “boring”, non-important minute rushes past, but the exciting or dramatic minute is stretched outwards to its limits."
Loved this Matt, particularly relevant to me at the moment, not just for my Novella-in-flash, but for the short story I'm currently working on, an anti-fairytale where the protagonist lives thousands of years and feeds on the 'life essence' of men to keep her young. If she doesn't 'feed' within a particular period, her age will catchup to her within 48 hours, and she'll disintegrate into dust.
I'm working on the details of the man she meets that will lead to her inciting incident and it's a tough decision working out where to focus in the journey. This has really answered some of the question for me, so huge thanks as always!