Fifth or maybe sixth mentorship meeting with Lydia. Lost count. We’re analysing Omnichannel Hearts structure now. How digital formats affect storytelling rhythm.
Her photo-art background reveals patterns I didn’t consciously design. Chat transcripts create staccato pacing. Quick back-and-forth exchanges generate urgency. Email threads build tension differently. Longer form, more deliberate, characters crafting responses carefully.
She pointed out that each digital format carries its own emotional register. WhatsApp feels intimate and immediate. LinkedIn messages feel performative and professional. Dating app chats feel strategic and curated. The medium shapes the message even in fiction.
I’ve been using these formats instinctively, but Lydia sees the architecture beneath my intuitive choices. She sketched timeline on paper showing how different communication formats cluster at different narrative moments. Visual representation of what I’d only felt as pacing.
We spent hour discussing whether to include timestamps. Do readers need to know exact timing of messages or does that interrupt flow? No clear answer. Depends on whether time pressure matters to plot.
Her documentary editing experience translates surprisingly well to fiction structure. Both deal with revealing information strategically. When to show, when to withhold, how to build toward climax through careful sequencing.
Took three pages of notes. Omnichannel Hearts needs restructuring. Some email sections should be WhatsApp. Some face-to-face scenes should be video calls. Format matters.
— Writer Julia Zolotova
