on Jane Friedman site:
I was watching a TV series based on a popular novel the other week, curious about how the showrunners were going to adapt it to the big screen. Turning a book into a movie or series can be a daunting task in the best of circumstances, even if you leave out the messy business of Hollywood. But in the case of this particular TV series, my curiosity was more focused on whether the show would lose steam two-thirds of the way through. That’s because I’d read the book it was based on, and I remember distinctly losing interest just past the midway point.
Much to my surprise, the TV series remained faithful to the book on a level that I’m sure would make most authors ecstatic. The problem is that the TV series fizzled two-thirds of the way through. And I knew exactly why: the protagonist got too comfortable.
Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog 
I kind of agree, but there’s also the question of contrast. If every scene/chapter is about some form of conflict, readers either become numb to the conflict…or the author has to keep upping the ante with bigger and better conflicts. At some point though, unless you invoke the entire pantheon of Greek Gods to do battle, you run out of conflict. Or it becomes a farce. Characters, and their readers, need some downtime in order to give the next conflict some oomph again. Besides, downtime doesn’t have to be wasteful or boring. Therein lies the skill of the author. 🙂
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Reblogged this on Kim's Musings.
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