Young Writers Society

I am planning on writing a novel over the summer, and I am actually pretty excited about it, I like my characters, and I actually have a rough plot outline.

I have one major problem, pacing.

When writing I tend to have a picture of my head of what is happening, as well as "mood" if you will attached to that picture. I try my best to communicate this to the reader, and while I am in the moment writing I think I do a pretty decent job. Then I re-read it, and it feels all wrong. The words I wrote do not do justice to atmosphere in my head. It always feels like I need to include more significant detail, but I stumble on what I should include.

Any tips on how to slow the pace of a fiction piece, without getting bogged down in unnecessary detail?

Lord knows, I really need them!

This is something I struggled with for a long time. Really, the only thing to fix it is lots and lots of practice. It took multiple attempts at writing a novel(none of which I actually completed) before getting to the point I'm at now, where I feel my work is at least somewhat indicative of what I'm trying to achieve atmospherically and structurally. Just keep writing. And writing. And writing. And then write some more. Then throw it all out (metaphorically) and start over again. Also, read just as much (if not more than) you write. And read good books, books that may seem boring or hard to read. Basically, read literature. It may not be as fun as whatever stuff you're normally into, but it will inevitably make you a better write, guaranteed.

Other than that, the biggest thing I can recommend is to create a balance between downtime, action, and exposition. And by action I don't necessarily mean like, gunfight type action (though it can be that too), but actual "things happening". Important and interesting events that move the plot forward, essentially. Creating a balance between the exciting stuff and the "necesarry stuff", IE the parts that HAVE to happen in order for the plot to make sense, that's all a big part of good pacing. In addition, every chapter or "scene" should have something about it, a certain hook, that makes it interesting. Even something as mundane as a walk through the park can be made entertaining by having the viewpoint character make observations about people or the environment, or by having an amusing sort of internal monologue or self-reflection, etc. When you look over your work, there should never be a part that seems like something YOU'D want to skip over if you were reading it.

In my opinion this is one of the hardest parts of writing, and I do not believe that there is some super secret method to get it right every time. All you can do is keep writing and keep creating stories, and eventually you'll just get a natural feel for the pacing. Even watching a good movie can be a big a help with getting a feel for pacing. Look at the movies that are nominated for oscars every year. The average person will often consider these to be boring or uninteresting, but they would not have been nominated if they didn't have a good story and, generally, excellent pacing. The other advantage of movies is you can watch one in two to three hours or so. Books, in general, take at least a few days. Good story-telling is good story-telling, regardless of the medium, and good pacing is almost more important to film-writing than it is to novel-writing, in my opinion. But not always.

Other than that, just keep writing. That's all there is to it really. Good luck. If you have anything you want me to read, I'll be glad to go over it for you. Just PM me.

When it comes to creating a mood, try to throw out the idea that is has to be how it is in your head. Chances are low you'll ever be able to make it perfect. The best you can hope for is "close." It's one of the downsides of writing; hard to translate the mental image onto paper.

When it comes to making the pace flow well, as Francis put it, best way to practice is to write. Also, realize that a slow pace doesn't mean "this will bore readers to death." You can use slow details to add in tension, show how characters react, and a lot more.

Also, for the details thing, check out description tutorials to try and get an idea how description can flow better and help keep the mood. It's not everybody's style, mind, (I'm more of a minimalist when it comes to descriptions myself) but it might help. A good place to start is the Writing Tutorials section of the Knowledge Base (a ton of other tips in there too)

Hope this helps a bit.

~Rosey

The advice that has been given already is great! As has been said, the best way to fix this is to practice. I struggled with this for a very long time and still struggle with it sometimes--only practice can significantly improve your pacing and description.

As for how to give a wealth of detail while not bogging down the readers, try thinking of setting as more than just a picture of a place or an atmosphere. When you link setting to character, setting stops being one of those paragraphs that readers skip and starts being compelling character development time. Focusing on the interaction between setting and character, or between setting and plot adds a new level of depth to your description that can enrich the setting and keep pacing up to speed. Doing this is also a matter of practice--practice and lots of reading, but it may be helpful to keep it in mind as you write.

Basically, practice! Keep writing! Best of luck!