Pacing your Novel-Tip #13

Dear Storyteller,

Pacing your Novel Tip#13 is a bit of a crucial one. It’s also a tip that has morphed a lot for me over the past two years in particular, at least compared to the earlier decade or so of penning my current book series.

It was in the editing stages that I really realized how much pacing your novel can bring it to life and really form the foundation to engaging your reader, aside from plot, characters, and dialogue.

While this may seem quite obvious to most, it wasn’t a major focus in my writing. I’m not sure why. It just didn’t seem completely necessary or a huge priority. I think I was more focused on identifying plot holes, authenticity of dialogue, and making sure the story made sense in general.

When I started editing, however, I realized something beyond the plot holes and the dialogue and the story as a whole. I think some average reviews of my first book also helped pinpoint my need for focusing more on pacing my novel more effectively. (Yes, I broke my own rule. Never look at reviews. But I did, and in this instance, it really did help me plan out my second book much better because, I’ll be honest, a few of my chapters in Book 1 were pretty long).

All that being said, let’s look at a couple of points you’ll want to consider when you’re pacing your novel.

Disclaimer:

Before you read on, I do want to make you very aware of the fact that I do utilize a couple of non-Christian writers as examples for different ways to pace your novel. Before you click on any links and look into either book example, please make sure your parents are aware of the fact that these are indeed secular books. I will reiterate this later in the blog, but I do feel like the examples given are good ones, despite the authors not being Christian themselves.

If I come across Christian authors who exemplify good pacing, I’ll change out my examples. However, for now, this is how it stands, and I want to be forthright with you and not leave you with any surprises. And if you have examples of Christian writers that you’d love to share with me, please email me and share your favorites! My email is contact@adgermanbooks.com.

Okay, so if you’ve read this disclaimer and know not to click on example links unless parents approve, please continue reading. I’m happy you’ve stopped by, and I hope you enjoy today’s post and find it helpful in some small way!

#1-How to pace your novel effectively…aka Where to even start…

In order to pace your novel the most effectively, so that you have readers clamoring to read more, it’s crucial to determine which type of pacing you’d like to focus on.

How many types of pacing are there?

From my experience, there are essentially two types of pacing for your novel:

Overall pacing of your book-this which advances the story/plot
Chapter pacing

Let’s look at each cateogry individually. Also, please keep in mind, these are my own definitions on the subject, not anything noteworthy. Just how I personally view each. These descriptions and explanations are definitely not from a creative writing standpoint. So, if you have experience there, you’re way ahead of me. I’m just speaking from the heart and soul, not any academic degree. 🙂

So, let’s start with…what is overall pacing of your novel?

This mainly entails the speed at which you project your story forward.
I’ve seen a lot of novels do this quickly and well. Dropping you in the midst of the action prior to knowing who any of the characters are, what their relationships are, and why they’ve even banded together in the first place to address x,y,z.
A lot of readers enjoy this type of pacing your novel because you’re learning the details of the story as the plot unfolds through action and fast-paced drama. There’s definitely nothing wrong with this. It can be quite engaging, being thrown in the middle of a scene. A lot of characters are usually involved, and there’s a lot of jumping between various characters as these “outside” characters relate to the main character.
Here’s a good example of a fast-paced, thrown-in-the-middle-of-everything action. We don’t know who Skálda is or how she’s related to the two male characters we’re introduced to in a matter of moments; however, we do learn about all these immediate relationships as the story progresses.
FYI, the above example is a non-Christian book that I just happened to stumble upon the other day when I was perusing Amazon, so be alert to that. I wouldn’t consider reading it, despite it’s intriguing quality, secondary to the fact that the author, Jasmine, glorifies evil triumphing over good; however, despite its non-Christian nature, it is still a good example of what I’m talking about. I think it will give you a good idea about how the chapters are longish, and yet the action (aka overall book pacing) is going, going, going from the very beginning. It’s moving so quickly, you don’t pay attention to how long the chapters are.
So, now that you have overall book pacing under your belt, let’s look at Chapter pacing, which is #2 for our pacing considerations when penning our stories.

#2-What exactly is Chapter pacing?

This is where you let the drama/plot/story unfold at a more leisurely pace while dropping “breadcrumbs” along the way and shortening the chapters so that it makes the reader feel as if they are “flying” through the book.
So, the action still unfolds quickly, but it’s just a different approach.
The shorter the chapters, the more intense the story feels.

