On Writing: How to Master Pacing!

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Script by meeeeeeeee
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Stay nerdy,
~ Tim

[HelloFutureMe]

Keep up the pacing in your life and follow ya boi on Twitter and Instagram
I swear I'm like super funny. Look, I tried to make it a pun of some kind and it just wasn't working.
~ Tim

[zachf.]

Yay, a person who actually EXPLAINS pacing instead of repeating "you have to pace your stuff" in one of 95 different ways without explaining.

[lizettaven]

"In the middle of characters doing thin-" *||*AD PLAYS*||* "things."

Can't tell if I love or hate how well that was timed.

[waityamihereagain]

Beginning: apologizes for wearing a different shirt
Rest of video: is a cartoon

[ericschwegler]

subtext... like uncle Iroh and tea:
tea leaves come from the earth
fire extracts the flavor
water carries the flavor
and air cools it to drinking temperature
no one in show talks about this but Iroh mentions tea so much I'm surprised I never noticed

[jameswest]

One thing with pacing that might be worth discussing/experimenting with: having the characters affected by the pacing as much as the reader. Think of a character-driven, action-filled story and how a given character maybe isn't able to properly process events happening around them because they can't find a moment to rest and collect themselves. In this instance, both character and reader are experiencing the story at breakneck speeds and it's only during a slow paced, quiet moment where they can finally take a breath and really think about what's happened.
-
Again, this is mostly a food-for-thought moment, but I thought it'd be an interesting idea to put out there.

[Zivalene]

I love that you used the Iroh Prison scene for subtext. That is literally how I get myself into the mindset of writing subtle moments.
"Zuko is on the outside, but he is is the one in the cage."

[silvertheelf]

“Some call me... Tim...”
-Tim and Tim... also Tim...

[mischarowe]

Advice my 11th grade English teacher told me will never be forgotten: shorter sentences invoke more tension.
I was writing a horror, btw.

[mariapazgonzalezlesme]

Oof. Pacing, an obstacle that every writer must go through to make a story.

[zur]

Whenever you upload I’m reminded that I have not touched my writing since January.

[Duchess_Van_Hoof]

I have a three point rule.

Everything that is written need to drive the story further, develope a character or expand the worldbuilding.

As long as it is related to those three things it stays. And by limiting myself to this the writing develops itself with unexpected progress as the characters or the world act.

[araccoon]

*was the beginning a Monty Python reference*
Also I definitely need this video, so thanks!

[dear_totheheart]

I really appreciate your emphasis on the value on using a variety of pacing and subtext throughout our work, especially not to discredit slow pacing or longer, complex, and more poetic styles, which I find is often abandoned out of the belief that we must at all times be focused on action. I also like how you are encouraging us to not abuse or rely on any one style. And with most things, immediate gratification does not compare to how grand and more satisfying lingering tension and waiting in hopeful expectation makes the arrival of what we're yearning for


Wonderful and such analytical content, always so enjoyable and useful - thank you so very much for your efforts!

[xRaiofSunshine]

Ooooh I’ve been wondering about this. I’ve always heard “pacing is important!” in writing but it’s never been this clear and insightful before. Thanks ^w^

[chrishess]

The Sidequest Problem.


Everyone- That's insane! Who designed the game this way?!


Kirito-You don't play a lot of RPGs do you?

[nanners]

Just bought your book, can't wait to read it!

[timothyissler]

"Some call me.... Tim."
Me: "Oh, you have that problem too?"

[titojdavis]

Your point about subtext answers a question I get often from fantasy readers: "what ever happened to Eragon?" It was well written and interesting, solid world building as well but it fell away as soon as you put it down. I realized that it, unlike so many other stories with staying power, it had little to no subtext, it wasn't really dicectable. It's trope and plot driven, not theme driven.

[gryranfelt]

I'm dealing with a pacing problem in my own novel right now. The book is really strong from 15% in and onward, but before that several readers felt disconnected from characters and events, waiting for "stuff to begin". I didn't know what to do. There were obviously important things happening in those first 15%. I couldn't just skip it - that would make no sense. I thought about how to cut it down to "get over the boring stuff", but then recently I realized a few issues.
1) Because I as a writer was so focused on getting to that thing that happens 15 % in, I was rushing to get there. This showed up in my pacing. ironically, it meant I wasn't diving deep into the scenes and characters, which left the reader feeling turned off.
2) I realized I hadn't spent enough time thinking about alternative stuff that could've happened. Characters were acting as if the 15% scene was inevitable. it wasn't.
So I'm doing an edit of the beginning now, making the characters consider more angles and acting accordingly. Even though the 15% mark is still the same, characters are getting there in much more clever ways. Also, I'm taking my sweet time getting there. I'm making myself take interest in the beginning, allowing things to require more than originally. And I think it's working. By going for a fast pace in my earlier drafts, I made the reader feel as though the beginning was irrelevant. And how could they otherwise? I wrote it, in a way, feeling that it was.