Impingement

I love impingement because it's a way to use language to propel a reader forward, even when nothing much is happening!

A sense of movement is critical to the feel of a book. Action cancontribute to it, obviously, but so can description. Here is a lovely paragraph from The Great Gatsby:

"I must have stood for a few moments on the threshold, dazzled by the alabaster light, listening to the whip and snap of the curtains and the groan of a picture on the wall. Then there was a boom as Tom Buchanan shut the rear windows and the caught wind died out about the room, and the curtains and the rugs and the two young women {in dresses} ballooned slowly to the floor."

Kelly