How to achieve successful Chapter pacing…

Most “experts” say it’s best to start each chapter with a hook. A hook is something that pulls the reader in and gets them excited and eager to read what comes next.
- Off the cuff example: Wednesday started like any other school day until I opened the school doors and saw Carrie standing in the hallway. She was wearing purple.
Hopefully, that not-so-great example makes you start asking questions, such as why is Carrie wearing purple? and why is that such a bad thing? or is it a good thing? Why will it ruin the main character’s day? What does purple signify? etc.
Once you’ve established the hook, then you’ll want to end your chapter on a cliffhanger. This can be a little something to propel the story forward. It can be a plot twist. It can be a question. Basically, anything that intrigues the reader and makes them want to keep reading.
- Off the cuff example of a cliffhanger: Some friends need to talk things out to know what’s going on in each other’s lives, but Carrie wearing purple told me, in that one instant, that what she had seen the other night was real. A shiver raced up my spine. We had a mystery to solve and only 3 days to solve it. And solving that mystery involved the one boy everyone avoided: Matt Greene.
- Again, hopefully this gives you a little insight into how to end your chapter on a cliffhanger, which is essentially wanting the reader to ask more questions, such as what did Carrie see? Why do kids avoid Matt (is he mean? an outcast? a know-it-all?)? Why he is integral to the girls solving the mystery, as well as, hopefully wanting to know what the mystery actually is.

Conclusion on Chapter pacing…

I feel some chapter endings are more captivating than others. And some can definitely end with something as simple as a statement, like at the end of Chapter 3 of my first book, The Lost King’s Daughter, where it says: “He had no reason to pursue her. He had already discovered what he needed” (German, page 37). This isn’t a super zinger cliffhanger, but my intent was for the reader to be on pins and needles, wondering what will happen next. The enemy knows Finockt’s secret, so what happens to her? Is she captured? What happens to the cross?
So, regardless of the hook and cliffhanger involvement, if you have a good story, I believe readers will want to keep reading just to know how the story “ends.” Yet, if we, as Storytellers, can continue motivating the reader to keep reading “one more chapter” then we’ve hit success, IMHO.

The age-old question: how to know how many pages each chapter should have…

Obviously, you don’t want to make your chapters too short…to a degree. I know of one author who made his chapters exceedingly short. I’ll share this experience with you down below. It’s really worth noting. But for the most part, I think you want to make your chapters short and yet something that doesn’t feel like the reader can’t settle in and enjoy the book itself.

In this fast-paced world, there’s definitely something to be said for the exhilirating ride a book can take you on, and yet there’s also something to be said for fostering readers’ attention spans. And perhaps a reader just needs to take the time to relax and just…well…read.

In this case, make sure you pace your novel so that the chapters are a comfortable length-leading readers further into the story but short enough that they feel they’ve accomplished something.

I believe I focused on pacing my novel’s chapters to 6-7 pages in Book 2-The Heir. This seemed to be a comfortable spot where it kept the action going, and yet, in respect to how busy readers’ lives are today, it also gave them a sense of accomplishment. It also gave them the additional opportunity of saying, “okay, one more chapter” before heading off to bed or an activity or a chore they had to do.

Caveat:

Always, always remember, the beauty of your story is paramount. If your book needs longer chapters, incorporate them. My “writing advice” is always to be taken with a grain of salt. This is what worked for me for Book 2. Next time, it might not work out that way. I might do longer chapters, or slightly longer ones, or I might even do shorter chapters.

In truth, I don’t hyperfocus on the length of my chapters. It’s something I’m now more aware of, but I don’t let it rule the storytelling.

Takeaway point:

Use what you can from my journey to enhance yours. I always found other authors’ tips and tricks fascinating, and yet they weren’t always ideas or processes that worked for me. That’s okay. I did learn from them, but I also found a way to make what they said my own. I took bits and pieces of what inspired me and wove them into my own writing journey. Thus, I feel like I advanced my own work, even if I didn’t actually take their writing advice 100%. As Storytellers, we all help each other. One person’s idea may spark an even better one in somebody else’s mind. And that’s the beauty, and the art, of being a Storyteller.

In summation, how do you choose which pacing to incorporate?

