Pacing and Timing - Another English Question - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

KellyC · 03-01-2008, 04:41 PM

Hi folks, I'm in another bind on this dreadful class. This time it's the concept of Pacing and Timing. Two assignments, one is about Pacing the time, and one is about the position relative to the Time, I think.

Quote:

Assignment 1 Prompt
Your task is simple on the surface but will take some revision and
practice. Your goal is to write a short, present tense scene (500 words or
so) in which the ACTION of the scene takes exactly as long as it takes to
READ the narration. So, if your character walks from one store to another
and it takes 2 minutes, it should take the reader two minutes to read the
action. The reader should get the sense that they are experiencing the
action in real time.

What I have so far, after about five tries on different stories.

Quote:

Hungry, need food. I just woke up and my stomach is growling. I haven’t eaten any thing since lunch and it’s nearly midnight. Let’s check the fridge to see if there’s any thing left: nope, nothing. There’s a lot of beer and some bread but no peanut butter. One ingredient shy of a peanut butter sandwich recipe. Let’s check the freezer then: some ice cream, a lot of ice, and a Hot Pocket. This will have to do.

I put it in the microwave oven and nuke it for three minutes. The plate slowly turns as the oven hums. The warm yellow light covers the Hot Pocket gently as it turns. Its slow motion reminds me of those glass ballerinas on music boxes. Although, it is no where near as graceful or beautiful. But at least it’s edible.

On the counter top there is a stack of newspaper. On the top of the stack is the obituary page. One of the obituary headlines reads, “He Lived For Baseball, He Died by Baseball.” The story goes on to describe the deceased, Bill, as a hardcore Mariners fan who was struck on the head by a foul ball hit by a Mariners batter. I shuffle through the stack of newspaper to find something interesting to read. Three minutes seem so long when one is hungry. A headline on the Sports page reads, “New England Fans are Feeling Unpatriotic after Super Bowl Upset.” Eh, tough luck Patriots fans.

Supposedly, I need make the story last three minutes since it takes three minutes to cook the Hot Pocket and that's when I'll decide to end the story. So give or take two pages. The problem is how do I fill in the ACTIONS in a three-minute/two pages story when there isn't a lot of action in the story in the first place? Any tips on this?

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Quote:

Assignment 2 Prompt

As a writer you have the power to speed up and slow down time. This
reflection asks you to practice several skills that manipulate fictional
time.
Write three short scenes (you may use your own characters and settings
from your current work).
In Scene #1, start in PRESENT TENSE and employ a FLASHBACK to past
tense.
In Scene #2, start in PAST TENSE and work up to PRESENT TENSE in one
continuous scene (i.e. don’t flash “forward”).
In Scene #3, start in FUTURE TENSE and bring the scene back to PRESENT
TENSE.

I have yet to touch on this one, I kind of get it in theory, but executing is entirely different. So some explanation and suggestion on this would be super helpful.