Pacing? I always encounter a problem with that. My beginnings tend to be slow and my middles fast. The solution is details: fleshing out description.
"That made him angry."
How can this be tweaked? Rage blossomed in his chest, choking his veins? Then, consequences disregarded, he threw a punch at the king of Neverland? Consider "that made him angry" a launch start, as opposed to a reaction.
Or maybe you're unsure where to cut things off. A bit of advice: never always cut off at a cliffhanger. If you always cut off at a cliffhanger, the cliffhangers will stop being cliffhangers. And never always cut off at a break in time. Readers appreciate equal-length chapters. Just write nonstop for a couple days, and then divide up what you did.
More random tips:
If you're having trouble sticking to a certain style, then fix the parts where you used that style. Things will flow easier.
As Fiend suggested, increase the dialogue. Then search for opportunities where you can balance it out with narrative writing.
Break up your paragraphs. The white space will beg to be filled.
Or join chapters .
“He leant tensely against the wall and frowned like a man trying to unbend a corkscrew by telekinesis.” – Douglas Adams
Some chapters are very short because of the writer's style, and there's nothing wrong with that. Others are short because of pacing, of too much telling, or wanting to plough through the plot to get to the good parts.
If you described what it felt like writing, it would help.
A writer is a world trapped in a person— Victor Hugo
Ink is blood. Paper is bandages. The wounded press books to their heart to know they're not alone.
There are a multitude of reasons and instead of trying to generalise so I could cover all bases, I decided to go stalk your portfolio =D And here's what I found.
Scripting and writing You have a very 'this happened, that happened' narrative to your work, which is almost script-like to read. That's most likely because you're just writing it down as it happens in your head, which is fine. What I'd recommend is you take a single action, like sitting on a chair, and try and turn it into 500 words. You could describe what the character is thinking as they do it, what's around them, whether their bones creak or how comfy the chair is. Don't settle for less than 500 words. It will be hard. Try it with a few other actions. If you practice this way then you'll teach yourself to naturally think of all the other stuff that surrounds the basic things we do.
Back to basics Waaay back when I was a little kid we learned that when writing a story you first set the scene, then introduce the characters, then get on with the plot and round it all up at the end. It's easy to forget this but it's important in every chapter. Introducing the characters doesn't mean re-introduce them, but more, describe their posture or their appearance, maybe they slept in their clothes and are covered in creases, or maybe they're wearing extra lipstick today. Setting the scene means describing the ambience and the environment, whether it feels cosy and warm, or more like the quiet mumble of a hospital ward.
Practice, practice! If you can't think of what else to add then you need to expand your scope, and to do that you need to practice. It might be boring, especially in a situation like writing 500 words about someone opening a door, but it will force you to think in ways that you didn't think of before. This means that not only will you be able to maintain your unique style and stay true to your own work, but you'll be able to do it moreso because you'll have a greater resource to take from. It's kind of like putting in the elbow grease to unclog a water tap, so that instead of waiting for trickles of murky water you'll get rivers of clean fresh water whenever you need to turn it on.
Hope this helps. I look forward to reading more of your stuff =]
I remember when I had this problem! Now my problem is at the other end of the spectrum, that I can't stop myself! I have super long chapters now! So here's what I did to get to this point.
Set a goal of words for each piece.
It might seem simple, but it works. Start small. 500, then 1,000, then 1,500 and keep going until your word count is where you want it to be.
Once you set a goal, your next step is to figure out what you lack. Character development? Descriptions? dialogue? thoughts? When you've determined that, really focus on them. Bring them out of the shadows and make them part of your piece. Soon, you'll learn the balance between not enough and too much, and the balance between description and dialogue as well! It's a learning curve, but if you keep pushing, you'll get there.
Love is friendship that has caught fire. It is quiet understanding, mutual confidence, sharing and forgiving. It is loyalty through good and bad times. It settles for less than perfection and makes allowances for human weaknesses. — Ann Landers
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