Episode 87: Ascendancy: Sword and Sorcery Critique

Description

In this episode, Leslie and Clark critique the opening of Ascendancy, a sword and sorcery novel by A. B. Corley. They discuss transitions between scenes, tweaking dialogue so that the characters are distinguishable, and diction in dialogue.

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Show notes

Transitions are important in fiction because the writer can’t possibly portray or account for every moment in a character’s day, week, or life. A story may stretch over years—readers don’t need to know what happened every minute of those years.

So, we use scene transitions to skip periods of time or to change to a new location in the story, glossing over events that happen between the new and old times or locations.
— Beth Hill

 

Editorial Mission—Smooth Transitions

Look at the transitions between scenes to see if you are providing a smooth reading experience. Have you identified the place, the passage of time, and the POV character (if applicable)? If not, find a way to add them to keep your reader oriented in time and space.

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Inline Critique