Book Writing 101: How To Achieve Good Story Pacing
Freytag’s Pyramid from Serious Daring by Lisa Roney. Photo by Payton Hayes.
This blog post was written by a human.Hi readers and writerly friends!
This week in the Freelancing category, we’re continuing the Book Writing 101 series with our third post—how to achieve good story pacing. If you’re looking for the rest of the series, it will be linked at the end of the blog post!
What is pacing?
In literature, pace, or pacing is the speed at which a story is told —not necessarily the speed at which the story takes place. The pace is determined by the length of the scenes, how fast the action moves, and how quickly the reader is provided with information. Story pacing is the momentum of the story and it’s what keeps readers turning pages.
Why does pacing matter in storytelling?
Pacing is an element of storytelling that seems to trip up many new writers. It can be hard to pin down. What is a good pacing for a story? Well, to get a better idea of good story pacing, we have to look at bad story pacing first.
Pacing is also tension. It’s how you build out the rising and falling action of your scenes. When I reference “action” in this blog post, rising and falling action is what I am talking about. This may be literal action scenes, conflict, events, plot points and pinch points, and other peaks and valleys of plot.
If you read my blog post about where to start your novel, then you might remember this next bit. That post (linked at the end of this blog post) is specifically for starting a book, but it serves as a great reminder for starting/ending you scenes and chapters as well.
Pacing is also how you enter and leave scenes and chapters. It’s how you open a scene and keep the momentum all the way through to the “turning point” of that scene or chapter. It’s how you close that scene/chapter and lead into the next one. Think about the “enter late, leave early” rule when trying to achieve goo pacing within your story, and how events in your story drive the plot forward.
What constitutes bad story pacing?
This usually occurs when a story is told at a pace or speed that is either just too fast or too slow for the plot and the events that happen within the story. Story pacing that is just too fast almost gives the reader narrative whiplash in that, everything is being presented so quickly that the reader just can’t seem to keep up and is lost in confusion. Story pacing that is just to slow usually ends up boring the reader and making it hard for him or her to stay motivated to finish the book.
Story pacing really has more to do with the amount of information being presented and the intervals at which it is being presented. Books that have too-fast story pacing often just bombard the reader with information faster than they can process it. For example, a thriller writer may leave things out of the story in an attempt to build intrigue but as the plot progresses, the reader will be come increasingly more confused. In fantasy, too-fast pacing usually arises when the writer drops in a ton of names in rapid succession without really giving the readers time to orient themselves.
However, on the flip side, too-slow pacing can arise in fantasy in much the same way as well. Taking entirely way too long to establish backstory or info-dumping is a great way to slow the story down and bore the reader. And truthfully, this isn’t unique to fantasy; this issue can manifest itself this way in all genres.
Pacing that is too fast: Too much information is presented too often.
Pacing that is too slow: Not enough action is presented often enough.
I know, it looks like I said the same thing twice, only slightly changed—I did.
But in essence, good story pacing is all about balance.
Even seasoned writers struggle to strike the very delicate balance between action and information. What’s worse than a plot twist that comes out of left field? A plot twist that’s more like a straight line than a twist at all. That is to say, the reader could see it coming from a mile away, or due to weak pacing, the world-shattering revelation misses it’s mark and the author’s impact is completely lost on the reader.
Ultimately, to achieve good story pacing is to tell the story in such a way that plot points are reached and key information is revealed at a satisfying and sensible pace.
Identifying pacing issues with word count
This might only be useful if for writers who have critique groups, agents, or editors but essentially, you can identify bad pacing by looking at the word count of a novel. If your editor says “the word count is too low for your genre” then they’re essentially saying, your pacing is too fast, and you’ve not spent enough time building out the story and included too much action. If your editor says “the word count is too high for your genre” then they’re saying your pacing is too slow, and you’ve spent too much time building out the story and not including enough action.
