Question from an author: What about pacing

Pacing. I’m struggling with making the story flow. Some chapters or passages are really short while others seem adequately fleshed out.

Pacing is an issue that almost all writers face, so if you are struggling, know that you are not alone, so don't feel bad. The nice thing about this, is that pacing is actually an easy thing to fix.

We know that we can accelerate stories using one of two methods: A) the use of dialogue; or B) the use of action. Along the same lines, we can easily slow down stories using one of two methods: A) the use of narration instead of dialogue; and B) the elimination of anything moving forward in the story.

Where I see a lot of writes struggle with this stems from a desire to tell the reader everything. They feel that they cannot progress in the story without "telling the reader this crucial piece of information." The problem with this, is that too often, the reader really does not need that piece of information, or at least the amount you think that they need.

Now, this can be remedied in a couple of ways. The first is simply asking if this is necessary at this time, or if it can be discussed in a single sentence or a paragraph. Consider this. The heroine is amazed at the hero's villa in Chianti. What most authors would do is to go on and on about the history of the villa as they wander all around the entire estate. These authors think this is a great way to get a tour of the villa and to provide a depth and back story for the hero so we know how much family means to him.

OR...

The hero can say it has been in the family a long time and call it quits. Now the author advances the story to the heroine as she sits in her room. "Together they had strolled the villa for over 2 hours and she had heard of the entire Borghese family. Now she knew why it meant so much."

AND NOW WE MOVE ON WITH THE STORY.

We see the same thing happening when authors have the characters at one location and then they have to get to a restaurant across town. Instead of advancing the story, they fill it with mindless drivel of conversation as they drive across town. Now we have slowed the story down.

The simple thing to control the pacing is to think about plotting. Is this information that we really need? Is this information that is advancing the plot, or is simply a plot device to get the characters from one point to the next?

I want to return to the question of the author again. This author was concerned about "some chapters or passages are really short while others seem adequately fleshed out ." Again, the odds are, the shorter chapters do not need to have additional information put into the story. More likely, these are chapters that need to be cut, or blended into other chapters. I would also say, do not get hung up on the chapter length. There is no set formula for this. Yes, keeping things balanced is good, but if you have a shorter chapter, don't stress.

Hope this helps!

Balance Your Narration And Dialogue

Finding balance in your life is a good thing. Finding balance in your writing is even better. And yet, for so many authors, finding the right balance between narration and dialogue can be tough. Both are truly essential to stories and have a place in the story, and yet, if an author uses one too much, it can have a huge effect on the story.


Narration is one of those pieces that tend to be used too much in far too many stories. Authors feel the need to add the back story and add the world building. Yes, we need to know this information, but when an author overloads the reader with too much, the story simply slows down. It becomes far too much for a reader to remember.


Dialogue, on the other hand, certainly gets the reader more directly involved with the story, and yet, if we are missing the narration, we lose the context of the story. We have nothing to attach it to.


Determining how much we need of both is pretty basic. As you get ready to add that element, stop and ask if it is truly necessary at that point in the time. This is especially true with narration. Back story and world building is always on a "need to know basis." I am reading a story right now where the author, wanted the reader to see a correlation to what was happening now and what happened to a historical figure in the past. In this case, just a reference to that event would have been fine. Instead, with this author, she went for pages giving us the full run-down of the actual event. Too much.


When it comes to dialogue, you can take the same approach. Ask yourself if the dialogue is really adding something to the story, or if you are using it to fill space. For a lot of authors, I see authors use dialogues just to pass the time to get the characters from one place to another. In this case, a single sentence to say that they had talked for hours would have been fine.


As always, I just recommend to think when you write. Stop and ask yourself how this would sound to someone reading it for the first time.

Where Do You Place Your Back Story?

A common problem I see with a lot of writers deals with where they put their back story for the characters or the story. Too often, the opening chapter or chapters are filled with all of this information the author feels the readers need to know. It is the belief that without this information the readers will be completely lost.

