How to Master Pacing in Fiction Writing
Let me ask you two questions:
Ever been unable to put down a book?
Ever struggled to focus on a long passage or chapter?
I bet you said ‘yes’ to both of those questions.
That’s narrative pacing in a flimsy little nutshell. Pacing plays a big part in every book you’ve read since childhood.
Pacing refers to the speed at which the action of the book takes place. It’s one of the most critical aspects of your story, and it takes practice to get it right.
Pacing is the art of keeping your readers engaged until the very end.
What is Narrative Pacing?
Pacing is how fast or s-l-o-w your story unfolds for the reader. It’s determined by scene length, how information is distributed, sentence length, dialogue, and more. Pacing is the art of keeping readers engaged in your story until the very end.
Your writing style informs your story's pacing, as does your chosen genre. Open any book—the pages with more white space will read faster than those with less. Dialogue reads faster than lengthy paragraphs.
In general, action and dialogue (even some telling) will accelerate your pacing. Exposition and description will put the brakes on narrative pacing. Which one to use depends on the contents of the scene you’re writing.
Why is Pacing Important?
Pacing is important because it affects your story in a variety of ways:
● Influences the mood
● Develops ideas and themes
● Allows readers to connect to characters and the plot
Most importantly, intentional story pacing allows you, the writer, to control your readers' thoughts and feelings. It also provides a high-quality reading experience.
One pacing guideline to keep in mind: balance!
Your story shouldn’t only be fast. And it shouldn’t only be slow. There needs to be a push and pull, a combination, a tango–if you will–of fast and slow moments. Varying pacing gives your story dimension, keeps it interesting, and keeps your readers coming back for more.
Think about it like a Taylor Swift song. We listen to her music because we love the beginning verses, but our mouths water for that epic bridge that will send us to the floor weeping despite being content with our lives. Remember the first time you listened to …Ready For It?
That song was a rollercoaster ride, but I digress.
How to Increase Your Story’s Pacing
Certain moments of your story will naturally move faster: the opening, the middle, and the climax, to name a few. Increasing story pacing will keep your readers turning the page, but that doesn’t mean rushing or forcing it.
Choose your moments and make sure they’re intentional and relevant.
Here are 5 techniques to increase your story’s pacing:
1. Use Shorter Sentences
Shorter sentences increase pacing. The reader will feel a sense of urgency because reading takes less time. Shorter sentences help you be more direct without unnecessary descriptions.
2. Add More Dialogue
Dialogue, especially rapid dialogue, goes a long way when you need to increase narrative pacing. This is a twofer since you can increase pacing and show your character’s personality, voice, and quirks. Really, it’s a three-fer since you can include backstory directly from the character’s mouth rather than slowing things down by having it in the exposition.
3. Limit Secondary Subplots
This one depends on your word count goals, genre expectations, and how many characters you have. Do you have one main plot with several subplots? Are those subplots getting in the way of the main resolution?
If they are, consider reducing or cutting subplots altogether. Subplots take away from the main narrative.
4. Employ Cliffhangers
Nothing is worse (or better?) than ending a scene or a chapter on a cliffhanger. How excited (and a little pissed, tbh) do you get when your favorite TV show ends the mid-season episode before a two-week break on a cliffhanger?
Fanfiction does cliffhangers really well too. You have no idea when the next chapter will go live, if ever. I’ve read fanfics that ended a chapter on a cliffhanger in the middle of the story and never, ever updated again.
It’s a tragedy, but I still lose sleep thinking about them five years later.
Cliffhangers are a popular device because they create tension and uncertainty. They push the reader to keep reading—you keep them searching for the dopamine hit.
5. Increase the Action
Nothing increases the pace like a sense of urgency and danger like a fight scene, a race against the clock, or even the moment two characters finally come together and…confess their feelings.
Include an action scene (and yes—sex scenes count as action scenes)!
How to Decrease Your Story’s Pacing
Slower moments help your readers decompress. Readers need time to breathe. Slowing down the pace of your novel will help the intense moments have way more impact.
The slower moments build up to the action and help readers reflect on wtf just happened. Be intentional with your slow moments.
Here are 5 techniques to slow your story’s pacing:
1. Lengthen Your Sentences
Long sentences and paragraphs are your friends when you want to slow the pace—they take longer to read. Be careful not to cross the line into overwriting and purple prose! Be intentional about word choice, fully develop your ideas and know what you want to say.
2. Add Description and Exposition
This is where the old adage of show, don’t tell comes into play. Set the scene but show us how your character sees it and how they’re experiencing it. In short, describe the setting and world as your character explores it.
Similarly, exposition gives readers a break from the action to dispense information, providing context and perspective about world building, characters, and backstory. It’s vital, but don’t fall into the trap of overwriting.
3. Include Subplots
Subplots, plain and simple, take time away from your main subplot. The final resolution becomes farther and farther away with each subplot—think Game of Thrones.
Don’t go overboard with subplots. Too many will likely end up weaving a very confusing web, which could muddy the waters of your ending or derail it entirely.
4. Use Backstory
Flashbacks send us into the past, taking us away from the main story. It halts the narrative and provides additional information that informs the readers on the history of your story world or characters.
Here comes a big but: Don’t use these too often. Don’t use them because you can’t decide how else to slow your narrative pacing down. Readers will know when a flashback doesn’t truly mean anything. Flashbacks need to serve the plot.
5. Employ Introspection
Introspection is a fun word that means your character’s thoughts and feelings. Readers like to know your character’s thought process, especially when we’re in a deep POV—it gives readers another connection to your characters. `
How to Self-Edit Narrative Pacing
When you edit your manuscript and give yourself adequate time away from your book, you’ll be able to identify pacing issues easier than when you were writing it.
What to look for:
● Parts that feel rushed
● Parts that drag
● Scenes that don’t move the plot forward
● Issues with scene order
● Issues to scene-to-scene pacing
As you edit, ask these questions to make sure you’re engaging your readers:
● How well does your opening hook your readers?
● Is there a mix of sentence length and paragraph length?
● Is there a good range of emotions within your scenes?
● Do your scenes feel flat or same-same?
● Are there any moments of character reflection (introspection)?
● Are there any chapters where a cliffhanger would be fitting?
● Do the scenes and chapters push the plot forward?
● Is there backstory and exposition sprinkled throughout? Or dispensed in large paragraphs and drags on for pages?
In The End
Mastering pacing in fiction writing is essential for creating an engaging and dynamic story. It determines the speed at which your readers experience your story.
Using techniques like shorter sentences, dialogue, limited subplots, cliffhangers, and increased action, you can accelerate the pace of your story and create moments of tension, urgency, and excitement.
To slow down the pace of your story, use longer sentences, longer paragraphs, descriptions, and exposition. It helps readers decompress and reflect.
The key to pacing is to strike a balance, creating a rhythm that keeps readers invested in your story. Whether you want to create an adrenaline-pumping thriller or a reflective piece of literature, mastering pacing is a skill every fiction writer needs to develop.
With practice, you can use pacing as a powerful tool to keep your readers eagerly flipping to the next page.
Happy Writing,
Kourtney