by Rebecca Anderson

Created on: March 01, 2009

Rhythm in fiction writing can be just as important, and just as useful, as rhythm in poetry and songwriting. It sets a tone and a balance for your writing, allowing for the reader to enjoy your work even more than before.

Rhythm in fiction writing is essentially pacing yourself through the plot, and through releasing information and scenes to your readers. Too quickly, and you may lose information, and utterly confuse you readers. Too slow, and you may lose your readers at the starting-line, when they have become bored of waiting for the plot to arise.

To start, it may be wise to construct an outline of your plot. You must know where your novel is headed, even if you think you have a vague idea. If you are off balance, there will be no help of relinquishing your rhythm in the long run. Writing it down, and becoming visually organized, will help lay a stable foundation in which to begin your novel.

Watching a movie you may see a stable base of rhythm which may become a template for writing. Something near the beginning of the movie is likely to draw you in, and introduce a slew of characters and worlds you did not know until then. After, you become engrossed in the movie, as action sequences pull you to the edge of you seat, and softer scenes relax you back in your chair.

Remember that rhythm is also about balance. Keeping the novel at a steady speed may be more difficult if you are writing faster scenes more frequently than slow scenes. Faster scenes may be action sequences, car chases, shoot-outs, or perhaps even a heated argument between two characters. These are usually the scenes read quickly, while your heart flutters, or your face begins to show more expression than it would otherwise. Slower scenes are those such as meager conversations, opening scenes, coffee between your characters. These allow the reader to rest, adapt to your characters, and charge their creative batteries for your next action scene.

It is important to not have more fast scenes than slow scenes, as this will ruin your rhythm. It is wise to space faster scenes apart, and between them, enter slower scenes that may enrich or inform your reader about your characters or story-line, that faster chapters may not clue in on. Think of it in ways of tempo; many songs offer slow portion of music, while shocking you with a sudden burst of instrumentals.

Rhythm will allow your reader to read your novel at a fair pace, not too fast in order to lose information, yet not too slow in order to lose their interest. As a writer, you may never know how fast, or slow, your writing is as you are writing it, so it is important to either outline or re-read your work, or both! We are all guilty, as writers, of rushing into a novel or a chapter with anticipation of reaching that beloved scene you have written over in your mind numerous times. I know you want to introduce brother Joe, as he leaps from the burning building into the conveniently placed hotel pool, but let's promise our readers to a steady introduction first. It is the "wind-up" to the pitch.

Rhythm will determine whether or not your novel is readable in a comforting manner. Remember that no novel is written as a final copy, they are all waiting to be edited from your first punctuation mark to your last. Remembering that rhythm is as important as grammar, spelling, and those nasty typos, is equally important.

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