“Pacing is the heartbeat
of your story. It’s the rhythm that keeps your narrative on track, scene after
scene.”[1]
Many people said after
reading An Unexpected Death, “I
couldn’t put it down.” That told me somehow I got the pacing right. It’s the pace that keeps the
story moving, and keeps readers turning pages. So how did I do that?
I kept the chapters
short. I tried to have a strong
first sentence and a strong last sentence with just enough description in
between kept the story moving.
Think of your story as
having hills and valleys. As you ramp up the tension with conflicts, so too do
you need to provide your readers some relief from that stress.
Paragraphs should be kept
short and not bog down in the middle. When forming sentences watch for excess
baggage – information that is not needed. Look for unnecessary words and
phrases, and get rid of them. Make every word work!
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