How do I develop story pacing?
“As a writer, we basically know the major beats before starting writing, but readers don’t, and we sometimes might slip too deep into things when the time is not right. How do we overcome that?”
Pacing is the bane of my existence. Theoretically, I know exactly how it works, but it takes so much work and re-reading to get it right that it feels like harder work than it should be. You really need to take yourself away from your work and give yourself some distance to have the bird’s-eye view you need to properly analyse a story’s pacing.
When you read someone else’s work, you come to it new. You know when something is dragging, because everything is fresh. But when you’ve lived with your story and know where it’s going, the intimate familiarity you have with your work can make it difficult to experience the way a reader will.
With all that said, pacing is a skill, and it can be developed. So let’s look at how you can make sure you give your readers the right story beats at the right time.
What is pacing?
Pacing is the speed at which your story unfolds. It’s not just about how fast events happen, but about how readers absorb information, how long they linger in emotional moments, and how tension builds and releases as they read.
Good pacing creates a rhythm. It knows when to move fast and when to give readers breathing room. Poor pacing leaves readers bored during slow stretches or overwhelmed when too much happens at once.
Why we struggle with pacing
When you outline your story or hold it in your head, you see the whole picture at once. You know that the quiet conversation in chapter three sets up the betrayal in chapter twelve, and already understand why a character’s backstory matters before it becomes relevant to the story.
But your readers don’t have that map. They’re walking through your story one step at a time, and every piece of information you give them shapes their expectations and emotional investment. When you reveal something too early, you rob them of that discovery. When you withhold something too long, you risk confusing or frustrating them.
Techniques for controlling pacing
Sow how do you control pacing? When you’re so close to your project, it’s important to develop strategies to help you see things as your readers might, so let’s outline some things to keep in mind to keep your work as engaging as possible.
Setup and payoff structure
One of the most effective ways to manage pacing is to think in terms of setups and payoffs. A set up is where action happens (e.g. conflict, dialogue, events that push the story forward), and the payoff is the aftermath (where characters and, by extension, your readers, process what just happened, reflect, and make decisions).
Alternating between setups and payoffs creates a natural rhythm. If you race through plot point after plot point without pauses, your readers will feel exhausted and overwhelmed. If you linger too long in the quiet moments without forward movement, they’ll get bored and impatient.
Vary your sentence and paragraph length
Pacing isn’t just structural; it’s a fundamental part of the way you write. Short sentences are punchy and quicken the pace. Longer sentences, on the other hand, slow the reader down and encourage them to savour the moment, to absorb atmosphere and emotion before moving on. A good writer uses both to create a steady rhythm.
Too many long sentences, and readers will get bored, and they’ll start to consider your prose as over-written. Too many short sentences, and your writing will start to become repetitive or choppy. You need to build a natural ebb and flow in the way you write, and the most fundamental part of doing that is making sure you have a good rhythm to your sentence structure.
Control the release of information
What does the reader need to know right now? This isn’t what you want them to take away from your story, but what serves the story at this precise moment.
If you find yourself info-dumping backstory or worldbuilding, think about whether that information could be revealed gradually through action and dialogue instead. Readers don’t need to understand everything immediately. Curiosity is a powerful motivator. Give them just enough to follow the story while leaving questions that they still want to learn the answers to. Give them a reason to keep reading.
Use chapter and scene breaks strategically
Where you end a chapter matters. Ending on a moment of tension, revelation, or an unanswered question encourages readers to keep going. Ending after resolution gives them a natural stopping point.
Think about what effect you want. Do you want readers to feel compelled to keep turning the page? Or do you want them to sit with what just happened? Both are valid choices, but they create different reading experiences.
How to identify pacing problems
Because you’re so close to your own work, pacing issues can be difficult to spot. Here are some strategies to help:
- Read aloud. Your ear will catch rhythms your eye misses. If you find yourself rushing through sections or getting bored, that’s valuable information. It also helps with clunky wording or poor sentence structure too.
- Use beta readers. Ask them specifically where they felt the story dragged or moved too quickly, and where they felt confused or overwhelmed by information. That’s what beta readers are for; to help you flag pacing issues early on.
- Map your story’s tension. Sketch a simple graph of where tension rises and falls. If you look at word count, where are the peaks and valleys of your story’s action? Are there long, flat stretches where nothing much happens? Do you have clear rising and falling action?
- Step away and return. Time creates distance. Coming back to your manuscript after a break helps you see it with fresher eyes. Do something else. Read another book. Immerse yourself in a different genre. Just make sure you give yourself some time away from your work to try and approach it like a reader.
Common pacing perils
- Front-loading backstory. Resist the urge to explain everything upfront. It’s important that you trust your readers to pick up what you’re putting down.
- Rushing emotional beats. Big moments need space. If a character experiences a loss, don’t immediately jump to the next plot point. Let them have some slower, more emotional moments. Not only will it give them more depth as characters, but it will give the story more depth and nuance generally.
- Doubling down on transitions. Not every moment of your story needs to be shown to your readers. It’s okay to skip time and summarise less important events. If someone sits down to a meal, it’s enough to know that they ate. We don’t need lengthy descriptions of what they had for dinner and where everyone is sitting (unless it’s story relevant, of course).
- Signposting reveals. If you over-explain or hint too heavily, readers will arrive at revelations before the story does. This robs those moments of impact. You need to use foreshadowing strategically and subtly.
Pacing is ultimately about stepping into your readers’ shoes and imagining what it’s like to read your story for the first time. It takes practice and will definitely require revision. No first draft is ever perfectly paced, so be kind to yourself if you don’t immediately get it right. The more you revise, the more you’ll learn, and ultimately, isn’t that what drafting is all about?