This is not true.

Author often do this because they need the information to build the story and understand the
motivations of their characters. For the readers, however, this information can often be on a "need to know" basis. We hold off on revealing that information until that moment that moving forward will come to a complete standstill without that information.

Providing that information all at one time slows the story down, especially when the author has dumped all of that information in the opening chapters. We want to get the readers moving into the action of the story early on. Creating an information dump such as this wears the reader out.

By holding off on that information, you can often build the suspense for the readers as well. This is simply planting the seeds for the events to come.

Let me give you an example.

I was just reading a story where the author had a heroine having to meet up with the hero who she knew in the past. They have been away from each other for a long time so this scene is supposed to feel a bit awkward. The last time they saw each other something happened and the hero just disappeared. This is where the author started unloading that back story. She proceeded to give us all of the reasons why he ended up leaving in the first place. It was his leaving that would be part of the conflict they had to work through in the novel to get to that happily ever after. But, now that we know everything in the opening two chapters, there isn't much more to reveal.

What the author could have done is simply left it with the fact that he left and she didn't really know the reason why. Taking this approach allows the characters to work through an additional layer of conflict. Not only do they have to resolve this new relationship after the past problems, but the heroine has to discover why he left. She may have even had other ideas of why he left and what she believed might have been wrong.

OK, it might not be the best retelling, but I think you can see where this is going to.

This is all information that the author needs to know to craft the story, but for the readers, we really don't need it. We want to understand why things are so awkward and together, with the heroine we can work through that awkwardness.

So, as you are thinking of why things happen in your story, always ask yourself, "How much do I really need to give away to the reader at this time? Can I hold off? Can I just do this with a hint and reveal more later?"

Keep Your Story Moving

Pacing can be a difficult challenge for any author. How do you keep a story moving and yet, at the same time, find those blocks where the characters need to either have time to themselves, or simply have a conversation. Great writers know when it is the right time to get things moving and when it is fine to take the leisurely stroll giving everyone a break.

There are a lot of ways you can control the pacing without adding in action scenes or huge blocks of narration. Certainly a chase scene or that suspenseful moment will keep your readers turning those pages, but consider several other writing techniques:

• Shorten your sentences
• Smaller paragraphs

These first two ideas are hidden gems that few authors think about. By making your sentences a bit more abrupt, you are focing the reader to keep moving. The longer the sentence or the longer the paragraph simply means the reader has to slow down to understand and hold that information you are being given. Consider these two passages.

Hemingway She won't die [in childbirth]. She's just having a bad time. The initial labor is usually protracted. She's only having a bad time. Afterward we'd say what a bad time and Catherine would say it wasn't really so bad. But what if she should die? She can't die. Yes, but what if she should die? She can't, I tell you. Don't be a fool. It's just a bad time. It's just nature giving her hell. It's only the first labor, which is almost always protracted. Yes, but what if she should die? She can't die. Why would she die? What reason is there for her to die? There's a just a child that has to be born, the by-product of good nights in Milan. It makes trouble and is born and then you look after it and get fond of it maybe. But what if she should die? She won't. She's all right. But what if she should die? Hey, what about that? What if she should die? [. . .] A doctor came in followed by a nurse. He held something in his two hands that looked like a freshly skinned rabbit and hurried across the corridor with it and in through another door. I went down to the door he had gone into and found them in the room doing things to a new-born child. The doctor held him up for me to see. He held him by the heels and slapped him. "Is he all right?" "He's magnificent. He'll weigh five kilos." I had no feeling for him. He did not seem to have anything to do with me. I felt no feeling of fatherhood. "Aren't you proud of your son?" the nurse asked. They were washing him and wrapping him in something. I saw the little dark face and dark hand, but I did not see him move or hear him cry. The doctor was doing something to him again. He looked upset. "No," I said. "He nearly killed his mother." --Ernest Hemingway from A Farewell to Arms, pages 320-21; 324-25 (NY: Charles' Scribner's Sons, 1957).

