Increasing the flow in descriptions of a sequence of events












2
















Thomas appeared behind Daniel and shook him by the neck, which brought
him down to his knees. Thomas kicked him and then kicked away the gun
that Daniel dropped making sure he wouldn't be able to surprise him
any longer. He smiled seeing Daniel helplessly squirming on the
ground. He took out a cigar out of his pocket and lit it. He took a
puff and then another while waiting for Daniel to talk knowing Daniel
would plead for his life as soon as possible if given the chance.




I decided to write a little paragraph to really show the problem I am having. As it turns out I really have an issue with the flow in descriptions of a sequence of events. How can you increase the flow between the sentences?










share|improve this question









New contributor




yocu is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





















  • You seem to have confused your two characters halfway through. I'd suggested editing unless that's actually part of what you wanted help on.

    – Chris Sunami
    4 hours ago











  • Ah, yes, sorry for that. I literally took 30 seconds to write this down on a notepad.

    – yocu
    4 hours ago
















2
















Thomas appeared behind Daniel and shook him by the neck, which brought
him down to his knees. Thomas kicked him and then kicked away the gun
that Daniel dropped making sure he wouldn't be able to surprise him
any longer. He smiled seeing Daniel helplessly squirming on the
ground. He took out a cigar out of his pocket and lit it. He took a
puff and then another while waiting for Daniel to talk knowing Daniel
would plead for his life as soon as possible if given the chance.




I decided to write a little paragraph to really show the problem I am having. As it turns out I really have an issue with the flow in descriptions of a sequence of events. How can you increase the flow between the sentences?










share|improve this question









New contributor




yocu is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





















  • You seem to have confused your two characters halfway through. I'd suggested editing unless that's actually part of what you wanted help on.

    – Chris Sunami
    4 hours ago











  • Ah, yes, sorry for that. I literally took 30 seconds to write this down on a notepad.

    – yocu
    4 hours ago














2












2








2









Thomas appeared behind Daniel and shook him by the neck, which brought
him down to his knees. Thomas kicked him and then kicked away the gun
that Daniel dropped making sure he wouldn't be able to surprise him
any longer. He smiled seeing Daniel helplessly squirming on the
ground. He took out a cigar out of his pocket and lit it. He took a
puff and then another while waiting for Daniel to talk knowing Daniel
would plead for his life as soon as possible if given the chance.




I decided to write a little paragraph to really show the problem I am having. As it turns out I really have an issue with the flow in descriptions of a sequence of events. How can you increase the flow between the sentences?










share|improve this question









New contributor




yocu is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.













Thomas appeared behind Daniel and shook him by the neck, which brought
him down to his knees. Thomas kicked him and then kicked away the gun
that Daniel dropped making sure he wouldn't be able to surprise him
any longer. He smiled seeing Daniel helplessly squirming on the
ground. He took out a cigar out of his pocket and lit it. He took a
puff and then another while waiting for Daniel to talk knowing Daniel
would plead for his life as soon as possible if given the chance.




I decided to write a little paragraph to really show the problem I am having. As it turns out I really have an issue with the flow in descriptions of a sequence of events. How can you increase the flow between the sentences?







creative-writing flow sentence-structure






share|improve this question









New contributor




yocu is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.











share|improve this question









New contributor




yocu is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









share|improve this question




share|improve this question








edited 1 hour ago









Cyn

12k12661




12k12661






New contributor




yocu is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.









asked 4 hours ago









yocuyocu

262




262




New contributor




yocu is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.





New contributor





yocu is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.






yocu is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.













  • You seem to have confused your two characters halfway through. I'd suggested editing unless that's actually part of what you wanted help on.

    – Chris Sunami
    4 hours ago











  • Ah, yes, sorry for that. I literally took 30 seconds to write this down on a notepad.

    – yocu
    4 hours ago



















  • You seem to have confused your two characters halfway through. I'd suggested editing unless that's actually part of what you wanted help on.

    – Chris Sunami
    4 hours ago











  • Ah, yes, sorry for that. I literally took 30 seconds to write this down on a notepad.

