How can you develop a story pace properly?

[Luxferion]

My main concern is how can I rush a story but doing it right. Not wrongly like most. And how do I slow it doing it right. Not wrong.
And what things are classified as filler chapters to readers here? As my view of the world might be different.

And in which way can a story become boring and up to how much level of descriptions needed? I am asking to get number one and get all of you a masterpiece like naruto because you deserve it and my book has potential for an anime but I will stop flexing for now. But I am aksing to improve it and make it godly..Wisdom is important.i can't be self-centered it does not work as such.

Thank you guys.I appreciate if there is some living being answering .. I don't mind if its a rock.

 

[lnv]

My main concern is how can I rush a story but doing it right. Not wrongly like most. And how do I slow it doing it right. Not wrong.
And what things are classified as filler chapters to readers here? As my view of the world might be different.

Generally, people are happy when a chapter is fulfilling. So regardless of how slow or fast you go, if each chapter gives the feel of fulfillment, people won't complain. Of course that may not always be possible, but it should be the case for the most part. Part of the issue that rushing chapters is you lose coherence on what is going on and lose immersion. The same applies to slow pace which tend to be word spam. But if you divert the users attention to something else and create excitement, they will pay less attention to the pacing. It's same way humans lose track of time.

If anything, throw most boring stuff in the beginning of the chapter, and put more of the exciting stuff towards the middle and end. People tend to be more memorable about what they read towards the end than the beginning cause they are more immersed into it. But you should still have enough in the middle so they don't get bored.

And in which way can a story become boring and up to how much level of descriptions needed?

The bare minimum to get your point across. The english language dictates that things should be as concise as possible. But bare minimum does not mean no description, it simply should be the bare minimum to set the mood/details you wish to project. I will note, most people ignore the descriptions the author writes and imagines their own stuff anyways. So generally tilting them in your train of thought is more than enough.

I am asking to get number one and get all of you a masterpiece like naruto because you deserve it and my book has potential for an anime but I will stop flexing for now. But I am aksing to improve it and make it godly..Wisdom is important.i can't be self-centered it does not work as such.

Since when was Naruto a masterpiece? Pretty sure its crap... that doesn't mean it doesn't have some good elements to it. But overall, there is so much issues with it, its not even funny. Most side characters are crap and boring, it ruins its own plot (The whole point of the story was suppose to be the hard working orphan MC, well in reality he is a prince! The only character who actually works their way up through their own effort and not because of their birth is Sakura. And she gets treated like garbage. Now the author admitted he is bad with female characters, but he did just fine with the sasori arc. That is actually one of the highest rated episode of naruto. But when a male character shows up, Sakura gets turned to useless crap). Then the whole plot point of the 3rd hokage just leaving naruto as an orphan like a ticking time bomb was stupid as hell.

Anidb has naruto at under 6 weighted rating, which means its below average at best. For shounen, it's probably average.

I will note to be careful using anime and manga as your basis, because some things can only be shown and not written. And at same time some things can only be written and not shown. Which means you might imagine it to match what happens in a manga or anime, but to the reader what they will get is something else completely.

 

[RepresentingCaution]

Some people like a fast pace and some people like a slow pace. Write what feels right to you, and someone will like it.

Ever read Kim Stanley Robinson? To me, his pace is agonizingly slow, but some people absolutely love his work.

 

[Daitengu]

Depends on the genre. But film directors have been copying the "Star Wars emotional pacing" ever since the movie came out for action.

 

[Draculus-del-Viafat]

What I do first to get things right, I write down the whole storyline, from the beginning to the end of my novel. I don't really care for how slow or fast the story itself is, but I'll always try to include both fast action and soft, "slow" moments into it. Then, I just divide the storyline into pieces - chapters - and go writing, not concerned too much about the pace. My two major rules are Never give a reader too much of anything, be sure to keep balance and Be a wave - don't be spontenous, which means everything must lead to something and go out of something, things don't just happen all of a sudden. And also I make sure that I include a piece of information into one chapter, and not a piece of another piece, if you know what I mean. Just like Inv said above, each chapter must give a reader a feeling of fulfillment, and also craving for what happens next. Don't forget also that dialogues and action scenes usually make the novel faster, while wide and vivid descriptions slow it down. Or at least it's what happens when I read something, maybe it's not that common.

 

[Chad_B]

When it comes to "pace," as in the reader's sense of the speed of a scene, there are a couple of simple tricks you can use.

If you want your reader to whiz through sentences, make them short and punchy. Stick to nouns and verbs.

If you want the pace to slow down, start narrating actions and reactions, and describing the environment, in greater detail.

 

[vanta_luxe]

Honestly, I just sort of wing it.
I have a general idea of what I want to happen, but I tend to use major and minor events to keep the reader invested.

There's many ways you can do this it just requires creative writing a great deal of the time. I find that some people expound on inner thoughts as a way of stretching out writing as well. Motivations are good, but if your chapters tend to be short and your readers have to wait they may feel short changed a bit by this tactic.

 

[Maple-Leaf]

I just drew an oversimplified summary page with a bunch of oddly shaped rectangles with the main events in them and wing the rest.

It currently does not exist yet, but I’ll get there eventually.

