5 More Tips to Help with Pacing Your Story

By georgelthomas on 28 Mar 2023 • ( 0 )

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. Today I am sharing some more tips for helping you pace your story.

5 More Tips to Help with Pacing Your Story

1 Vary Sentence Length and Structure
Writing long sentences all of the time will slow down your pacing significantly; instead, vary your sentence length and structure, such as short choppy sentences versus long descriptive ones, to keep up a steady pace throughout.

2 Balance Action with Exposition
Your readers require information to understand what is happening in your story, so provide exposition (background info) sparingly. Giving too much can slow down the pacing of your story significantly and get in the way of the action of a scene.

3 Give Clues Sparingly but Strategically
Too many hints throughout a story will make it feel like it is dragging on forever, but not enough clues can leave readers feeling confused and frustrated by their lack of understanding as they read through your work; provide just enough clues so that readers can connect dots without necessarily being spoon-fed every piece of information they need.

4 Avoid Overstuffing your Story
Too many plot points can overwhelm your reader, taking away from the overall experience. It is essential to have a balance between action, dialogue, and descriptions so that readers won’t be overwhelmed with an information overload

5 Pay Attention to the Pacing of Each Scene
Each scene should have its own internal pacing that builds towards a climax before smoothly ending (or leading into) another scene or chapter. Be aware of how quickly certain events occur within each chapter—do certain scenes rush by too fast? If so, consider slowing down their pace by adding more detail or description or taking more time for the reactions and thoughts of your characters after certain events occur.

As always, thanks so much for reading!

Until next time,

George