    – yocu
    4 hours ago

















You seem to have confused your two characters halfway through. I'd suggested editing unless that's actually part of what you wanted help on.

– Chris Sunami
4 hours ago





You seem to have confused your two characters halfway through. I'd suggested editing unless that's actually part of what you wanted help on.

– Chris Sunami
4 hours ago













Ah, yes, sorry for that. I literally took 30 seconds to write this down on a notepad.

– yocu
4 hours ago





Ah, yes, sorry for that. I literally took 30 seconds to write this down on a notepad.

– yocu
4 hours ago










2 Answers
2






active

oldest

votes


















3














There's no point of view here, which makes it difficult to care about, or even follow. (That's also probably why you initially confused the characters.) It's just a series of events. You don't have to have a point of view character, but you need to have a point of view.



I'd try writing three versions of this. One from Thomas' POV, one from Daniel's, and one from a third person watching from inside the room (they can all be written in third person, but they should follow one person's perspective, thoughts, mood, and so forth). I think you'll find it has a lot more flow.






share|improve this answer































    3














    Welcome to the exchange.



    To my way of thinking, you need to expand the sequence out because as it stands you are listing a series of events and symptoms of the characters. There is no reaction, no interplay, no emotion.



    Add in a snatch of dialog and some emotional cues, also internal thoughts and a few actions. These things will draw the reader in to engage them.



    A quick example:




    Thomas appeared behind Daniel and shook him by the neck. Daniel
    sputtered, choked, grabbed at Thomas's hands about his throat but
    couldn't pry them loose. He was on his knees now, unable to breathe.



    "Doesn't feel great, does it?" Thomas said, before kicking Daniel in
    the small of the back.



    Daniel was losing consciousness, almost welcomed it, the pain was too
    intense and a blackout would be better. He saw Thomas kick the gun
    away, but Daniel had no strength to grab it anyway. That smile on
    Thomas's face. The man was vile, pure evil, the devil incarnate.
    Daniel squirmed, using his last bit of strength, pleading with his
    eyes.



    Thomas let go and Daniel took a long shuddering breath, seeing stars
    at the rush of oxygen back to his system. Thomas took a cigar out of
    his pocket, lit it and took a puff.



    "That's for Beatrice. You don't treat my girls that way, punk."



    Daniel couldn't speak, his throat still crushed from the assault, air
    rasped through.







    share|improve this answer

























      Your Answer








      StackExchange.ready(function() {
      var channelOptions = {
      tags: "".split(" "),
      id: "166"
      };
      initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);

      StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
      // Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
      if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
      StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
      createEditor();
      });
      }
      else {
      createEditor();
      }
      });

      function createEditor() {
      StackExchange.prepareEditor({
      heartbeatType: 'answer',
      autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
      convertImagesToLinks: false,
      noModals: true,
      showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
      reputationToPostImages: null,
      bindNavPrevention: true,
      postfix: "",
      imageUploader: {
      brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
      contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
      allowUrls: true
      },
      noCode: true, onDemand: true,
      discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
      ,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
      });


      }
      });






      yocu is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










      draft saved

      draft discarded


















      StackExchange.ready(
      function () {
      StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fwriting.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f42718%2fincreasing-the-flow-in-descriptions-of-a-sequence-of-events%23new-answer', 'question_page');
      }
      );

      Post as a guest















      Required, but never shown

























      2 Answers
      2






      active

      oldest

      votes








      2 Answers
      2






      active

      oldest

      votes









      active

      oldest

      votes






      active

      oldest

      votes









      3














      There's no point of view here, which makes it difficult to care about, or even follow. (That's also probably why you initially confused the characters.) It's just a series of events. You don't have to have a point of view character, but you need to have a point of view.



      I'd try writing three versions of this. One from Thomas' POV, one from Daniel's, and one from a third person watching from inside the room (they can all be written in third person, but they should follow one person's perspective, thoughts, mood, and so forth). I think you'll find it has a lot more flow.






      share|improve this answer




























        3














        There's no point of view here, which makes it difficult to care about, or even follow. (That's also probably why you initially confused the characters.) It's just a series of events. You don't have to have a point of view character, but you need to have a point of view.



