What is Pacing?
Crafting Pacing
Improving Pacing
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What is Pacing?
Crafting Pacing
Improving Pacing
Remember:
Bonus:
Website: https://www.writerswithwrinkles.net/
Threads: @WritersWithWrinkles
Insta: @WritersWithWrinkles
Twitter: @BethandLisaPod
Support Writers With Wrinkles - become a subscriber
Email: Beth@BethMcMullenBooks.com
Writers with Wrinkles Link Tree for more!
Hi friends, I'm Beth McMullen.
Lisa Schmid:And I'm Lisa Swann.
Beth McMullen:And we're the co-hosts of Writers with Wrinkles. This is season three, episode 11, a deep dive craft episode, and today we're talking about pacing. Pacing is slippery and can feel vague, but you know good pacing when you read it, and so today we're going to figure out how to get it right. So pacing.
Lisa Schmid:Let's talk about pacing. It's a good reminder for me today because I'm in the drafting phase, so anything that can remind me of what I need to do to write, because sometimes, when you haven't, like when you're new to drafting again, it's like you feel like you've forgotten how to write and pacing is one of those things that you forget first.
Beth McMullen:Honestly, pacing is less speed and more rhythm, and if you've ever been reading a novel and you think to yourself, hmm, I'm going to skip these three pages because they're boring, that means the pacing is not good, it's not working. So just keep that in the back of your head. The pacing is important to keep the readers engaged and invested in the story that you're trying to tell. So we have a handful of tips, of course, to make you better at pacing. Number one know your terrain.
Beth McMullen:So different genres come with different pacing expectations. So thrillers move quickly. Literary fiction might have a slower pace allowing for deeper exploration. Figure out what the novels have in the genre you want to write and understand those pacing rhythms, because that's what you're aspiring to. You want to match what is expected in the genre that you've picked and map your plot points. So outline the key plot points. I know this is really hard for some of us, me included, but you're not talking about really detailed outlining just like beats that you want to hit, like the inciting incident, resolution, climax, all of those things. So you have a little bit of a roadmap that helps you visualize the pace and, most importantly, identify potential sags, like where you're going to have those pages that people want to skip over because it just slows down, bogs down the story.
Lisa Schmid:I think it's one of those things that when, if you read back over a chapter and if you feel bored at all with your own writing, then you have some work to do and I've done that so many times so I'm like, oh my God, I have too much dialogue, they're talking too much and they'll just like I have to go back and cut the dialogue. So reading back over what you've written is really helpful when you're looking at your pacing problems Craft, compelling scenes, very sentence length and structure. Shorter, punchier sentences accelerate the pace, while longer, descriptive ones slow it down. Use this variation to create a dynamic reading experience and also so important show don't tell Mercer readers in the scene through vivid descriptions and action verbs. This eliminates the need for lengthy exposition and keeping the story moving.
Beth McMullen:I think sometimes, if you even look at a paragraph and if you have the same rhythm for all the sentences, you can see that it's almost like lulling you into a stupor. So you want to put some variation in there, make some sentences shorter, tighter, punchier, whatever it is that puts a little bit of variation among them and you can see it like it's right there in front of you.
Lisa Schmid:Yeah, because I write middle grade, I tend to write shorter paragraphs because I feel like kids have a and I have a short attention span, like if I see a huge paragraph, it's already daunting to me and like something better be good in that paragraph or I'm skipping over.
Beth McMullen:Well, that is actually really important to note, because that's the sort of stuff that you skip over as a reader. So if you have a really long paragraph, maybe you break it up into three paragraphs and you break each of those paragraphs into different kinds of sentences, just so that the reader doesn't drift off to something else like their phone or TikTok or whatever.
Lisa Schmid:There's always that saying about white space. White space is good. When the reader turns the page, sometimes when they see all this text, it can feel daunting that they have to work through it.
Beth McMullen:Okay. So I have another hang up. If you have a really long quote or you have something that's all in italics, I can't read it, I just skip right over it. And I don't know why. It's like this weird habit that I see the quote or the italics and I'm like, oh, I don't need to read that and I just go to what's next. So be strategic. You got weirdos like me out there in the world.
