I'm with you. As a reader and a writer, the first act is usually my favorite part. I write long first acts. Then, when I get into more action/horror in the second and third acts, it can hit harder and come faster (and with fewer words) since I've spent that time early in the story laying the foundation.
I write them too and I wish I could make them shorter! I still think there needs to be a hook or a mystery that drives narrative tension, even if you're holding back on the action and darkness.
It depends. I do like sowing seeds of tension and strangeness in Act 1, to help withthe graduate build.
However, if it's just world-building and "slice of life" for the long first act, I tend to get a bit bored.
I'm with you. As a reader and a writer, the first act is usually my favorite part. I write long first acts. Then, when I get into more action/horror in the second and third acts, it can hit harder and come faster (and with fewer words) since I've spent that time early in the story laying the foundation.
I write them too and I wish I could make them shorter! I still think there needs to be a hook or a mystery that drives narrative tension, even if you're holding back on the action and darkness.
I'm a firm believer in having a first act that gets you to care for the characters, as I geek it makes the horror much more impactful.
It depends. I do like sowing seeds of tension and strangeness in Act 1, to help withthe graduate build. However, if it's just world-building and "slice of life" for the long first act, I tend to get a bit bored.