        I'd try writing three versions of this. One from Thomas' POV, one from Daniel's, and one from a third person watching from inside the room (they can all be written in third person, but they should follow one person's perspective, thoughts, mood, and so forth). I think you'll find it has a lot more flow.






        share|improve this answer


























          3












          3








          3







          There's no point of view here, which makes it difficult to care about, or even follow. (That's also probably why you initially confused the characters.) It's just a series of events. You don't have to have a point of view character, but you need to have a point of view.



          I'd try writing three versions of this. One from Thomas' POV, one from Daniel's, and one from a third person watching from inside the room (they can all be written in third person, but they should follow one person's perspective, thoughts, mood, and so forth). I think you'll find it has a lot more flow.






          share|improve this answer













          There's no point of view here, which makes it difficult to care about, or even follow. (That's also probably why you initially confused the characters.) It's just a series of events. You don't have to have a point of view character, but you need to have a point of view.



          I'd try writing three versions of this. One from Thomas' POV, one from Daniel's, and one from a third person watching from inside the room (they can all be written in third person, but they should follow one person's perspective, thoughts, mood, and so forth). I think you'll find it has a lot more flow.







          share|improve this answer












          share|improve this answer



          share|improve this answer










          answered 3 hours ago









          Chris SunamiChris Sunami

          31k340112




          31k340112























              3














              Welcome to the exchange.



              To my way of thinking, you need to expand the sequence out because as it stands you are listing a series of events and symptoms of the characters. There is no reaction, no interplay, no emotion.



              Add in a snatch of dialog and some emotional cues, also internal thoughts and a few actions. These things will draw the reader in to engage them.



              A quick example:




              Thomas appeared behind Daniel and shook him by the neck. Daniel
              sputtered, choked, grabbed at Thomas's hands about his throat but
              couldn't pry them loose. He was on his knees now, unable to breathe.



              "Doesn't feel great, does it?" Thomas said, before kicking Daniel in
              the small of the back.



              Daniel was losing consciousness, almost welcomed it, the pain was too
              intense and a blackout would be better. He saw Thomas kick the gun
              away, but Daniel had no strength to grab it anyway. That smile on
              Thomas's face. The man was vile, pure evil, the devil incarnate.
              Daniel squirmed, using his last bit of strength, pleading with his
              eyes.



              Thomas let go and Daniel took a long shuddering breath, seeing stars
              at the rush of oxygen back to his system. Thomas took a cigar out of
              his pocket, lit it and took a puff.



              "That's for Beatrice. You don't treat my girls that way, punk."



              Daniel couldn't speak, his throat still crushed from the assault, air
              rasped through.







              share|improve this answer






























                3














                Welcome to the exchange.



                To my way of thinking, you need to expand the sequence out because as it stands you are listing a series of events and symptoms of the characters. There is no reaction, no interplay, no emotion.



                Add in a snatch of dialog and some emotional cues, also internal thoughts and a few actions. These things will draw the reader in to engage them.



                A quick example:




                Thomas appeared behind Daniel and shook him by the neck. Daniel
                sputtered, choked, grabbed at Thomas's hands about his throat but
                couldn't pry them loose. He was on his knees now, unable to breathe.



                "Doesn't feel great, does it?" Thomas said, before kicking Daniel in
                the small of the back.



                Daniel was losing consciousness, almost welcomed it, the pain was too
                intense and a blackout would be better. He saw Thomas kick the gun
                away, but Daniel had no strength to grab it anyway. That smile on
                Thomas's face. The man was vile, pure evil, the devil incarnate.
                Daniel squirmed, using his last bit of strength, pleading with his
                eyes.



                Thomas let go and Daniel took a long shuddering breath, seeing stars
                at the rush of oxygen back to his system. Thomas took a cigar out of
                his pocket, lit it and took a puff.



                "That's for Beatrice. You don't treat my girls that way, punk."