No consider

William Faulkner He could not hear either: the galloping mare was almost upon him before he heard her, and even then he held his course, as if the very urgency of his wild grief and need must in a moment more find him wings, waiting until the ultimate instant to hurl himself aside and into the weed-choked roadside ditch as the horse thundered past and on, for an instant in the furious silhouette against the stars, the tranquil early summer night sky which, even before the shape of the horse and rider vanished, strained abruptly and violently upward: a long, swirling roar incredible and soundless, blotting the stars, and he springing up and into the road again, running again, knowing it was too late yet still running even after he heard the shot and, an instant later, two shots, pausing now without knowing he had ceased to run, crying "Pap! Pap!," running again before he knew he had begun to run, stumbling, tripping over something and scrabbling up again without ceasing to run, looking backward over his shoulder at the glare as he got up, running on among the invisible trees, panting, sobbing, "Father! Father!" --William Faulkner from "Barn Burning" as reprinted in Edgar V. Roberts and Henry E. Jacob's Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, 6th edition (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001): pages 190-201.

Hemingway was able to keep the pace of the story moving simply by providing shorter sentences. He limited the depth of each of the sentences and gave the reader little to have to consider. On the other hand, Faulkner really forces the reader to have to slow down and digest all of the information.

Another technique readers can use is balancing out dialogue and narration. We can get that needed information to readers either through the characters telling the readers, or you as the author through narration. Both techniques are fine, but you need to understand that dialogue is a great way to make the story move a bit faster.

Finally, you can consider simple time shifts in your story. Let's say that you have a scene with the husband and wife at home. They are struggling with being forced to go to a family dinner where neither really wants to be. So, we get the whole scene at home, and then the author puts the two into a car and we follow them across town. Because they are both angry, we get a huge narration of the silence in the car, or the radio, or the noise from the outside street. This slows us down.

But, if the author really wants to pick things up, then eliminate the scene at home, and the car scene and simply jump to the family gathering. You can highlight the earlier conversation, and mention the car ride and get people right into the real tension of the evening.

The key is to know when it is needed to keep things moving and when to slow things down. One area where I am always seeing the readers rush through are those bedroom scenes. Quit the talking. Quit the thinking and enjoy the moment. These are moments for the characters to really slow down and enjoy, giving the readers a chance to feel the emotion.

Going grocery shopping? We can rush through that.

So, when you look at your story. Don't panic if things are slow or moving too fast. Just consider if that is the right time to change the pace. That will be the key.

Suspense is Like a Whiskey: It Needs To Be Sipped and Savored

I was in need of a book to read last weekend so I grabbed one at one of those "community book shelves" at my local gym. You know the ones? Leave a book and take a book. In any case, I grabbed one by an author I know and started into it. No, I am not going to bring up the name of the author here, that is not the point.

In this case, it was a historical romantic suspense. I love historical romance and a good suspense is always fun.

As I read it, I started turning on the dissection portion of my brain. What was it about this novel that was drawing me into it. The characters were just OK. The plot was not that, how should I say it, that original. Sure, this author had some great lines, but these didn't go for pages and pages. I can also say those lines did not hook me so I wanted to keep reading to find one more of those gems. Even the first three chapters were not that over-the-top amazing. Good but...

So what was it?

It was the pacing.

This author knew how, in this story, to let tidbits of information out every now and then to make me think about a new piece of the puzzle. Every now and then, she would say one little thing to make me stop and think how that would turn out. Even with the romance she did that. These characters were not hot and heavy in bed every chapter. Instead, she was able to, again, every now and then, drop a subtle glance, a tentative thought, a moment of potential hotness that was going on between them.

Romantic suspense is one of those genres that I turn away a lot. I am overly picky about these darn things and much of it has to do with these small little twists. Look, I read romance so I know about predictability, but that does not mean that I have figured out who the bad guy is by the end of chapter 1. I know the hero and heroine are going to get together, but I don't want to see them ready to move to the alter at the end of chapter 1. Pace it out.