Sentence structure can make or break pacing
Another obvious, concrete clue that your pacing could be off is the way sentences, dialogue, and paragraphs are aesthetically arranged on the page. Think long, drawn-out, convoluted sentences, wordy paragraphs, big, pretentions words, overly-descriptive, adjective-dense, purple pose, a lack of variation in sentence structure, and crowded or skeletal dialogue. These story elements are often easy to overlook, and trying to strike that balance as an afterthought can certainly kill your pacing. Take this paragraph as a meta example. The second sentence commits the very crime that the third sentence calls out.
Think about these things and keep in mind that if it doesn’t add to the writing style, voice, tone or drive the plot, then you don’t need it. Characterization should be dropped in here and there, and not done in page-long descriptions with wordy backstory. Big words and extensive (and often archaic) vocabulary should only be used if it makes sense for the voice, tone, genre, setting, and narrator of the story.
This issue is ubiquitous with academic writing, where some students try to fill their essays with pedantic fluff to reach word count minimums and others just enjoy hearing themselves talk—or reading their own words, rather. Save the filibustering for the Senate.
This doesn’t mean that shorter and more direct sentences are key either. Short, choppy, staccato-like sentences with little variation can undercut tension or mood because they give the reader little time to immerse themselves in description, emotion, or context. Like I said, it’s all about balance. The secret to achieve this balance and good story pacing is varied sentence structure. Look at the Examples below.
Example #1: Short Sentences (~1-8 words)
Use Case: Action and combat scenes, suspenseful transitions, dramatic moments.
Bad: He ran. He stopped. He looked. He panicked. (too choppy, monotone)
Good: He froze, pinned to the spot. Footsteps drew nearer. His pulse quickened. Surely the killer could hear his heart hammering away in his chest. He needed to catch his breath. He also needed to escape. (punchy, dramatic, builds tension)
Effect On Pacing: Speeds up action; creates tension; reads as abrupt or punchy.
This sentence structure is great for scenes that need to move quickly. Naturally, the shorter the sentence, the easier and faster it is for the reader to move through the text. Overuse results in flat, boring, and emotionally-disconnected scenes. This structure is best used when the reader has already made an emotional connection to the characters in the story and the stakes are higher.
Example #2: Medium Sentences (~ 9-20 words)
Use Case: Versatile, used in most narrative passages, dialogue, in between action and revelation (can be used for these situations too).
Bad: N/A. Medium sentences are rarely bad, so long as word choice, word count, punctuation, and clauses are balanced.
Good: The wind groaned through the trees, as she made her way home, a bittersweet feeling settling in her chest.
Effect On Pacing: Smooth, natural rhythm; balanced pacing.
This sentence structure is most common in any published work, and it’s typically comprises the majority of a text. It’s the middle ground for sentence structure, tucked neatly between short, choppy sentences, and long, complex sentences. I like to think of it like the Goldilocks Effect: medium sentences are just right.
Example #3: Long / Complex Sentences (21+ words)
Use Case: Descriptive scenes, internal monologue, world-building.
Bad: Running down the narrow, cobblestoned street that wound unpredictably between the dimly lit shops whose windows reflected shadows of passersby who themselves seemed unsure of which way to go, he tried desperately to remember the route that would lead him safely back to the square. (too convoluted)
Good: Walking down the narrow, cobblestoned street, he remembered the stories his grandmother told about the town, imagining the faces of people long gone.
Effect On Pacing: Slows pacing; allows description, reflection, inner thoughts, (lowers tension back to or below baseline, to rise again later on).
This sentence structure is most common to fantasy and science fiction, where readers expect lore drops frequently but not excessively. These longer sentences can also appear in scenes where there is little or no dialogue.
Story structure can help you with pacing
Much like sentence structure, story structure can be a great way to determine the pacing of your story and where you might be doing really well in terms of tension and pacing and where your story might be sagging a little. The 3-Act Story Structure is just one example.
I think a lot of writers have a hard time with pacing because many of us grew up learning about the 5 elements of plot with a very set-in-stone triangular structure, but I like to think of plot as more of a bell curve. In the graphics below, you’ll see the 5 Elements of Plot (based on Freytag’s Pyramid) versus the Plot Bell Curve (based on the 3 Act-Story Structure) and how pacing looks with each of these story structuring methods.