Mmm…in the end, it’s really up to you!

If I had to choose though, and of course, this is solely my own opinion, I really feel that monitoring the overall pacing of your book isn’t the top-most priority for you as a Storyteller. Well, it doesn’t have to be. While overall pacing of your story holds its own importance (and clearly, you need appropriate pacing throughout your novel to keep the story going), I currently feel it pales in comparison to its counterpart: chapter pacing. (Note: this concept is always subject to change as I navigate my own writing and find what works for me).

Read on to find out why.

Why is Chapter pacing so important?

Bottom line: it’s the dangling carrot analogy.

If you start with a hook and end with a cliffhanger, as we talked about earlier, and you leave just enough details in the chapter to make inquiring minds dying to know more, then you’ve got your reader on a mission to discover exactly what the mystery is all about, how the budding romance between characters advances or ends, and what ultimately happens, aka how does the story itself end?

Making the chapters a little shorter helps propel the reader into the story. I ultimately feel this helps the reader connect more fully with the story and keeps them turning page after page. As you already know, this is just my opinion. Some of what I’m telling you is just experimentation. I thought for certain readers would really not like Book 2-The Heir. I dreaded publishing it. To my surprise, and relief, it seems quite the opposite. I did have a number of readers mentioning the fact that the shorter chapters intrigued them more and kept them turning pages. So, that’s where a lot of this advice comes from.

How did I choose Chapter pacing?

As aforementioned, after reading the average reviews on my Book 1-The Lost King’s Daughter, I realized that some readers didn’t care for the pacing of the novel. So, I took a good step back and reflected on my novel’s layout. True. Some of my chapters were on the much longer side in Book 1. I didn’t think too much about this because, as a former homeschooler, I was used to long book chapters. Reading classic literature kinda prepares you for that sort of thing. However, as a writer, and just in general, I wanted to improve myself. How could I make the chapters more engaging? Less daunting? More “up-to-date” with 21st-century published novels, so to speak?

It all came down to Chapter pacing.

Where did I first see this?

I believe I first discovered the “magic” of chapter pacing long ago when I read All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. A friend from work recommended it to me, and it is quite a fabulous read. I love WWII stories though, so this helped. But it was the first time I’d ever read such incredibly short chapters. And I mean short. Some of the chapters were only a page long or two pages long.

The author’s writing style was very poetic as well. I loved the imagery he utilized throughout his story. It was beautiful.

Side note: I will say, if you ever choose to pick up All the Light We Cannot See and read it, beware. It is a secular read, and there is a highly unfavorable word near the end of the book. The fact that it took the author that long to include it (like page 400 and something) made me wonder why he had to ruin his book and include it at all. It wouldn’t have changed the reader experience. But unfortunately, he did, and it added nothing to the depth of his story.

So please use discernment and implement parental consent before checking this book out. I don’t remember anything particularly horrid in it, but it was about 10 years ago that I read it…so…my memory may be a little more than rusty.

And yet, I can’t deny that Anthony’s book is a good example of very, very fast-paced novel writing. And honestly, I’ve never seen anyone else write like he does since that time.

Conclusion

Whether you choose to place tons of action into your story and propel the reader forward with overall pacing of your book, or whether you choose to capture your reader’s attention and thrill them with quick and steady chapter pacing, it’s all up to you how your story pans out. You’re the author. You’re the Storyteller. You decide. That’s the “magic” of being a Storyteller. Everything is at your fingertips from how you want the reader to feel, to the high stakes and action sequences, even down to how quickly you want the reader to nagivate your book.

One final thought…

You can also take into account your preferences for pacing your novel. Which do you like best? While it might be niche, your choice of pacing your novel may just be what a reader is looking for. So, don’t be afraid to step out and embrace what you love most when it comes to pacing.

If you’d like more insight into chapter pacing, check out Abbie Emmons, whom I love to check in with for good writing advice. After this post came to mind, and I decided to write it, I happened across a video by Abbie on YouTube talking about just this topic. It was good confirmation that this is a choice tool in the Storyteller’s writing toolbox. Check out Abbie and what she has to say about chapter pacing here. You can also explore her YouTube page and find more videos on pacing your novel, if that will help you out even more. 🙂

Until next time, dear Storyteller, don’t be afraid to branch out, experiment, and find how you like best to pace your novel. God bless xoxo