When I think about suspense and pacing, I am reminded of a comment Hitchcock made about building suspense. He described the difference between terror and suspense with a sample scene.

Version A - He could show people sitting around a desk talking for a block of time. They can be talking about any subject and then, at the end of the time, he can blow up the table. That is terror.

Version B - He can show that exact same scene, but right before they start talking, he can show the audience the bomb under the table and the time. Now the suspense builds because we see it and we know what is going to happen.

The key is pacing. The key is know when to drop those nuggets of information to draw the reader in.

So, if you are someone writing romantic suspense, which I should add is a really tough one to write, play around with this. You might find that the struggles you have had stem from the pacing.

It Doesn't All Have To Be Action

I was working with a client's story yesterday and we were running into a bit of a roadblock. The story was just not going anywhere and the author was frustrated. Now, in reality, I am really not worried about this because the author can produce and does a great job of working out of jams. Still, there was some frustration. Why? Part of the story seemed to just stall out.

As we looked over the story, I pointed out that this was just going to happen. There was really nothing that could be done about it (and yes, that did add to some more frustration). I guess I should say, there are things that could be done, but it would have required some major plot changes in the story. This was something we didn't want to do.

You see, this was simply a situation where the story needed a functional scene. We had no cop car chase scenes. We had no intense arguments about hidden babies or a miscommunication of messages. The hero and heroine were not "going at it." In simple terms, this was a scene that required simply giving information. It wasn't so much an information dump, but more of a transition to things that would come later on.

I think that too often, writers are trying too hard to make sure things are ALWAYS moving fast and forward. And yes, we do want forward movement. We don't want the characters sitting round for pages reading the newspaper in the same room and not doing anything. But it is fine to just get that information out and then move on. Don't panic!

Pacing - When to slow it down and when to pick it up

We always hear editors and agents talking about a fast read. No, they are not necessarily talking about a short book or one with no depth. What they are referring to is the pacing of the book. Talking about a fast read means the pace the author sets for the book keeps it really moving fast, in other words, it is a page turner.

As an author, it is crucial that you know when it is the time to pick up the pace of the book, and when it is time to slow down and linger. This is all done through not just the amount of information you provide to the reader, but also in the structure and length of the sentences, paragraphs and chapters.

I am sure you have all had this happen to you before. Someone starts telling you a story about something that happened to them recently, or maybe it is someone trying to give you instructions for how to do something. In your head you are thinking, "this should be short and sweet!" Get the information and move on. But nooooooo.... There is this point that your brain starts thinking, "Come on get this moving! We could have moved on by this point and we aren't even close to the conclusion!"

That's poor pacing.

WHEN TO KEEP IT MOVING
Keeping the story moving is often tough at the very beginning of a story. Most of this is due to the fact that the author has so much information flowing through his or her head that they want to get it all down on the piece of paper fast. The problem here is simply a situation of the opening now being an informational dump.

To control this, consider that information like the military. We give out that information on a "need to know basis." Yes, we understand you needed to understand all of the information, but do your characters really need to know all of that information?

Consider the Lord of the Rings, or The Hobbit. Tolkien had to create in his head the entire world of Middle Earth. He had to know where the rings came from. He had to know who was living there and their interaction with each other. But for the reader, we simply needed to know what Hobbiton looked like and who the Hobbits were, especially Bilbo and Frodo. They weren't concerned with the whole history of Middle Earth and guess what? The readers don't either. We can get that information later.

We have a foreign exchange students staying with us right now. We have been taking him on all of the local tours and sights since he arrived. But when it comes to knowing about things about the region, or even about our family, that information comes out at the time we are at that location. We told him about the Seattle fire WHEN we were in Pioneer Square and saw the sign for the Underground tour. We told him about the history of the Space Needle WHEN we were waiting in line to go up.

