Something that may not be thought of often by writers is pacing. It is a difficult thing to work on as you write only because it can sometimes only be felt when reading the book as a whole. However, it is a very important aspect of a story making any great story unbearable to read because how fast or slow the story progresses. The length of a book can make it even more difficult to get the pacing right with more time spent perhaps in exposition. A good way to tell if a book has good pacing is if a reader "flies through it," or "can't put it down."
A good rule of thumb for pacing can be found in movies where you introduce characters and setting, and as the exposition grows to near the middle it should pick up steam and rush towards the end. Of course, this is not the only structure of a story; some stories might be a fast-paced story with never-ending excitement.
Perhaps a way to think of the pacing of a story is a road trip. Start to finish is the story, and the speed of the car is the pace of the story. The point of the story is to get to the end, but if you are stuck looking at the Grand Canyon, the story feels like it is going nowhere. Although very important, exposition done in the wrong way is like dragging an anchor behind the car.
Many view the pacing of a story as a bell curve wherein the story climbs a hill of exposition and story to about the middle then rides down the hill, speeding towards the end. Other pacing can be that of a roller coaster having short rises and falls throughout the story. A story that starts out fast and exciting can lull into exposition before racing towards the end, creating a variant of the bell curve.
Pacing is difficult to notice as a writer because even when proofreading your work, your intimate knowledge of the story hinders you from evaluating how fast or slow the story is progressing. The easiest way to test the pacing of your story is to have an objective reader with little bias read your draft. As for when you are writing, take into account of whether or not a scene is moving the story to the end. A reader who has not read the story does not know the ending, but a general inclination of the resolution of a problem or issue is typical in a story. If the story is not moving towards that resolution, it will feel to drag.
Writing a series of books is even more difficult, but the same structure of pacing should be kept. It can be expected to include more exposition in the first book, but remember that there are smaller resolutions in each book with a larger tie-in at the end of the last book. Tidbits of information can be laid down early on that have greater meaning in later books, but information that matters for that book is the most important. Anything excessive risks slowing down the pace of one of the books. Generally, the pacing of a series of books is combination of a bell curve and a roller coaster where the rise and fall of the bell curve happens within each book, but the series resembles that of a roller coaster.
Other factors can also come into play with uninteresting characters, and an excessive time spent on those characters will hinder the pacing of the story. The obvious, though perhaps not always the easiest, solution is to make that character more interesting. It does not always have to be more likeable, but in no way should they be boring.
While it is not the easiest thing to consider, pacing of a story is important. As I said before, a story can be epic with great ideas and characters, but if the pacing is off, it will be a book that readers will want to put down rather than the opposite.
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