The K8wolfx

We all know and love the feeling of being glued to a book. “One more chapter, one more page, one more paragraph.” But absorbing whole novels in 1 sitting isn’t the best. We forget loads of stuff that happen!! It just happens.

Every 5-10 chapters I leave it at a good stopping point. A character goes to sleep with no imminent threat waking them up, a good conversation ends with well wishes, a part of the story is wrapped up, and it’s a nice place to put the bookmark and close the cover.

This is good!! This isn’t a bad thing at all!! Some people only have the attention span or ability to read 5 chapters or so. Some people have to work early and want to sleep and not feel obligated to finish a book in one sitting. Some people need to pee!!

Brains will be given the chance to absorb things. Did your character just start a romance?? Win a battle?? Deliver a speech that would win Emmys?? Let your readers take a minute (or day) to process it. To savor it. To think about your characters and story while they go along their daily life.

“Boy I sure hope Alexandria and her girlfriend start a good adventure in the next chapter.”

“The Battle of Darenzal ended on such mixed terms. We lost two names characters but still prevailed. I hope it’s talked about more in the next part.”

“The Queen’s speech about her husband’s death, and the shoutout to our protagonist was lovely. I hope after the ball we see more of her.”

The best books that I’ve read have given me places to stop. To take a breather, to get a glass of water and stretch and THINK about the things that JUST HAPPENED in the last 5-10 chapters. Willingly giving your readers a rest doesn’t mean you’re sacrificing a page-turning best seller, it means you want people to turn pages a bit slower, take it a bit calmer, and have time to think and formulate about your story.

I wrote a scene once where two characters were chilling in an abandoned house for the night, and one started telling a story. Second guy made a comment that just set them off, and they laughed so hard they were on the ground, abs burning, unable to remember why they were laughing in the first place. Based on the reviews I got, it was the most popular part of the chapter by a long shot, and people felt like the two characters and become closer friends because of it. Give your characters breaks!!

Her smile is important

She is love

She is life

She is beauty

She is grace

She will punch ya’ll in the face

Darling Elegant Seductive Palleted  Amazing Intelligent

Mukuro Ikusaba Defense Squad

full confession:

all in one scene.