Lisa Schmid:I read this one book and it's one of my favorite books of all time and at first I found it really funny and like I laughed about it. But he had this really interesting structure where all of a sudden there'd be like little footnotes in the middle of a paragraph and at the bottom it would have italics, like at the you know believe, at the bottom of the page of like an internal thought that the character was thinking. I've never seen it done before and at first I read it because I was like, oh my God, this is funny. And then after a while I'm like okay, now I'm just it's a distraction to me. It was clever at first, but then I stopped reading it because it was like, okay, it's not really moving the story. Like, if there's funny, sometimes it was funny, sometimes it wasn't and it wasn't enough to like keep me reading it.
Beth McMullen:There's an adult series and I'm totally blanking on the name now. It was a mystery series, I think there were four or five of them. And she did the same thing where she'd have footnotes in it and that would be her talking to the reader. And in the first book I thought it was funny and clever. And by the third book I was like please stop doing that. You're getting on my nerves. Like your pacing is gonna be interrupted if you do too much of a good thing. Like you really have to measure stuff like that, quirky stuff like that, so that your reader isn't like okay enough. It was funny the first time and now I just don't care.
Lisa Schmid:I was taking a chapter book session at a conference one time and the one thing that always stuck with me from that session was the gal said if you are writing a series, be careful what you put in there, because it's crucial to who the character is or the setting or whatever. You're gonna have to carry that through the whole series and it better be good and you better want to write that into every single book in the series because the reader will expect that. And so now, when I was writing my chapter book series, I've created like the monster. I didn't listen to her. I'm like, oh my God, I have to come up with all you know the certain aspect all the time. But that's something to think about. Like, if you're doing a series, this is your warning Ding, ding ding.
Beth McMullen:Totally true, it might seem cute and clever and fun, but think about it when you're hitting book four. Is it still gonna be cute and clever and fun or are you just gonna wanna you know, book your eyes out? Yeah, so the next one kind of related to that control the flow of information, especially if you're talking about a series right Cause you need to keep those readers engaged across multiple books. But you have to manage how and when you reveal important information to your readers. Keeping some of the information back of course creates suspense, and that's what we wanna do, because suspense is gonna push your story forward and keep readers turning the page.
Beth McMullen:So think about the critical bits of information that you're providing. And this is for any story, doesn't matter if it's a mystery or a thriller or romance or middle grade or even a picture book. You're gonna have to hold some stuff back, because that's what's gonna make the people turn the page. So think strategically about when you're going to reveal what, and it might be that you have things that you're holding back for the next book or book three. So this can be a really, you know, chapter to chapter, or it can be across a big series. So think about that before you start revealing information.
Lisa Schmid:Yeah, I usually, when I'm writing a chapter, I pick like one main point I really wanna get across in this chapter and I'm driving it all towards that moment. And once I've made that point, I have like some kind of closing sentence or closing line that makes the person wanna turn to the next page to find out what's gonna happen next. So, and I can't, I cannot move forward unless I have that closing line, that hook for the next chapter. Like I was stuck on a chapter for like a week and I was just I was working out with my trainer and she's like what are you talking to yourself? What's going on? I'm like, oh my God, I'm stuck, I can't figure out the closing line for this chapter and I can't move on until I know what it is.
Beth McMullen:And so it finally dawned on me, Literally like two days ago I was taking a walk and I was trying to figure out some important plot for this new thing that I'm working on, and I usually use the voice memo on my phone to capture anything that I'm thinking, because I immediately forget, because my brain is Swiss cheese. So I'm walking and All of a sudden I have that moment where I think, of course this is how I solve the problem. I pull out my phone, I hit the voice memo and then I realized there's this guy on a bike screaming at me because I have literally wandered out into the street and now he's about to run me over and I can't hear him because I have my headphones on and I'm talking. It was so funny. I was like I am going to actually get killed before I get to go back and make this change.
Lisa Schmid:Yeah, and when it hits you you're just like, oh my god, that's it and this line it was magical. When it came to me and I do the same thing in my notes, I have like, because I know I'll forget it, like if I think it's something in the shower, I have to repeat it in my head like 10 times. I'm like, don't forget it, don't forget it.
