I had just gotten my license and I was driving home when a car pulled into the intersection.

我才剛考到駕照正開車回家時，突然有車駛進十字路口。

And bang! It hit me.

碰！它撞到我了 。

It had happened that quick.

事情發生得很快。

Bang!

碰！

But when I play that memory back, it doesn't take two seconds.

但當我回憶時，這意外卻不只兩秒鐘。

I see the tires of the car rolling through the stop sign,

我看到那輛車越過「停車再開」的路標，

I have time to think, "You know, I think that car is going to hit me."

我有時間思考：「我覺得那輛車要撞到我了。」

I see the right-hand corner of the hood crumple up like tin foil.

我看到引擎蓋右側就像是錫箔紙一樣的捲曲。

I see the red paint flake off and drift off into the air.

我看到紅色的油漆剝落並飄到空中。

I can see all of that, like it's happening in slow motion.

在我眼中，這一切都像慢動作般。

In my memory, that experience takes ten seconds.

在我記憶中，那個經驗足足有十秒鐘。

But why?

為什麼呢？

Why did that memory play back longer than the actual time it took?

為什麼在記憶中意外發生的時間感覺比實際上發生得更久？

This is an interesting phenomenon and it's not just for car accidents, a roller coaster, or a first kiss.

這是個有趣的現象不只發生在車禍、雲霄飛車，或是初吻。

These events seem to take longer than they actually take.

這些事件看起來都比實際時間還久。

But why?

為什麼呢？

And when it comes to writing about that experience, how do I get that peculiar feeling across?

當我們寫下這些經驗時，我們要如何傳遞這種獨特的感覺？

How do I slow down time as a writer?

身為作家，我要怎麼讓一切慢動作化？

To get the answer, we have to visit Hollywood.

為得到答案，我們必須參考好萊塢電影。

You see, the way filmmakers create slow motion will tell us a lot about how writers can create slow motion.

電影製片者製作慢動作片的方式會讓作家了更加解如何寫出慢動作 。

First, let's remember how film works.

首先，讓我們看看電影運作的方式。

When the camera turns on, it's not recording motion.

當攝影機運作時，它並不是錄下動作，

It's taking lots and lots of individual pictures.

而是拍下許許多多的照片。

Then when those pictures are played back in the projector,

當這些照片透過放映機放映時，

they blend together and create the appearance of motion,

它們便交織創造出動作。

like a flip book.

像是連續翻閱以產生動畫的圖畫書。

So, let's imagine that a camera man needs to film his actress skipping through a field of daisies in regular motion.

試想一位攝影師需要拍下女演員在白雛菊田中以正常速度跳躍奔跑的樣子。

Ready, action.

準備，開始！

She skips across the field.

她在原野上跳舞。

He records it.

他拍攝下來。

And...cut.

停止。

Let's say for the sake of easy math that our camera man took 50 pictures.

為了簡便計算，假設攝影機拍了 50 張照片。

50 little frames on that length of film.

在那一小段影片中有 50 小格畫面。

Now, let's take that film and play it back at the rate of 50 frames per 5 seconds.

現在，將膠卷用 5 秒 50 格的速度播放。

This rate is constant, the projector will always go at the same speed.

速度是不變的，投影機播放的速度永遠是如此。

It's easy, we got 50 frames, so our film takes 5 seconds.

很簡單，50 格畫面，我們的影片有五秒鐘。

She skips across the field...

她在原野上跳舞...

...and cut!

停止！

So, then, how do we slow down time in film?

所以，要如何讓影片變慢？

How do we create slow motion?

要如何製作慢動作？

Maybe this is a surprise, but we don't take less pictures, we take more pictures.

也許你會感到訝異，但我們不會減少拍攝的格數，反而會拍更多格畫面。

Ready, action!

準備，開始！

She skips across the field.

她在原野上跳舞。

He records it.

他拍攝下來。

And cut.

停止。

Now we have a lot of film, a long length.

現在我們有很多畫面，膠卷更長。

Let's say 100 frames long.

假設有 100 格長。

Now, when we play it back, it takes a longer time to get through.

現在，我們重播。投影機要花更長的時間播放。

And there's the actress in slow motion.

女演員正以慢動作移動。

Skipping through the field of daisies!

她在白雛菊中跳舞。

Which brings us now to writing.

回到寫作。

When you're writing a narrative, you may want to use slow motion in one of your scenes.

