Pacing
Pacing is often confused with timing, and understandably so. They do overlap in some ways. But while timing is the placement of a scene within the overall story, as we learned in last week’s blog, pacing deals with the modulation of the overall work. In other words, pacing is the speed at which the story unfolds.
The pace of a scene may be affected by duration or rate of movement within the scene, or how long it takes to tell the story. Consider action films. There are times when there are car chases and explosions, but most action films (not all) also include slower scenes where the audience can take a breath before jumping back into the fray.
Pacing is the overall energy of the story as it moves from beginning to end. There will be fast bits and slow bits and bits in between. The writer’s job is to manage that pace to keep the reader engaged as long as possible without pushing them so hard they put the book down.
Think of it like a hike up a steep mountain: at some point you will need to take a break for some water and rest. You can’t expect your companions to race up the mountain without changes in their rate of movement. That is what pacing really is: a rate of movement. How quickly or slowly does your story move from the inciting incident to the resolution?
Film editors look at pacing as the rate of cutting (how long or short are the cuts?), but also in the overall pattern of how the shots are cut. Does it speed up as the film gets closer to the climax? Does it slow down to reveal the character’s epiphany? It depends on the narrative goal. They also see it as the speed at which movement or change occurs within the shots themselves. What is happening in each moment and how is that revealed for maximum impact? How does the pace change throughout the story and how does that rate of change affect the story?
Pacing happens on a micro and macro level. It happens within sentences, paragraphs, pages, scenes, chapters, and throughout the entire storytelling experience. Ideally, writers will create a rhythm with their pacing that reflects the emotional spine of their story. If their protagonist is afraid, the pacing might pick up. If their protagonist is in despair, it should slow. It changes because it is dependent on the story trajectory.
Trajectory
A story trajectory is the path the story takes from beginning to end. It is the path the protagonist takes (and the reader). This is your plot. But, more importantly, it is also your character arc. Why your story happens and how it affects your characters is far more important than what happens in many ways (we will discuss this in an upcoming blog).
If your main character encounters something, how does she react? Where does that lead her? What is the next most logical step? How does she react to that? This repetitive series of questions helps create the trajectory. But trajectory also requires an emotional drive, which stems from desire. What does your character want? What stands in her way? Why is she destined to fail or succeed? The story trajectory relies on emotion and logic.
If we go back to Little Red Riding Hood from the first blog in this series, think about what would happen if Red had never met the wolf on the way to her grandmother’s house? Would she have noticed the differences in his ears, eyes and teeth size? What if the wolf was the good guy and the woodsman was the villain? What if Red became the hunter? There are many ways a story can go and they all depend on trajectory. What path will you take? That should determine the speed at which you tell the tale (pacing), how long you linger on a scene (duration), and where each scene needs to go to make the most sense (timing).
These story elements are related and affect each other. Luckily, a great way to learn about them is by watching movies (see: fun homework). Watch how the editor cut the shots to create mood (duration). Pay attention to the speed at which the story unfolds within a scene and throughout the movie (pacing). And consider the timing of each scene. Was there a better place in the story to place that shot/scene (timing)? Then pay attention to how the rate of cuts (duration of each shot) changes depending on the emotion of the scene.
Next week we will take a look at how all of this results in creating tension and how to tap into that power to write a compelling story.