“Pacing isn’t about making your story fast. It’s about making your story feel like time is moving at exactly the right speed for what’s happening. A funeral and a car chase need different tempos.”
— L.A. Walton, The Book Maven
Pacing is the heartbeat of your story. Too fast and your reader is out of breath with no time to feel anything. Too slow and they’re reaching for their phone mid-chapter. Getting it right is one of the most nuanced skills in storytelling—and one of the hardest to learn because you can’t feel it while you’re writing. You can only feel it when you read it back.
The Pacing Spectrum
| Pacing Problem | Symptoms | Treatment |
| Too slow. | Long descriptive passages. Nothing happens for pages. Reader skims. | Cut description by 50%. Add conflict or tension to every scene. |
| Too fast. | Emotional moments are rushed. Big events feel glossed over. | Add beats. Let characters REACT before the next thing happens. |
| Uneven. | Alternates between glacial and frantic with no rhythm. | Map scene tempos: fast-slow-fast-slow. Create intentional rhythm. |
| All one speed. | Every scene has the same energy. No dynamics. | Vary scene length, intensity, and emotional register. |
Pacing Tools Every Writer Should Use
- Short sentences = speed. Use them in action, tension, and climactic moments. They feel urgent.
- Long sentences = slow. Use them in reflection, description, and emotional depth. They feel contemplative.
- Scene length controls rhythm. Alternate short punchy scenes with longer meditative ones.
- End chapters on hooks. Make the reader NEED to turn the page. Unanswered questions are your friend.
- Cut anything that doesn’t serve the story. If a scene doesn’t advance plot, develop character, or build atmosphere, it’s slowing you down. Delete it.
Your Move, Creative
Read your last three chapters out loud. Where did you get bored? Cut those sections. Where did you rush? Expand those. Your ear knows pacing better than your brain does.
Stop letting your stories stay stuck.
