Pacing: when to speed up and when to slow down

Pacing is how fast your story seems to move. Many students give every moment the same amount of space, so the important scenes feel rushed and the dull ones drag.

Speed up through the ordinary

Travel, waiting and routine can be covered in a sentence: “Three weeks passed.” “By the time we reached the coast, it was dark.” Readers do not need every step.

Slow down at the turning points

When something important happens, stretch it out. Describe the small details: the sound of the envelope tearing, the second before she reads the result. Slowing down tells the reader: this matters.

Use sentence length to control speed

Short sentences speed things up. They create tension. They hit hard. Longer sentences, full of detail and clauses, slow the reader down and let them settle into a moment.

Cut scenes that do not change anything

Ask of every scene: does something change here? If not, summarise it or cut it.

Try it: write the moment a character opens their exam results in 150 words, so that it feels slow, tense and important.