![]() ![]() Please excuse my using an excerpt from one of my books. I can’t show you the payoff scene without ruining the ending. But he had no time for this or any other distraction, not on this night, when, one way or the other, his past would finally and conclusively catch up with him.Ĭhapter One rewinds to 41 days earlier. Leaping over a rotting log, he felt his right ankle turn impossibly inward, and the ensuing bolt of pain seized his leg like a pair of gigantic hands twisting with the enthusiasm of a gleeful sadist. #Jumpcut copy and paste PatchBoth elbows were bloodied from a fall when his foot caught an exposed root, sending him skating wildly across a patch of decaying leaves. He could feel his heart pounding in every extremity of his body, his vision clouded by sweat and rain. Low branches whipped his forehead and cheeks until they bled. He ran all through the night’s relentless downpour. When they are right on your ass, downwind of the scent of your blood, closing fast. It is not paranoia when they are really out to get you. He was out of options, down to a final chance that, win or lose, would be his statement to the universe. Everything he had ever learned or believed or dreamed was at stake. He knew that precious little time remained, and what was left was as critical as it was dwindling. For his very life, and for those left behind. Both were old friends that had served him well, and like Jesus on his fortieth desert night, he was tempted.īut neither voice was real. Logic screamed that this was pointless, while another voice whispered it was all a lie. His body had long ago abandoned hope, pushing on faith alone through a fog of pain and fatigue. It was the echo of gunfire that kept him running. The Prologue of Pressure Points by Larry Brooks opens like this… They’ll recognize the setting and situation. Newer writers may be tempted to copy/paste the first half of the scene. Remember the pivotal moment where we left the reader? No matter where the payoff is-first plot point, midpoint, or climax-continue the jump cut scene from there. If you choose to include it as a prologue, Chapter One still needs its own hook. I do, but it could also be the first chapter. It isn’t necessary to label this scene as a prologue. #Jumpcut copy and paste seriesAll my Grafton County Series novels (except the first book) open with the first half of the jump cut scene. The payoff that follows must live up to the hook. Inducing curiosity and/or fear in the opener strangleholds the reader, forcing them to keep flipping pages. Novelists use it to ensure readers will stick around to find out how the protagonist wound up there. We’ve all seen this play out in movies and net-streaming series. Next scene rewinds the clock to the days or hours leading up to the opener. ![]() The macro-level jump cut is a technique where the writer drops the reader into a harrowing situation- in media res-conflict builds, tensions rise, all without the reader knowing what proceeded this scene (aside from a few hints). When I use the term, I’m referring to the macro-level. Nonetheless, the two techniques are basically the same. Nowhere could I find the description of what I call a jump cut. Jim’s correct use of the term is more widely known. Then I reread JSB’s 2018 article to prepare for this post. Years ago, the late great John Yeoman, beloved writing coach and friend, called the cinematic technique a jump cut during one of our lengthy craft discussions. ![]() #Jumpcut copy and paste fullFull Disclosure: Jump cut may not be the correct term for the advice that follows. ![]()
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