How Pacing Makes Your Story or Novel Engaging

Recently, someone in my writing group received feedback from a prospective agent that said the story was great, but the pacing was off. A conversation among the writers in our small group revealed that most of them don’t consider pacing when writing their novels or stories. 

What is Pacing?

Pacing may seem like a nebulous concept—something that just happens without the author’s input. But how you craft the pace of a story can impact the way your reader engages with it, and that engagement is key to creating a rich experience for the reader.

Pacing that rushes through without giving the reader pauses to breath may seem like an excellent way to create an exciting story, but removing any chance for reflection leaves the reader little room for emotional connection. A narrative that meanders endlessly without any breathlessness may leave the reader bored or looking for other distractions. 

Controlling the Pace

As an author, you can create a balanced experience for your reader by intentionally controlling the pace. Consider this on a scene-by-scene basis. When you’re organizing your scenes, consider which ones should be fast-paced and exciting. Do you have an action scene? A thrilling climax? Aim for a fast-paced scene with short, snappy sentences, lots of movement, and less description. 

If you’re writing a reflective scene, a scene in which your characters connect deeply with each other, or have a revelation, slows the pace. Include more detailed description, internal narrative, longer moments of self-reflection. 

Scene and Sentence Length

Consider varying scene length. A long, languid sex scene may take several pages, but a short, intense one could easily be one-page. You might decide to have a long murder scene and keep it interesting by varying sentence length, interspersing the action with dialogue, or showing insight into the main character’s terror or regret. 

Character dialogue can aid pacing, as well. People tend to speak less when they’re involved in high action, and when they do speak in those cases, they use short, direct sentences because they're focused on what they're doing. 

Pacing in Your Outline

Pacing your novel can be done intentionally during the plotting process. When outlining your work, alternate between action scenes and reflection scenes. Even when plotting obstacles and rising action, the reader still needs a chance to reflect, and this reflection comes in the slower moments when your characters think they’ve won a challenge or are momentarily safe. Giving your characters a chance to breathe after moments of intense conflict also brings relief to your reader. 

Fix Pacing in Rewrites

In rewrites, pacing can be changed by determining if there is a balance between moments of high intensity and moments of relief. Look for long passages of conversation and processing and determine where these can be broken up. For every action, ask if there’s a reaction. What has your character learned? Where are they going from here?

Pacing can be a hard element to master but taking the time to analyze your work for a balance leads to work that flows seamlessly, captivating readers with a rhythm that keeps them eagerly turning the pages.