Rant: My book club tore apart my pacing and I actually listened

Honestly, I used to think my book club was just being picky when they said my chapters dragged on. Last month, Sarah pointed out that I spent 15 pages describing a sunset while the main plot was stuck. I counted and realized 3 of my 12 chapters had zero plot movement, just scenery and backstory. That feedback stung, but I went back and hacked out almost 2,000 words from those sections. Now I force myself to skip to the next scene if nothing happens in 3 paragraphs. Has anyone else had to completely rework their writing style after club feedback?

3 comments

3 Comments

olivia3981mo agoMost Upvoted

Three of your twelve chapters had zero plot movement? I had to read that twice to believe it. That is a shocking number to realize after the fact, but I respect that you actually went back and counted. I think most people would just get defensive and ignore the feedback entirely. Good on you for taking the hard look at your own work instead of making excuses.

sarah_patel251mo ago

Olivia, that 25% dead-chapter rate (3 out of 12, yikes) makes me think about the first 40 or 50 pages of a book that often get cut in traditional publishing. Were those zero-movement chapters front-loaded or scattered throughout the manuscript? I'm curious if they were world-building chapters you were attached to or just scenes where you circled the same emotional beat without pushing the story forward.

robinf511mo ago

Zero plot movement" is kind of a weird way to put it. Like, are we talking about car chases and explosions every page? Some of the best books, like The Left Hand of Darkness or House of Leaves, spend huge chunks on atmosphere or worldbuilding. 15 pages on a sunset is a lot, sure, but you probably didn't need to remove 2,000 words. You might have just needed to move a scene. I bet three-quarters of those "dead" words were actually setting up a mood you can't get back after cutting them. Feels like your club is grading your draft like it's a published thriller, and that's not really fair to early work.