Pacing Your Narrative

Pacing Your Narrative

Pacing your narrative is an important part of writing. It has a huge effect on the mood of the story. A narrative that races along without any punctuation can be exhilarating, but it can also be exhausting. A narrative that moves at a snail’s pace can be calming, but it can also be boring. You need to find the right balance between the two.

Pacing also has an effect on the story itself. A fast-paced story can be fun and exciting, but it can also leave the reader feeling like the story was over before it really began. A slow-paced story can be rich and deep, but it can also leave the reader feeling like the story was too long and drawn out.

So how do you pace your narrative? How do you find the right balance between fast and slow? It all starts with understanding the different elements of pacing and how they work together. Pacing is a balance between fast and slow. You want to create a rhythm in your novel that feels natural to the reader, and you do this by combining fast-paced scenes with slow-paced scenes.

Fast-paced scenes are typically action scenes, scenes of high tension, or scenes with a lot of conflict. These scenes are usually shorter in length, and the action moves quickly.

Slow-paced scenes are scenes where the tension is lower, and the action moves more slowly. These scenes are often longer and are used to give the reader a break from the action.

How you use time in your narrative can have a huge impact on pacing. Introducing a ticking clock or a deadline can add urgency and propel your story forward. Conversely, slowing down and taking the time to show the details of a scene can be a great way to build tension and suspense.

Sentence Length

The length of your sentences can also help you to control the pacing of a scene. Short sentences can speed up the action, whereas longer, more complex sentences can slow it down.

Here’s a good example from The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. In this scene, Katniss is trying to escape from a group of Careers who are hunting her in the forest:

I’m on my feet, running, but I don’t get far before I hear the cannon and know I’m too late. I’m too late. I’m too late.

In this passage, the short, punchy sentences help to convey Katniss’ sense of panic and urgency.

Action

Action is the most straightforward way to create a sense of urgency in your story. Action sequences are the most intense and the fastest-paced parts of your story. They are the moments when your character is forced to make a decision, and that decision is going to change everything. In an action sequence, every word should be moving the story forward.

There’s no room for fluff. That doesn’t mean you can’t have beautiful, descriptive language, but every word needs to be pulling double duty. In an action sequence you are also creating a sense of urgency and intensity for your reader.

The entire book cannot be written this way or it will be exhausting to read. Use it when it’s necessary, but give the reader some breaks at the same time.

Description

Description is a wonderful tool for slowing the pace of your story. If you find your narrative is moving too fast, then consider adding more description to slow it down. You can describe characters, settings, or even emotions. This is a great way to make your story feel more immersive, and it can also help you to develop your characters and settings more fully.

The key to using description to slow the pace of your story is to be careful not to overdo it. If your story is moving too slowly, then adding more description can make it feel even slower. Make sure that your descriptions are concise and relevant to the story, and that they are also interesting and engaging.

Dialogue and Internal Thoughts

Dialogue can be a great way to break up the action, as it’s a way to show a character’s personality and motivations without having to tell the reader. It can also be a great way to create tension and conflict.

A character’s internal thoughts can be a great way to break up the action of a scene or to slow down the pace of your novel. This is especially true in high-action novels like thrillers.

If you have too much action in a short period of time, it can become overwhelming to your reader. You can use a character’s internal thoughts to break up the action so that your reader has time to process what’s happening.

This will also help you to build tension and suspense in your novel. If you have a character who is in a high-stakes situation, you can use their internal thoughts to show how they are processing the situation and how they are feeling.

The Narrative Voice and Tone

The narrative voice you choose for your story has a big impact on the pacing. An exciting story may be told in a breathless, fast-paced voice, while a story about a character coming to terms with a difficult life event might be told in a slow, reflective voice. It is the tone, mood, and language you use to tell your story. It’s the “vibe” of your story, and it’s one of the most important tools you have as a writer to control the pacing of your narrative. It’s important that the voice and tone of the narrative is consistent throughout your book.

The emotional tone is the background mood you create through the words and descriptions you use. It is a bit like the soundtrack in a movie. It’s always there, even if the characters aren’t directly experiencing those emotions at every moment. The emotional tone can be an important way to keep your story moving. If you’re writing a long story, you’ll need to create the sense of movement by changing the emotional tone of your story.

For example, a detective in a mystery story might start off feeling bored and uninterested in the crime they’re investigating. But as they uncover more clues, their emotional tone will change to one of interest, suspicion, and excitement. In this way, the emotional tone can be a great way to keep your readers engaged, and to keep the story moving along at a good pace.

Pacing is a vital element in writing, and the more you understand this, the better your writing will be. Don’t worry too much about pacing in your initial drafts. You can always go back and edit your work.