Pacing is one of the biggest struggles writers run into. Why? Because unlike other aspects of writing pacing isn't something can necessarily be taught. It's something you have to pick up for yourself over time and practice. Even still, I'll give you my best attempt by telling you some of my strategies.
One of the first things I can give you for advice is length. Some of the biggest mistakes new writers make is making their chapters far too short. To put it simply, if your chapters are less than a thousand words, they are way too short. It's not enough space or time to complete a segment of the story. While it's true there's not a required length for a chapter, it should end with a milestone. If you've just started writing, I'd recommend aiming for about 2500 words, then work your way to a length that makes you comfortable. For me, that's about 5,000 words, but for others it can be more or less.
But what is a milestone?
Milestones are markers that identify major points in the plot line of a story. They work as a setting point to help identify when you've started a plot arc and when you've ended it. Now don't get me wrong, the milestone at the end of a chapter doesn't necessarily have to be started at its beginning. In fact, you can start multiple milestones and not end them until far later. The best way to think about it is this: if someone else is reading a story you've already read and you ask them where they are, they're going to give you a milestone. Like: "Oh, I'm at the part where the main character has just found the dragon." You know where that place is, because that's an important point in the story.
An example from A Boy and His Fox is the Rune Gauntlet. Starting in the first half of Ch. 8, Kal receives a gauntlet from the council that's supposed to boost his powers and help him on his quest. However, the gauntlet is only one half of a pair, and because of that it begins to warp Kal's mind in dangerous ways. From the point where that milestone starts (Kal putting on the gauntlet) to the point where it ends (Kal is freed from the gauntlet) multiple milestones start and stop between (Kal is captured by Miss Fortune, Kal escapes with Ahri).
Now I know what you're thinking "Wait a minute! Kal lost the gauntlet in the middle of a chapter! You said milestones should end when a chapter does." Not necessarily. A chapter should end with a milestone, but not all milestones end at the end of a chapter. A story should ALWAYS have at least one milestone open (not necessarily the same one) until you reach the end. Otherwise you've got a point in your story where nothing is happening. Boring!
So how do we apply milestones? Well remember the practice I mentioned earlier? It involves a lot of it. As you write, you'll learn to identify more essential points in the story and less important parts, and organize them accordingly. More important milestones should have a longer lasting effect, with less important ones ending a short while later. Using the above example, Kal getting the gauntlet is a major plot point. It shows that even with his straight laced nature, he can be twisted and corrupted into something malicious. It strengthens his relationship with Ahri, because he cuts loose more, and she sees his darker side, which he normally wouldn't have ever shown her, otherwise. However, Miss Fortune is a transitional plot point, so while the effects of that particular milestone were small, it allowed the larger one to have a stepping stone to the next one.
This brings us to the next piece of advice when it comes to pacing. You've heard 'Show, don't tell' many times as a writer, I'm sure. Well how about 'Therefore, not Next'? It's a bit less common, but every bit as essential.
'Therefore, not Next', is a rule that guides how your story should be structured. A good story's milestones shouldn't seem like a fence your reader has to hop, but a winding serpentine path that doesn't end, with each chapter serving as another curve in the road. The events of a story should tie into and cause/affect one another. The best example I can give you is not from A Boy and His Fox. Admittedly, 'Therefore, not Next' is something I struggle with often. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly suggest you watch the movie called The Court Jester (1955). It does an excellent job at capturing this concept well, when you consider how the events are intertwined with one another.
The reason we call this rule 'Therefore, not Next' is because when explaining what happens in your story, you should find yourself often saying 'Therefore, such and such happens, therefore, causing this, therefore, causing that'. You want that domino effect, because it'll give your reader a better sense of movement through the plot and allow them to gauge just how far they've come and gone since the start. This is better than 'This happens first. Next, that happens. Next, something else happens.' It becomes disjointed and the pacing feels as if it's starting and stopping over and over again.
So what's a good way to put this into practice? My typical strategy is to overlap milestones. Have one start in the middle of a chapter, and end in the middle of a different one, preferably stretching over the end and start of a new milestone. This way, when people are walking through your story line, they don't come across gaps where the plot abruptly stops before being picked back up again.
Some final advice: you don't have to plot out every single milestone in advance. In fact, many writers don't plan a single one, save the first and last. George R. R. Martin once said that there are two kinds of writers: growers and architects. Architects are writers who sit down and plan out the entire story before hand. They know every detail that is going to happen before they even write the first word on to paper. Growers plant the seed of a story (the first milestone), and they let it grow as they progress, watching the story continue in a way that feels natural. Like George, I myself am very much a grower. Very seldom do I actually start a story and know how I want it to end.
Now, it's important to know that neither one is better or worse than the other. It's all about your personality and how you write. Also bear in mind that no one is solely one or the other. Often growers will have the start and end of a milestone planned out, even if they are still watching to see how another one develops. Architects sometimes find they don't like their plans and improvise a milestone to spice up a plot line.
Your exercise:
Think a bit about whether you're more comfortable as an architect or a grower. Then write a few chapters of a story using the opposite style. If you're more of a grower, make yourself an outline plotting out specific turning points in the story. If you're more of an architect, think of a concept (A hero finds a strange sword on his doorstep, a girl has been framed for murder, a father travels in time to save his child) and then just run with it. Think seriously about how the character would behave and adjust accordingly. While you write, be sure to mark out certain milestones when you've started or stopped them, making sure at least one milestone you've started ends with each chapter.
Good luck everyone! As always, feel free to post comments, send me work if you'd like my opinion, or recommend a fan fiction for critique. If you found this helpful, be sure to share it among your writing circles and friends to help spread the love. I wish you all the best of luck in life and literature. -Kiba
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