當你寫下一段描述時，你也許想用慢動作描述某場景。

It's a cool effect, just like it is in Hollywood, and it draws the reader's attention to important moments.

這是很酷的效果，就像是電影一樣，可以讓讀者注意到這時刻的重要性。

Well, here's how you do it.

所以這是運作的方式。

You see, when we read, our brain makes the words into pictures and the pictures blend into action.

當你閱讀時，我們的大腦將文字轉化為圖像，而圖像轉變為動作畫面。

So what we read is what we see in the time it takes us to read it.

所以我們閱讀的時間會與動作發生的時間相同。

For example, imagine you're writing a narrative about your game-winning free throw in the championship game.

舉例而言，想像你寫下一段有關贏得籃球冠軍賽最後一球的描述。

Here's a moment as a writer that you might want to slow down time to really capture the second-by-second tension produced by the scene.

身為一位作家你想將這時刻慢動作化，才能捕捉這短暫但令人緊張屏息的一刻。

You concentrate.

你集中注意力。

You put the pencil to paper.

將文字寫下。

You really want to slow down time.

你真的很想讓這時刻慢下來。

You write,

你寫下，

"I shot the ball in the hoop.

「我把球投入籃網，

Time slowed down. Then we won."

時間彷彿靜止，我們贏了。」

To read that, takes two seconds.

讀這段文字只需兩秒鐘。

Therefore, your reader imagines a scene that takes two seconds.

所以，你的讀者想像這一刻只有兩秒鐘。

Ball goes up, comes down, done.

球飛出去，落下，結束。

See, even though you wrote, "time slowed down" you didn't achieve that effect for your reader.

所以，即使寫下「時間靜止了」你仍然沒辦法影響讀者的感受。

Just saying it doesn't make it happen.

寫出來不表示產生了作用。

Now, let's take what we make about film.

現在，我們參考電影。

Time slows down with more pictures.

用更多格畫面產生慢動作。

And try again.

然後再試一遍。

This time write A LOT more.

這次要寫很多很多的字。

"I bent my knees and held the ball loosely.

「我微彎膝蓋並輕輕地舉著球，

Letting the ball bounce on the floor once more, I gathered my thoughts.

讓籃球在地上再彈跳一次，並集中精神。

This was the moment.

這是重要的一刻。

My right arm extended as I released the ball with a gentle flick,

我的右手臂像前伸，輕輕地將球投出。

it rotated slightly as it arched toward the rim.

球在空中化成弧線，微微地旋轉飛向籃框。

I held my breath.

我屏息以待。

The ball nudged the back rim,

球碰到了籃框後緣，

falling through the net with a gentle, satisfying swish.

咻一聲，輕盈又完美地穿越籃網。

And the crowd exploded from their seats."

觀眾們全部起身歡呼。」

See, we just slowed down time through our writing.

你看，我們在寫作中創造了慢動作。

The bottom line is this:

結果正是如此：

There are moments in life that take longer than they actually take.

生命中有許多像慢動作般的時刻。

When you're planning out your narrative, think about those moments.

當你準備下筆描述時，想一想這些時刻。

Those snippets of life that took longer than the watch:

那些看似慢下來的人生片段，

The moment of hearing bad news,

聽到壞消息的時刻、

the moment of hearing good news,

聽到好消息的時刻、

the moment of exhilaration when you realize you hit the jump,

當發現你可以灌籃時的興奮感，

or the moment when you realize you aren't going to land it.

或是當你發現做不到的時刻。

Once you identify these moments in your narrative, you can use this effect of slow motion when you write.

一旦你在文章中把這些時刻標出來，你就可以在寫作中做出慢動作的效果。

Just remember, it's not enough to say, "time slowed down"

記住，只寫「時間彷彿慢了下來」是不夠的。

and it's not enough to throw a couple adjectives in a sentence and call it done either.

在句子中多加幾個形容詞也不夠。

Descriptive writing is good writing, that's true.

描述性的文類固然很好，

But if you want to express the feeling of slow motion in life,

但如果你想創造生命中某些慢動作時刻的效果，

you have to actually take up more physical space on the page.

你必須真的在頁面上占滿空間。

Use more film so to speak.

用更多的畫面去描述。

In doing so, you will create tension and keep your reader interested.

如此你才能創造出那種緊張感並讓引起讀者興趣。

In that way, the next time you write, you'll control the camera of your own writing.

掌握這個技巧，下一次寫作的時候，你將可以掌握字裡行間的畫面。