1. Narrative Pacing
A Presentation by J. Everett Hale
L/O/G/O

2. Pacing
What is Narrative Pacing?
• The speed at which an author tells a story;
the movement from one point or section to
another.
• The rate at which a story moves.

3. Scenes and Interludes
• When you think about a scene in a novel,
the first thing that comes to mind is a fast-
paced action sequence.
• Interludes are the slower parts in between
the scenes when the character reacts
emotionally to whatever has just
happened.

4. Scenes and Interludes
• Scenes in a novel should actually read
slowly, and interludes should happen
more quickly.
• Scenes, broadly speaking, contain all of
the novel's interesting and exciting and
dramatic material. It makes sense,
therefore, that the readers won't want them
to be over with too quickly.

5. Controlling the Pace
Showing Showing
vs. vs.
Telling Really
Showing
There are two ways to control the pace in a
narrative: Showing vs. Telling and Showing vs.
Really Showing

6. Showing vs. Telling
• Showing means writing fiction in such a
way that everything is described in vivid,
sensory detail.
• Telling is flat and factual. It states
something but doesn't demonstrate it.

7. Showing vs. Really Showing
• While telling usually takes place in a few
words, showing can take up as little or as
much space as you want. How much space
you allow it to take up depends on the
event's importance in the narrative, and
whether you want the readers to skip
through it relatively quickly or to linger over
it for much longer.
• How much you show can make the
difference between a chapter being ten
pages long or fifty pages long.

8. Linking Devices
Use theme and motifs to connect the major
acts of the book and provide propulsion
forward in the plot.
• Story links help the readers make sense of
what’s going on by reminding them of the
goal and journey.
• They leave a scene unresolved, urging the
readers to read on to provide closure.

9. Sequencing
Pacing, as a technique, is “carried” by
individual scenes, and often requires
preparation to get the reader anticipating
what’s to come.
• Scene sequencing (a sequence of scenes
presented as a mini-story, rising to a
turning point) can increase the pace.

10. Propulsion
• Anything that “pulls” the reader into the
next scene or makes her speculate about
the future will quicken the pacing.
• Make the reader ask a question in one
scene and then postpone the answer for
another scene.

11. Fast is Not the Only Pace
You can vary the pacing of scenes in
different parts of the book for different
purposes.
• Slow down to create suspense
• Speed up to simulate urgency

12. Beats
A beat is a segment of narration that tells the
reader what's happening in a scene, gives
them a good fix on the setting, and helps
manage the perceived passage of time in a
story.

13. Beats in Scripting
• The term, “beat” comes from playscripts
and screenplays.
• In scripts, when the playwright wrote a
“beat”, it meant that he wanted the actor to
pause a moment before speaking the next
line.

14. Beats in Fiction
• Use beats in your scenes when you need a
character to pause a moment before going
on to the next action.
• Beats can be used when a character would
take a moment to absorb the impact of
something that has just happened.

15. Beats Manage Pacing
• Beats—their presence or absence, and
their length, long or short—are the
playback knobs of your story.
• The longer the beat, the longer the pause.
• More text in a beat means more time has
elapsed in silence.

16. Beats in Action Scenes
• As you get closer and closer to the
climactic moment, use shorter and shorter
paragraphs.
• Long paragraphs = lazy summer
afternoons.
• Short paragraphs = urgency and
quickness.

17. Resolution
• The end of the scene is crucial for pacing.
• Don’t end a scene on a resolution (except
perhaps the last scene in a book), but on
some issue that won’t resolve until at least
the next scene.
• If the scene ending is too “complete,” add
some tiny question or doubt at the end.

18. Works Cited
Chapman, Harvey. "How To Write a Narrative With Pace." Novel-Writing-
Help.com. Novel-Writing-Help.com. Web. 9 March 2013.
http://www.novel-writing-help.com/how-to-write-a-narrative.html
Chapman, Harvey. "Writing a Narrative by Showing and Telling." Novel-Writing-
Help.com. Novel-Writing-Help.com. Web. 9 March 2013.
http://www.novel-writing-help.com/writing-a-narrative.html
Gerke, Jeff. "Fiction Writing Tips." WhereTheMapEnds. Marcher Lord Press. Web. 9
March 2013.
http://www.wherethemapends.com/writerstools/writers_tools_pages/tip_of_the_week--31-
40.htm
Rasley, Alicia. "Top Ten Pacing Tips." Romance University. WordPress, 28 February
2012. Web. 9 March 2013.
http://romanceuniversity.org/2012/02/28/top-ten-pacing-tips-by-alicia-rasley/
L/O/G/O