Acing Pacing In Your Writing

Acing pacing in your writing

I’ve read too many books and watched too many shows where pacing has ruined a good story. So, here are some of my tips for getting pacing right:

1. Don’t take too long to get to the inciting incident

Look, showing the ordinary life of your protagonist might be interesting if there’s something strange about their life, but readers want stuff to happen.

At least with genre fiction, you shouldn’t take too long to get to the action - the event that gets the story going.

If you can do it well and have readers invested from the start, you can start with the inciting incident. However, for most works I would recommend having it in the second chapter.

Your readers want to know what the story is about, not what the character thinks of his English teacher

2. Keep it moving, but don’t rush

Action is important. It drives the story and it’s interesting. You should make sure to put enough action in your work. Things should be happening.

BUT a novel is not a play or a movie or a comic. What makes reading a full-length novel so entertaining is the detail. The in-depth characterisation and description. The emotion and thought processes.

So, keep it moving, but don’t sacrifice the juicy details. Don’t skip from one action or dialogue scene to the next without taking your readers deeper into the intricacies of the story and characters.

It’s a delicate balance that can only truly be found by reading a lot and practicing.

3. Avoid a sagging middle

Your beginning is solid. Your end is exciting. But the middle is a chaotic mess that bores the reader. Trust me, it happens more than you might believe.

Sagging middle syndrome is a thing, and the only way to avoid it is to plan.

Look, I like pantsing, but planning the middle of your novel will help your pacing exponentially.

Make a rough outline of what needs to happen to get your characters to the climax. Add a few lighter/character-driven scenes where there are too many action scenes in the sequence. Remove events which are unnecessary. And make sure that everything makes sense!

This counts for second books in series as well. It should be good on its own, not just as a filler.

4. Don’t fast forward to the end

I’m looking at you, Game of Thrones.

If you’ve built up the story and set up everything for the final big bang, you have to deliver.

Keep the pacing somewhat similar to that of the rest of the story. Your readers have gotten used to it. And if they’re still reading at that point, they probably like that pace. Don’t write a relatively slow book and then have the climax be over in three pages.

I know you want the climax to be exciting. So, yes, make it a little more fast-paced than the middle. But not massively different.

5. Trust your characters

As with every aspect of creative writing, character is most important.

Is your character experiencing the scene quickly and choppily? Or are they slowing down and taking in everything?

If you stick with what your characters are feeling, you will get it right.

Look, exams have fried my brain. So, this isn’t the most well-formulated post I’ve made. But I hope that it can be helpful.

Reblog if you found these tips useful. Comment with your own pacing tips. Follow me for similar content.

affinity ; pt 1 ; myg

→ a series of short stories revolving around the lives of a group of witches navigating their twenties.

→ genre / warnings: fluff, very very mild angst, humor, yoongi briefly mentions suicide, supernatural

→ pairing(s): bts x various ocs ; min yoongi x oc for the first part

→ taglist: @mygsty @bangtann-bangdamn @lofihope @entlein117 @lilacdreams-00 @sleepyje0n @milk-mochi @taeshuworld @seokinkjin @sugakookieswithmytae – let me know if you want to be added!

→ masterlist.

→ a/n: ok this monster of a thing is finally ready to post so…enjoy? word count 9k.

The camera focuses on two people sitting side by side in front of a wall littered with fairy lights and polaroids of a group of friends laughing and clinging to each other. The pink haired male on the left, wearing a baggy sweater, runs a hand through his hair while his companion gestures to the dead plant in front of them.

Jimin blinks as Mo puts the plant directly between them, ring clad fingers combing through the dry, crackly leaves. He’s watched her do this multiple times, but it always sparks curiosity within him, taking the hand she offers him. Not for the first time, he’s thankful that she doesn’t flinch at his cold grip, just smiles at the camera.

Mo is one of the only nature based witches Jimin has met that isn’t put off by his speciality, even inviting him to participate in her spells where others have told him his touch will only kill and destroy. Perhaps she’s only fond of him because she used to babysit him (despite only being a few years older, he’d like to point out), but he’s never known her to care too much about what someone’s magical affinity is. 

Sitting next to him in gray leggings and a lime green sweater undoubtedly stolen from Hoseok’s closet, smelling faintly of vanilla and earth, she feels…Like home. He’s thankful for that.

“It’s really a simple spell,” she explains, lacing her fingers with Jimin’s as she speaks. “Hobi forgot to water this one for…how long?”

“Two months,” Jimin supplies helpfully, earning a scoff from Mo. She mutters something about how irresponsible that is, but what can someone expect from someone with Hoseok’s affinity? 

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IT’S NOT ‘PEEKED’ MY INTEREST

OR ‘PEAKED’

BUT PIQUED

‘PIQUED MY INTEREST’

THIS HAS BEEN A CAPSLOCK PSA

💖💖💖

This is just *chefs kiss*

we're pack, moonchild.

Seokjin | Yoongi | Hoseok | Namjoon | Jimin | Taehyung | Jungkook

Masterlist

Summary: Kim Namjoon. Class best. Current second leader of the Bangtan gang. [a drabble in which you go to the same school with the Bangtan gang and are tiring to figure out if that’s what they really are. a gang? or a pack?] Word Count: +1k Note: I started a new series. i’m so excited for this. ✨ college!au, supernatural!au

Gif not mine, credits to the owner.

Kim Namjoon. Class best. Current second leader of the Bangtan gang. Caretaker of your grandmother in her fragile years. It is obvious he’s a werewolf. To you, there’s no doubt about it as the Bangtan gang flaunts the facts like a banner. Even his appearance, strong body, attuned mind. To you, it’s obvious, always has been since the day someone mentioned it as a joke.

However, to this day Namjoon has never responded to either side, the school’s gossipy crowd or the boisterous cackling clique of boys following his every move with utter reverence. He’s never confirmed or denied the categorization as “werewolf”, giving every individual the option of coming to their own conclusion. (Of realizing how ridiculous the tag sounds.)

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Yoongi : If I cut my leg off, and I swing it at your head, will I be hitting you or kicking you?

Namjoon : you will be mentally scarring me more than anything