                Daniel couldn't speak, his throat still crushed from the assault, air
                rasped through.







                share|improve this answer




























                  3












                  3








                  3







                  Welcome to the exchange.



                  To my way of thinking, you need to expand the sequence out because as it stands you are listing a series of events and symptoms of the characters. There is no reaction, no interplay, no emotion.



                  Add in a snatch of dialog and some emotional cues, also internal thoughts and a few actions. These things will draw the reader in to engage them.



                  A quick example:




                  Thomas appeared behind Daniel and shook him by the neck. Daniel
                  sputtered, choked, grabbed at Thomas's hands about his throat but
                  couldn't pry them loose. He was on his knees now, unable to breathe.



                  "Doesn't feel great, does it?" Thomas said, before kicking Daniel in
                  the small of the back.



                  Daniel was losing consciousness, almost welcomed it, the pain was too
                  intense and a blackout would be better. He saw Thomas kick the gun
                  away, but Daniel had no strength to grab it anyway. That smile on
                  Thomas's face. The man was vile, pure evil, the devil incarnate.
                  Daniel squirmed, using his last bit of strength, pleading with his
                  eyes.



                  Thomas let go and Daniel took a long shuddering breath, seeing stars
                  at the rush of oxygen back to his system. Thomas took a cigar out of
                  his pocket, lit it and took a puff.



                  "That's for Beatrice. You don't treat my girls that way, punk."



                  Daniel couldn't speak, his throat still crushed from the assault, air
                  rasped through.







                  share|improve this answer















                  Welcome to the exchange.



                  To my way of thinking, you need to expand the sequence out because as it stands you are listing a series of events and symptoms of the characters. There is no reaction, no interplay, no emotion.



                  Add in a snatch of dialog and some emotional cues, also internal thoughts and a few actions. These things will draw the reader in to engage them.



                  A quick example:




                  Thomas appeared behind Daniel and shook him by the neck. Daniel
                  sputtered, choked, grabbed at Thomas's hands about his throat but
                  couldn't pry them loose. He was on his knees now, unable to breathe.



                  "Doesn't feel great, does it?" Thomas said, before kicking Daniel in
                  the small of the back.



                  Daniel was losing consciousness, almost welcomed it, the pain was too
                  intense and a blackout would be better. He saw Thomas kick the gun
                  away, but Daniel had no strength to grab it anyway. That smile on
                  Thomas's face. The man was vile, pure evil, the devil incarnate.
                  Daniel squirmed, using his last bit of strength, pleading with his
                  eyes.



                  Thomas let go and Daniel took a long shuddering breath, seeing stars
                  at the rush of oxygen back to his system. Thomas took a cigar out of
                  his pocket, lit it and took a puff.



                  "That's for Beatrice. You don't treat my girls that way, punk."



                  Daniel couldn't speak, his throat still crushed from the assault, air
                  rasped through.








                  share|improve this answer














                  share|improve this answer



                  share|improve this answer








                  edited 1 hour ago

























                  answered 3 hours ago









                  DPTDPT

                  14.3k22784




                  14.3k22784






















                      yocu is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.










                      draft saved

                      draft discarded


















                      yocu is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.













                      yocu is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.












                      yocu is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
















                      Thanks for contributing an answer to Writing Stack Exchange!


                      • Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!

                      But avoid



                      • Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.

                      • Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.


                      To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.




                      draft saved


                      draft discarded














                      StackExchange.ready(
                      function () {
                      StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fwriting.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f42718%2fincreasing-the-flow-in-descriptions-of-a-sequence-of-events%23new-answer', 'question_page');
                      }
                      );

                      Post as a guest















                      Required, but never shown





















































                      Required, but never shown














                      Required, but never shown












                      Required, but never shown







                      Required, but never shown

































                      Required, but never shown














                      Required, but never shown












                      Required, but never shown







                      Required, but never shown







                      Popular posts from this blog

                      Loup dans la culture

                      How to solve the problem of ntp “Unable to contact time server” from KDE?

                      ASUS Zenbook UX433/UX333 — Configure Touchpad-embedded numpad on Linux