Keep Up the Pace!

Now I want to talk to you about pacing in writing a story.  It means two things: smooth, even writing without long boring stretches of narrative and scenes that build to a satisfying climax.  But remember . . . you can’t hold the reader’s attention at a high level constantly.  There has to be down time in between exciting scenes for the action or suspense to stand out.  When I do a painting, I detail certain things and fade out others, so the viewer will look where I want him to look.  His eyes can rest on the softer areas then come back to the main subject.  But if I were to paint details equally into every square inch of the canvas, then total detail means no detail at all.  When everything is equal, nothing stands out.  It’s the same with writing.  We have to build then rest then build then rest, and the building should continually grow until we reach the climax of the story.

           

If we tell too many exciting things at the beginning, readers expectations are raised unnaturally high, and the rest of the book might seem dull.

If we concentrate things in the middle, then what comes at the end might seem a sad anticlimax.

If we concentrate things at the end, the change of pace might be so overwhelming as to seem contrived like the writer is trying to fix the story in the last few pages.

            Here are some keys to pacing:

1.      Don’t pick up the story threads too quickly.

2.      Let uncertainty fester in the reader.

3.      Stretch out rescues and solutions.

4.      Don’t give things away too quickly—a hint here, a hint there, but no clear cute solutions—nothing so specific that the reader can figure it out.