We can also keep the story moving through those tense and emotional scenes. This is really done through the balance between the dialogue and the narration.

If you consider when people are in the middle of an argument or a heated conversation, there really isn't a whole lot of time to think. The words just keep coming. What you will also notice is that sentences tend to be shorter and less complex.

Finally, we want to keep the story moving through longer time sequences. This is the space in your story that happens between those two key scenes you have put your characters into. For example, the characters just had a romantic dinner and now are eager to get home and get to "dessert" (so to speak). We do not need to know anything about leaving the restaurant, walking to the car, the ride home, the traffic, the music on the radio, etc. Have them simply look at each other over the empty plates at the restaurant, throw in a chapter break or a * * * and then launch into the "dessert".

Over the empty plates and half-filled wine glasses, Melvin and Mertes knew that dessert was going to happen as soon as they got home.

* * *

Melvin slammed open the door and pushed Mertes to the wall pressing his hard body against hers.

The same goes for larger blocks of time. Look, if nothing happened for three days around the house party, just start with a time tag at the beginning of the chapter. 

Three days later...

WHEN TO SLOW IT DOWN
Slowing it down is simply those chances to let the reader into the heads of the characters. This is the place where we get the depth and the introspection. This is where we are truly sucked into the story. Unfortunately, authors really do miss this one. I do think this comes from being told too many times to keep the story going. The end result, however, is the lack of information.

I have talked in the past about the idea of monologues. Shakespeare used this idea so well. He would frequently take time to give the hero or heroine a chance to explore their thoughts and emotions. We were really listening to those thoughts that are normally silent in the characters head.

After those action scenes, or after those intense moments, the reader needs a chance to think about what happened.

It is in these moments you need to expand on your thoughts. These cannot be one liners but full paragraphs of material. It is here when the character can think back to an event that happened in their past and realize that was the reason for their behavior with the character just moments before.

When it comes to those sensual scenes, you can slow it down here to. If you want to create that strong sense of passion, forget the "quickie" and let them enjoy. Please note, however, this is not a time to think and it is certainly not a time of world building or introspection. Focus only on the two characters and what they do.

Now you don't need to do this. If you want to tone down the sensuality of the story, just send them behind closed doors and then wake them up the next morning with a smile on their face.


There really isn't a right or wrong approach to controlling pacing. Just be aware of what you are including. Be aware of the sentence structure. Be aware of the information dump. And most importantly, think like a reader. Are you going to start thinking, "Oh my gosh, just get on with it?"

Knowing Where To Start And How To Build

I am sure we have all heard this happen, or it has happened to one of us. It's time to sing the Star Spangled Banner. The singer launches into "Oh say can you see..." and you know from those first 5 notes, there will be a huge train wreck several bars down the line. Why? The singer has started too high. When they hit those darn red-glaring rockets, dogs are howling and windows are shattering due to the pitch the singer is trying to reach. In simple terms, it is not pretty.

Unfortunately, for many authors, the same thing happens when they start their stories.

All writers have probably been told the same thing. You need to start your story with action. This is so true! Stories need to get rolling and do so fast. Those first three chapters are really going to set the tone for the story and be the deciding factor for many readers as to whether or not they plan on continuing. But here is the problem. If a writer starts with too much in the beginning, when the time comes to amp it up even more, there will be nothing left in the tank.

This is one more example why authors need to be more of plotters than pantsters when it comes to their craft. You have to be able to see where you are going to so you know when to accelerate and pick up the pace. The goal is to keep things moving and heading toward that ultimate goal and climax in the story.

So where do you start?

A lot of manuscripts I see launch us directly into the central conflict of the story. I am sure the thought is the author doesn't want to bog the reader down with too much exposition and backstory in the beginning. Again, this is true. The problem, however, is by starting in the middle of the conflict, the reader has no context to work with to understand what is going on. We have characters we haven't gotten used to. We have characters that we don't even care about, so if something does go wrong, we lack the emotional connection. We probably don't even know what the whole issue is about. We simply see something is happening.