The issue with the Elements of Plot is that this structure allows entirely too much time to pass between major plot points. This is where many writers’ issues with the “sagging middle” originate from. Look at the bell curve, where tension is kept evenly from plot point to plot point. Instead of a terribly slow and steady incline, the rising action builds tension right from the inciting incident and falling action slows tension from the midpoint to the confrontation.
Story pacing is the momentum of the story and it’s what keeps readers turning pages. Good story pacing is achieved when on a macro level, story structure is balanced and varied, and on a micro level, sentence structure is balanced and varied. When action and information are evenly balanced with emotion and tension, your story’s plot points land with their intended impact.
If your aim is strong story pacing keep the 3 P’s of Pacing in mind: Purpose, People, Points.
Purpose = What is the purpose of the scene? What is happening? Is it more of an information-heavy scene (such as characterization) or is it an action-heavy scene (high tension)?
People = Which characters are involved in this scene? Do they mention other characters not present? What relationship dynamics are at play between these characters in this scene?
Points/Progression = Where is Point A? Where is Point B (both literally and figuratively)? How does this scene effectively bring the story and the reader from Point A to Point B, in terms of plot points, characterization, and story progression?
If you know your scene’s Purpose and which People are involved in the scene, you can then narrow in on the scene’s plot Points and evaluate the scene’s narrative Progression.
Here’s the Cliff’s Notes:
Variety is vital: Mix short, medium, and long sentences to create rhythm.
Match sentence length to emotion and tension: Short for speed, long for reflection.
Avoid extremes in isolation: Too many short sentences makes for choppy, rushed pacing and too many long sentences results in sluggish, verbose pacing.
TL;DR: Varied sentence structure & story structure + balance of action and narration aligned with tension and emotion = good story pacing.
And that’s how to achieve good story pacing. I hope this post helped you and if it did, make sure to comment below to let me know! You can also check out the other blog posts in my Book Writing 101 series!
Bibliography
Hayes, Payton. “Freytag’s Pyramid from Serious Daring by Lisa Roney.”(Thumbnail Photo) January 8, 2021.
Hayes, Payton. “5 Elements of Plot #1” (Graphic) January 8, 2021.
Hayes, Payton. “5 Elements of Plot #2” (Graphic) January 8, 2021.
Hayes, Payton. “Plot Bell Curve #1” (Graphic) January 8, 2021.
Hayes, Payton. “Plot Bell Curve #2” (Graphic) January 8, 2021.
Related Topics
Book Writing 101: How To Write A Book (Basics)Book Writing 101: Coming Up With Book Ideas And What To Do With ThemBook Writing 101: Starting Your Book In The Right PlaceBook Writing 101: How To Chose The Right POV For Your NovelBook Writing 101: How To Name Your Book CharactersBook Writing 101: Everything You Need To Know About DialogueBook Writing 101: How to Develop and Write Compelling, Consistent CharactersStory Binder Printables (Includes Character Sheets, Timelines, World-Building Worksheets and More!)Payton’s Picks —40+ of my favorite helpful books on writing and editing.25 Strangely Useful Websites To Use For Research and Novel IdeasSee all posts in the Freelancing category.See all posts in the Book Writing 101 series.
Recent Blog Posts
This blog post was researched, written, and published by a human author without the assistance of generative artificial intelligence (gen-AI). Gen-AI models are trained on text written by humans, therefore, the presence of specific punctuation, verbiage, tone, or predictable, marketing-style phrases alone are not sufficient indicators of gen-AI usage. I implore readers to use context clues, critical thinking, pattern recognition, research, and employ their best judgement when determining the validity of human authorship of print and digital media today. If you want to learn more about my stance on gen-AI and it’s role in media and the publishing industry, I plan to release a blog post on this topic very soon, so stay tuned for that. This disclaimer will be updated once that post goes live. In the meantime, I will continue to be transparent about which tools and resources I use in my work.
