Strong pacing and tension are critical in a fictional story, but they’re some of the hardest elements to understand and master. That’s because there isn’t one “right” way to pace a story, nor is there one definable factor that creates tension.
One thing readers will attest to, though: if a story’s pacing drags for too long, they’ll stop reading. And if they don’t feel tension, they’ll likely start falling asleep.
What is pacing? It’s the pulse rate of your story. At times you’ll want a slow, thoughtful pace. Other times a racing one. And those elements that create tension impact the pacing of a story. No tension means a sluggish pace.
The Culprits
Backstory and heavy opening-scene information dumps cause a story to screech to a grinding halt. Overwriting as well bogs down the pacing and kills tension. Telling instead of showing detaches readers’ interest.
But there are many other offenders that contribute to poor tension and pacing. Once you are aware of them, you’ll be able to seek and destroy the culprits that are out to drag down your scenes. Continue Reading…
