Scene Pacing
What is Pacing?
Pacing is the speed at which a story unfolds for the reader.
Recall that the If we consider all six scene components, in order, we see that they fall into two groups.
The first components of a scene tend to focus on the external action. They typically involve “higher” energy and the events tend to develop the plot. Conflict is largely external. In general, the external action components move faster.
The remaining scene components tend to be more introspective and reflective. They typically involve “lower” energy because the main changes involve character development rather than external events that advance the plot. In general, internal reaction components tend to move slower.
The reaction portion of a scene is extremely flexible. The events therein might occur within a few seconds (consider an action hero, who must react to some disaster in an instant). Consequently the reaction might only require a few sentences, if any.
On the other hand, the reaction part of a scene might be entirely composed of twenty pages of inner monologue. Because this section is inward-facing, it’s a good place for backstory, flashbacks, and character growth.
The proportion of faster-paced components vs. slower-paced components allows the writer to control the pacing.
External Action (Faster Paced)
Goal
Conflict
Disaster
Internal Reaction (Slower Paced)
Reaction
Dilemma
Decision
Examples
External Action back-to-back
Consider packing multiple Goal-Conflict-Disaster components back to back.
This arrangement is common in the action genre. The hero responds instantly from each disaster, always “knowing” what to do next (new goal).
The main character doesn’t get any downtime to process their emotions about what has happened. Nor do they have a chance to reflect on their experience and grow. (There’s typically little character development when stories are replete with action.)
Click here for a more detailed analysis of some back-to-back action scenes in the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Goal Conflict Disaster Goal Conflict Disaster Goal Conflict Disaster Slow down an action story
Stories with back to back Goal-Conflict-Disaster keep the anticipation and interest high, however too much “uptime” can fatigue the reader.
You can give your reader (and protagonist) a break by adding some internal reaction components. These components allow both reader and protagonist to reflect on the events of the story.
Goal Conflict Disaster Goal Conflict Disaster Reaction Dilemma Decision Internal Reaction back-to-back
Consider a series of scenes where there is very little action, and most of the text is describing people’s inner reaction to the action. This pattern often occurs in the horror, romance, or suspense genre. For example, a character might be woken by a noise downstairs. They worry and speculated what it might be. They wonder if they should go downstairs and finally decide to take a peek. At the stop of the stairs the see some movement in the dark. What was that? They worry, they imagine the worst. Not a lot of external action happens in this story–it’s mostly an emotionally driven series of events.
The story is slower-paced. The text might be spending a lot of time inside the character’s head, revealing their emotions and thoughts through inner monologue.
The slower, but deeper story may be the effect you want, however, there’s a risk of boring your readers.
small action Reaction Dilemma Decision * * *
small action Reaction Dilemma Decision small action Reaction Dilemma Decision Balance
Consider alternating between the external action of Goal-Conflict-Disaster with the inner reactions of Reaction-Dilemma-Decision. This scheme presents a very clear cause and effect between the Disaster and following Reaction, as well as the connection between one scene’s Decision and the following scene’s Goal.
Some writers feel very strongly that every external action should have an inner reaction. This may be a good starting point for writing scenes. However, given how flexible the inner reactions are, you might want to modify them to achieve the pacing that you want.
Goal Conflict Disaster Reaction Dilemma Decision Goal Conflict Disaster Reaction Dilemma Decision Icons made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com