Kimberly Gardner

I’ve been thinking quite a lot lately about pacing, the thing that keeps you turning the pages. Or, if not handled properly, the thing that allows you to put the book down and go to sleep.

What got me thinking of pacing, both in my own work and in the books I read, was a book I started reading yesterday.

The story premise is good. The setting is interesting. And the characters, from what I know of them so far, are likable, in other words, they are people I can cheer for.

But the pacing is … off.

Not terrible, mind you. Not even bad, just … off.

Now, to be fair, I’ve only read the first two chapters and sometimes it takes a while for the writer to find her footing, especially in a story where the setting and time period are somewhat removed. But where was the editor?

These first few chapters, of any story, not just this one, are critical to grabbing the reader by the … ahem, throat and not letting her go. I’m not saying you have to drop a dead body through the ceiling at the close of every chapter, but you as the writer do have to give your reader a reason to keep turning those virtual pages. And nowhere is that as important as in the first chapters of your story.

A couple of big no-no’s:

DON’T frontload your story with backstory and info that’s not critical at that moment.

DON’T info dump. Give the reader only as much info as she needs not to be confused.

DON’T flashback. *

* A note here. Flashbacks, if used judiciously, can enhance the narrative and provide glimpses into a character’s past. So they’re not to be avoided at any cost. Rather use them like a strongly flavored spice. A little goes a long way.

DO know where to start the story. Timing really is everything in fiction, at least as far as effective pacing is concerned.

DO show more than tell.

In the book I refer to above, there was one particular scene, told as part of the narrative, that I remember thinking “Wow, I wish the writer had *shown* me that scene instead of just *telling* me that it happened.” Something as simple as choosing which scenes to show and which to narrate can make all the difference. In this case, if the writer had shown this particular scene she could have avoided the need for pages and pages of narrative and flashback. Showing the scene would have given me, the reader, much of the information about the protagonist and his world and done it in a more effective way than citing a littany of events from his past.

If I had critiqued this book I would have encouraged the author to be ruthless in cutting much of those first two chapters and rather choosing a scene or two that would have demonstrated, through action rather than words, who this protagonist is and where he comes from and how that shaped him.

Clearly, the author has good instincts for what makes an interesting and dramatic story. And, to be fair, this is her first novel and sometimes it takes a while to find your voice. But she needs to work on her pacing or she won’t keep her readers, not even if her story is interesting because it will be too easy for them to put down her book.

I hope she finds her way because she has a lot of potential and I’d like to see more from her.