 

[DubstheDuke]

My general rule for pacing is this:

Pacing is not usually the first thing you should be concerned about. If you feel like you need more detail, add it. If you feel like you're spending too much time on something, cut to the chase. Go by feel. There isn't some perfect pace set, but as long as you get somewhere by the end of the chapter that's further than where you started, that's fine. Set a goal. "I want this scene to be over by the end of the chapter." "I want to reach this point in the fight, or get to the point where this character is introduced.", etc. After that, just do what you feel is good, and reread it. When you read it, did it feel too fast? Too slow? Just right? Adjust from there. But for first draft especially, just write, and go with your gut.

 

[Kaguro]

I mean there's a couple things that go into pacing in my opinion.

Long-term plot. You have to have at least something in mind to move plot forward on a grander scale. Otherwise you will end up with an unorganized mess if you write anything of decent length.

Mid-term plot. 'story-arcs'. Sections of the story that often contain significant developments. You need a small plot planned to drive some sort of interesting narrative that will happen within ~100 pages. The story has to have been advanced down a path to your long-term plot somehow.

Short-term plot. The page to page descriptions and actions. Give enough detail to establish the environment you want to portray, but don't make it about the detail. Descriptions of things are often boring. Character interactions and 'reactions' are what readers like most of the time. How the characters interact with their environment, how they feel about things, how other characters interact with them.

If you miss any of these three things then you will have issues with pacing.

Go into excessive detail in the short-term then it takes forever to get to actual developments. Don't go into enough details and nobody cares about the developments in the first place because the story doesn't seem real.

Don't have any story-arcs planned, then you don't really have a story in the first place because you've broken the very basic Freytag's pyramid structure that every fiction has. Setting, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, return to normal/new normal. Your story will be slow and boring without this. This is why the villains are often the most important and interesting part of super-hero stories, they are the conflict that allows for the hero to be defined.

 

[gaylolis]

my general rule at pacing is always writing at my own pace

 

[Luxferion]

Since when was Naruto a masterpiece? Pretty sure its crap... that doesn't mean it doesn't have some good elements to it. But overall, there is so much issues with it, its not even funny. Most side characters are crap and boring, it ruins its own plot (The whole point of the story was suppose to be the hard working orphan MC, well in reality he is a prince! The only character who actually works their way up through their own effort and not because of their birth is Sakura. And she gets treated like garbage. Now the author admitted he is bad with female characters, but he did just fine with the sasori arc. That is actually one of the highest rated episode of naruto. But when a male character shows up, Sakura gets turned to useless crap). Then the whole plot point of the 3rd hokage just leaving naruto as an orphan like a ticking time bomb was stupid as hell.

Anidb has naruto at under 6 weighted rating, which means its below average at best. For shounen, it's probably average.

I will note to be careful using anime and manga as your basis, because some things can only be shown and not written. And at same time some things can only be written and not shown. Which means you might imagine it to match what happens in a manga or anime, but to the reader what they will get is something else completely.

naruto in my heart is a masterpiece and has a special place. It technically was..a proper masterpiece back in the day but they slowly milked the series till it's destroyed.But naruto has its good points and bad points. Nothing is perfect.I believe its above-average than other shonens. But it does not have philosophical or good themes linked to that. that strike a lot but basic themes instead explained more in detail like friendship.

For the messed it all up..it went to the dustbin the day he fought Neji. The worst part of all naruto is that Neji was right.Sakura is more useless than Rock lee...Sakura has her good points but it's obvious that since you have op people with op bloodlines and skills you are doomed..althought Rock lee doe shave few skills that make a bit more useful and likeable.Just my opinion. You are right though, but also wrong too..I guess.I respect your opinion.


Anyway I appreciate your advice bro.It was good.I will keep it in mind.Its just that a professional told me its too rushed before..which he did got it right at the beginning since I was in a rush.No I calmed down but was afraid it was too slow so i asked in case.But anyway thank you a lot.

Arigato gasaimasu

 

[Luxferion]

my general rule at pacing is always writing at my own pace

Who is that?

 

[Luxferion]

My general rule for pacing is this:

Pacing is not usually the first thing you should be concerned about. If you feel like you need more detail, add it. If you feel like you're spending too much time on something, cut to the chase. Go by feel. There isn't some perfect pace set, but as long as you get somewhere by the end of the chapter that's further than where you started, that's fine. Set a goal. "I want this scene to be over by the end of the chapter." "I want to reach this point in the fight, or get to the point where this character is introduced.", etc. After that, just do what you feel is good, and reread it. When you read it, did it feel too fast? Too slow? Just right? Adjust from there. But for first draft especially, just write, and go with your gut.

I will see what I can come up with that i can move the paces perfectly without it being forced..now i need to create certain enviroments..

 

[Luxferion]

Got it.

 

[Luxferion]

What I do first to get things right, I write down the whole storyline, from the beginning to the end of my novel. I don't really care for how slow or fast the story itself is, but I'll always try to include both fast action and soft, "slow" moments into it. Then, I just divide the storyline into pieces - chapters - and go writing, not concerned too much about the pace. My two major rules are Never give a reader too much of anything, be sure to keep balance and Be a wave - don't be spontenous, which means everything must lead to something and go out of something, things don't just happen all of a sudden. And also I make sure that I include a piece of information into one chapter, and not a piece of another piece, if you know what I mean. Just like Inv said above, each chapter must give a reader a feeling of fulfillment, and also craving for what happens next. Don't forget also that dialogues and action scenes usually make the novel faster, while wide and vivid descriptions slow it down. Or at least it's what happens when I read something, maybe it's not that common.

Nice one. I got it