Beth McMullen:Forget it. Isn't it terrible that you can actually forget it in the length of a shower? This is a real thing that happens to real people.
Lisa Schmid:I'm so ADD, it's sad. Ok, leverage your dialogue strategically. Use dialogue to reveal character in advance, the plot. A well-crafted conversation can be both informative and engaging, propelling the story forward without feeling forced, and this is a really hard thing to do. So don't rush through dialogue. Go back through it, talk about it out loud, or talk it through out loud. See if it feels authentic to you. Adjust the dialogue length Short, snap the exchanges, speed up the pace during tense moments, while longer conversations can build character relationships or provide exposition in a natural way. And sometimes I go back and forth. It's like do I just say this in the narrative or do I say it in dialogue? How do I reveal this information? And that's something you need to weigh, as we were just saying. And then remember, dialogue can speed up the pace, making scenes feel lively and immediate, while description slows it down. Bring readers a chance to visualize your world and understand your characters better. Go for balance.
Beth McMullen:Yeah, and don't repeat yourself, because if you say something in the description, you don't have to use dialogue for that. Don't throw away your dialogue. Make sure that you use it for stuff that's new and important. Ok, this next one. We talked about a little bit the mastering the art of the cliffhanger. We love cliffhangers.
Beth McMullen:Lisa was just talking about how to end chapters on a cliffhanger so that your reader is like yes, yes, I must turn the page. So you can do that through unresolved conflicts, unanswered questions, some hint at a shocking revelation, something big, or if it's chapter to chapter, big enough that the reader has to turn the page. You can also hint at things. So give a little bit of foreshadowing for future events. I love those in thrillers where they end on the chapter and it's always something like but you'll never believe what's going to happen next and I'm like, no, I don't know what's going to happen next. I got to keep reading and then I stay up all night. That's how we get to where we're at. But super important cliffhangers are your best friend. Figure out how to do them well and you're going to be a much happier camp bar.
Lisa Schmid:Yeah, and sometimes it's funny, I had, I remember Leslie, one time I had like a really aligned that I just loved and it was at the end of a chapter and she read it and she's like I think this should go at the first of the next chapter and I was like what is she talking about? Like it's crazy talk. And I read it and I'm like, oh yeah, because it was almost like this kind of ended in this weird moment and then that was like it was like the perfect line for the first, you know, the next chapter. If you're worried about your pacing, that's something you can ask your, your readers to say. You know, say, look at my pacing, do you want to turn? You want to turn to the next page? Or are you like, oh, this is a good place place to put it down.
Beth McMullen:Yeah, I mean super, super critical, because I honestly think that's the most important thing to getting people to turn the page, and it has. There has to be a payoff for them turning the page. I sometimes feel like in either. So many thrillers nowadays, I sometimes feel like they tease you and then they don't deliver, and that I don't like. I usually stop reading the book if they do that to me more than a couple of times. It's just not nice.
Lisa Schmid:It's mean Again, if you're bored with your own story or chapter and you're getting irritated with your own words. There's a situation and it happens to everyone Like right now I'm again shocker. I'm struggling through a chapter Because I was bored with it. I'm like, oh my God, what's happening in this chapter? Like nothing's happening it's. I felt like my characters were taking forever to get to the point I was trying to make like it's their fault. I'm like what if the little jerks? Why?
Beth McMullen:aren't they just getting to the point? It's like I'm going to put them into tension. They're bugging me Like I'm so done with you too, just stop your talking. But I think, too, something to remember is that the beginning of a novel yeah, I'm so excited, I have this great idea, I'm plowing through the chapters and then you kind of have a vision of where it's going and the ending, kind of know what's going to happen. Then it's that mushy, messy middle where pacing becomes a real issue for most books. So, honestly, you're really talking about that. You know that middle section, which for most books encompasses most of the novel, where you have to be really aware of pacing and use some of these tips to keep your reader going, because you can really get lost in the weeds in the middle. The excitement at the beginning is over. You haven't reached the climax yet, so you're kind of wading through it, trying to figure out, okay, what's going to happen, what's interesting, what pushes my plot forward. So I would say, use these tips for that. One other little thing, little bonus tip for you Watch movies, analyze the scenes in movies that build suspense or create a sense of urgency.