The reverse of this is what the prior authors are trying to avoid. These authors have it in their heads that we need to know EVERYTHING about the characters (both the main and secondary), the setting and the history. In this case, the pacing of the story is ruined. This is, as texters would say TMI (too much information).

So, where do you start?

That first comment I made is still true. Start with some action. In other words, have the characters doing something, anything! Launching into straight up narration is not action.

But this issue extends throughout your story. Adding depth to a story doesn't involve showing us everything and letting us know everything about the characters and their life. Depth comes from giving us just the information we need to truly "understand" the characters and their situations. Knowing the reasoning behind why they don't like a particular fruit might be too much. Slow us down with narration and longer dialogue when we need to get to know characters and their situation. Pick it up with that action, shorter paragraphs and shorter dialogue when we have to get things moving.

My bet is that for many authors, if you look at your story, the real starting point is probably chapter 2 or 3. That earlier stuff? If there is useful information, it can be spread throughout the story on a "need to know" basis.

Remember Pacing In Your Stories

There is nothing worse than reading a story where the author seems to have no sense of pace. Either the story moves far too slow or the movie races through the plot and the readers simply beg for a chance to breathe and take it all in.

Appropriate pacing is crucial for any story. As an author, you have to know when it is right to pick up the pace and keep things moving, and when it is appropriate to slow down.

Let's talk about some cases when this is done poorly.

THE BEGINNING We are always talking about starting your stories with forward movement. No, this does not mean to jump into the middle of a chase scene with exploding vehicles (although my father-in-law would argue differently). We are simply saying that you need to get the reader involved as quickly as possible with the lives of the characters. Many authors, however, feel that the opening pages are designed to provide the reader ALL of the ground work about the world, the plot history and so forth. Umm, wrong. Much of that information can come out on a "need to know basis". In simple terms, don't start the story out with the characters just sitting around doing nothing. Along the same lines, don't start out with a huge information dump.

INSERTION OF INTROSPECTION This one is really a funny approach writers often do, and frankly, if they stop and think about it, they would never have written it this way. In the middle of a completely tense or emotional moment, suddenly the author believes this is a great time to let the character have some internal thoughts. When do I see this the most? In the middle of those hot sex scenes. I am sorry to break it to you, but people simply will not have their mind in some location other than between those sheets. And, if they are, would the scene really be that hot?

The bigger issue here is the author is trying to amp up that emotional element and the sudden introspection completely detracts and sucks the energy and life out of the story.

CHARACTER BUILDING IN THE MIDDLE OF A CHASE SCENE This one is for all you romantic suspense people. In simple terms, do not, (I repeat) do not slow the story down in the middle of a chase scene. This also includes suddenly deciding that Chapter 12, right in the middle of the killer demon closing in on them and is just down the street, to have the characters feel the need to express themselves emotionally and have that hot sex scene. Yes, I know many of you try to justify with the phrase (emotional release sex), but this just doesn't work.

DIALOGUE INSTEAD OF INTROSPECTION Look there are times when we need a break and having the character contemplate a few things is OK.  You have to give the reader a chance to do this now and then. For this reason, feel free to let the other characters leave the room and slow things down a little. Those small moments are much like those scenes or reality shows when the characters get to talk, theoretically, without anyone bugging them. We supposedly get some insight into what they are really thinking but maybe not saying when they are out there and on camera.

I am not saying to eliminate many of these scenes. I am simply saying to consider maybe finding a better place to put that scene.

Scott

Pacing - Keeping it Consistent

Pacing is a tough challenge for every writer. This isn't something that just happens with new authors, even those that are experienced will struggle with this. For the reader, it is pacing that will often destroy that reading experience. Your job as a writer is to keep them interested.

Now, when I talk about consistent pacing I am not talking about setting the book on cruise control and keeping it at that same speed. What I am talking about is having your story move at the right speed at the right time. If you have action, the story needs to move fast; and, yes it is OK to slow it down for those great romantic scenes.

