 The chapters are later rearranged to optimize character intercutting, chronology, and suspense.Influenced by his television and film scripting background, Martin tries to keep readers engrossed by ending each "A Song of Ice and Fire" chapter with a tense or revelational moment, a twist or a cliffhanger, similar to a TV act break.Scriptwriting has also taught him the technique of "cutting out the fat and leaving the muscle", which is the final stage of completing a book, a technique that brought the page count in "A Dance with Dragons" down almost eighty pages.