Time, Pace and Order Flashcards
All 12 cards in this deck
What is chronological order, and why might a writer choose it?
Telling events in the order they happened. It feels natural and lets tension build step by step, so any break from it, such as a flashback, stands out.
What is a flashback, and what does it typically do?
A move back in time to an earlier event. It gives backstory that explains a character's feelings in the present. Placed at a tense moment, it also delays what happens next, which builds suspense.
What is a flash-forward, and what is its effect?
A jump ahead to a later moment, e.g. 'Years later, she would still remember the sound.' It tells the reader something important will happen, which creates anticipation or dread.
What is foreshadowing, and what does it do?
A hint or clue early in a text about something that will happen later. It creates unease and suspense, and when the event arrives it feels prepared for rather than random.
What is the effect of a writer slowing the pace by spending a long time on a single moment?
Stretching a few seconds across many lines makes the moment feel important and holds the reader in suspense, often just before something dramatic happens.
What is the effect of speeding up the pace by summarising a long period in a few lines?
It moves quickly past time that doesn't matter, which makes the scene the writer slows down for stand out as significant. It can also suggest that life passes by unnoticed.
What is a time jump, and how does it affect the reader?
A gap where the text skips forward, e.g. 'Three winters passed.' It marks change and leaves the reader to fill in what happened, which can create mystery or a sense of loss.
What is non-linear structure, and why might a writer use it?
Telling events out of order. It lets the writer reveal information at the most effective moment, such as showing a result before its cause so the reader wants to know how it happened.
What is the difference between 'scene' and 'summary' in fiction, and why does it matter?
A scene shows events moment by moment, often with dialogue. A summary compresses events into a sentence or two. A shift from summary to scene signals that a moment matters, so the reader slows down with it.
In 'She found the photograph in the back of the drawer. The last time she had seen that face, she was nine, and the car was pulling away.', what structural feature is used and what is its effect?
A flashback triggered by an object. It pulls the reader back to a painful moment from childhood, explains why the photograph matters, and delays the present-day action.
A text spends a long paragraph on a glass falling from a table, then ends with the one-line paragraph 'Then the floor.' What has the writer done with pace, and why?
The writer slows time to stretch the split second of the fall, holding the reader in suspense. The abrupt one-line paragraph speeds back to real time, so the impact lands with a jolt.
How should you write about pace without falling into 'short sentences speed things up'?
Write about what the writer dwells on and what they skip. Say which moment is slowed down or summarised, where it is, and why the writer wants the reader to linger there or hurry past, linked to the question's focus.