You have also heard agents and editors talk about getting the story moving early on. This is also an issue of pacing. Having a book begin slow is not a way to get a reader excited about a book. I have mentioned this before when I talk about the opening pages of a book. Hook us. This doesn't mean to throw us in the middle of action, but it does mean to get us in the middle of movement.

One of my clients is working on a project right now that had some pacing issues. This is a special project she is working on and there was a lot of research that had to go into it. Because of the situation, she had to give the reader a lot of information early on. This was one of those rare cases when an information dump was necessary. The problem? The pacing was ruined. We had to go back and really cut and trim the project. In this case, while the information was necessary, there were a lot of times that she was over-explaining things. It was there that cuts were made.

The key is to think about each scene in your book. What is the mood and tone. Then, set the speed and go for it.

Now, look at larger sections of your book. Have you kept the reader at a high rate of speed for too long? Maybe you need to restructure the plot some. Give them a rest. Or, if the characters have been lingering and talking for a while, it is time to create some movement.

Shake it up a little.

Scott

Keep your story moving

The pace of the story can either make or break the story. Too often, I will read a submission that comes across my desk, really hoping for the best. The premise was one of those "WOW, I can't wait to get my hands on it." And then, when I do, I find myself screaming at the pace. No, I am not just talking about a slow pace but also one that rushes things too much.

Writers need to remember that they, the ones sitting at the keyboard, are the ones in control of the story - not the characters. You decide how much information you give to the reader and how much you want to hold back. It is your job, no responsibility, to keep the story moving at the pace it needs to be at to match the plot of the story.

Let's take some time to talk about many of the mistakes that I see.

SLOW START - This is the most common of the problems. Writers have jumped into the story, not with movement, but with a huge amount of backstory. The idea is that we can not get into the stories or the characters without fully understanding the characters and their setting. This is wrong. Sure, you as the writer might need that information to get moving, but the readers don't need that information yet. Give us enough to know the setting. Give us enough to get a good visual idea of the characters and the situation and then move it on. If the heroine is running through the woods being chased by an alien vampire bunny, I want to know what she looks like and what the bunny looks like. I want to know how dense the forest is, and I want to know what time of day it is. I have no desire to know about what the girl was doing before this. I don't care about the dangerous world the bunny came from or how he got there. That is for later. Right now we need to get moving.

INTROSPECTION OVERLOAD - This is when the story comes to a screeching stop. Clearly the writer has been told that we need to know what the heroine or hero is thinking. So, in the middle of that mad argument with each other, the writer stops in the middle of the dialogue and unloads a paragraph of introspection. You just got us going and the fight is escalating. In this case, sentences need to be short and crisp. No extensive dialogue tags. Get us through the fight. Besides, in the middle of an argument, people, in general, do not stop to contemplate the situation. Remember, this is the time they often say things they will regret later because they weren't thinking. Oh, and one more thing. In the middle of this yelling match, neither should be thinking those sexual thoughts because you know in the next page, they will be hopping into bed.

BACKSTORY DUMP - This one came up with one of my writers a couple of days ago. The story is going great but they were going to be on a boat for a period of time. She had thought, but fortunately the thought was dumped quickly, that she would use that time on the boat to give them a chance to "think about each other." Talk about a lack of action. We later talked and she realized that her mistake in thinking came from the time she knew they would be on the boat. She was thinking, "what else would they do?" The solution on this was easy. End the chapter with they got on the boat, begin the next chapter with a time reference and get them off the boat. The introspection would be inserted carefully before and after the boat trip. Now the story is moving, the pace from the pre-boat trip is still continuing and we still find out about the characters thoughts.

When you think about pacing, it is very much like writing poetry. The poet controls the pace with the rhyme, the punctuation, the spacing and the line breaks. Writers of fiction do the same thing. They, however, get the benefit of using narration to really control things.

Scott