Beth McMullen:And how do they do that? Is it visual, sound, is the editing jumping you all over the place? Think about applying these techniques to your writing to get that level of suspense or urgency, or whatever you want to call it, in your novel, because the thing about doing it in a movie is that it is so easy to just sit down, watch a movie two hours in your life, take some notes and just look at the transitions, look at when it transitions from one scene to the next. Are your shoulders going up to your ears? Are you feeling that tension? Are you feeling anxious? Is this person going to die? Is this couple going to get together? Is the dog going to save the day? Whatever it is, those are really good ways to just get more tools in your arsenal to help you create suspense, and you get to watch movies. So win, win.
Lisa Schmid:One other thing that I do and it's almost the exact same thing, but using the book and I'm doing it with the book I'm reading right now I will look at as I'm reading it, I'll look at the page number and then look at my manuscript and say, okay, where are they out in the story, where am I at in the story? And I compare the pacing. So, especially when you're done or it doesn't matter wherever you're at in your book, in your manuscript, you know if there's a book that you're reading that's the same genre. And then I look at the page numbers and go, okay, we're about this far through what's happening in this book, what's happening in my story, and it's almost reassuring because I'm like, okay, I'm at the same point, like this is my pacing is on target. So that's another great way to do it is just take whatever book and do the exact same thing as you do with the movie.
Beth McMullen:Because the beats are laid out for you. You don't even have to figure it out yourself. It's right there and you're just. You have actual page numbers to refer to. So you know, you kind of just loosely translate in your own head where your book would be on that same page. It's a great, great idea. And then you've got it right there in front of you and you can even look at the transitions. Like if you find a book with great pacing, you can look at how they make transitions from one chapter to the next, what techniques are they using, and you can borrow those for your own story.
Beth McMullen:I think just remember that pacing is an iterative process and don't be afraid to experiment and revise. You're going to experiment and revise so, so much, and as you tighten up that manuscript, you're going to be able to tighten the pacing. Don't be put off. If you feel like your pacing isn't perfect when you're writing a first or second draft, you're going to fix it later and you're going to get more ideas as you kind of move through the manuscript. So don't you know, just remember not to freak out if it's not feeling like it's paced correctly right off the bat. You will get it, you just it's really something that you can hone in on in the revision.
Lisa Schmid:Yeah, and I know that there's some people that get worried about I don't like to read while I'm writing because I don't want to copy. I think there's this giant fear that people are going to copy subconsciously what another writer is doing and to me it's like you're absorbing the pacing. It's like you're absorbing how they're telling a story and so if you read, if you keep reading over all these books that are in your genre, you're just going to inherently know what that pacing is, so that you can feel it yourself as you're going through it. So do not stop reading, just keep reading, keep reading, keep reading. Don't be worried about that subconscious. Oh my God, what if I do this or that? You're not going to? It's just going to help you be a better writer.
Beth McMullen:That's like the drugs we're pushing on this show. Keep reading, read all the time, read extensively in your genre. Don't be afraid that you're suddenly going to get confused about your own stuff because you're reading someone else's. I think you're totally, 100% correct, and if you don't read in the genre, your ability to write in that genre is going to be hampered. So do it. Get the books, pack yourself away, whatever it is Okay.
Beth McMullen:So that is our episode on pacing and we hope it will help you iron out some wrinkles in your pacing. Nice way to work that in. I know I thought that was pretty good, right? So, writers, please remember to visit writerswithwrinklesnet and find out how to support the show by subscribing, following and recommending. You can also look in the episode blog and the notes for these tips.
Beth McMullen:I've been trying to create like a little cheat sheet of the highlights, because I know sometimes when you're listening to a podcast, you're taking a walk or you're driving or commuting or whatever it is, and you can't write everything down and so much of this stuff is good to have handy. So just check there if you want to get a little cheat sheet for what we've been talking about, and join us next week for episode 12, where we're talking to Sarah Schoenfeld, who is an editor for Harper's Children and Harper's Teen. I think that's going to be a great episode. People love our editor episodes. We always get a lot of good intel. And until then, happy reading, writing and listening. Bye Lisa, bye guys.