Hi! Just wanted to get your opinion on something. I've always had trouble with pacing and looking to improve it and my friend gave some advice. He said a chapter should be a scene in the story's timeline, and no longer than 5k words. Would you say that's good advice to follow, and do you have any tidbits to help pacing?
I am going to be the bearer of bad news. Chapters are completely arbitrary in nature when it comes to storytelling. NOW, before everybody starts yelling, chapters do lend a hand in external structure and they can be a good indicator of pacing, but how they are used is entirely up to the individual author. Creating hard and fast chapter rules is not going to really help in this situation.
When we talk about pacing, we are talking about the flow of the story. Does this scene last too long, or not long enough? Is there a consistent rise in tension, or are your characters treading water for too long a time? Does the beginning take to long to, well, begin? Let's completely forget about chapters for now.
What is the main goal of each scene? Take a step back and summarize each scene in your project. What is the main goal of the scene? If you can't identify it, or have too many, you either have a scene that goes nowhere or a scene that needs to be split up into several scenes. For example:
Main Goal: Lisa discovers Ted is lying to her.
How Does It Happen? He said he was at the soccer game, but his wife told Lisa that Ted called and said he had to work overtime.
Importance to the Plot: Ted is not the prime suspect for murder.
How do you know if a scene is too long or too short? - Did we already establish what was needed only to spend two more pages on meaningless small talk? Are you taking a long time describing plot irrelevant details, like a room we never see again, or a one-time character who isn't even named? If a scene happens and nothing is accomplished - the main character learns nothing, goes nowhere, or reiterates a fight we've seen her think about a dozen times already - you'll need to rethink it.
Is a scene too slow or too fast? Fight scenes are action-packed and fast-paced. No need to describe the detailing of a henchmen's coat when it's pitch-black and your Main Character's being punched in the face. On the other hand, did you rush through a scene where a major clue is discovered through painstakingly searching a room? Slow down a bit, focus more on detail. If you bring the wrong energy to a scene, your pacing will be thrown off.
Other things to think about:
Vary your sentence lengths within paragraphs to help with better flow - the same types of sentences quickly make reading them boring. This requires focusing on each paragraph, but it is worth doing.
Let dialogue scenes focus mostly on dialogue - don't have your main character describe the distant mountains between spoken word unless those mountains are relevant to the conversation.
Don't pack your beginnings with backstory - chunk it up and reveal it throughout the novel when it becomes relevant.
Exposition is the main killer of pacing - explain things when they need to be explained, like when they are plot-relevant or needed for action.
Bring those chapters back to your advantage. Once you have a handle on your scenes and how they should flow, look at how you can shape your chapters to provide necessary time skips, cliffhangers, and narrative changes. Vary their lengths to the advantage of your story, not some pre-chosen page number.
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