Keeping Pace: In a Writer's Work
A couple of weeks ago we talked about keeping the pace in a writer’s life to avoid burnout. But what about on the page? How do we keep the readers from getting burned by the writing?
Editorial Note
In journalism—where I started my career (actually, I started by selling sno-cones)—when we were waiting for a quote or additional material, we’d write in TK to indicate there was more “to come.” TK was easier to see in the columns making it less likely it would be printed by mistake and without the additional details. Today, I’m using TK to let Simply Paid Subscribers know what is ahead for them after the lede.
Fun Fact: Lede is another publishing note to indicate the opening or lead of a print piece, while avoiding confusion with the word lead used in printing presses. Hed, is another in-copy shortcut for headline, and CK is often an editor’s mark reminding the writer to Check a fact or spelling. But if you see this shorthand in print, you can assume the copy editors missed the mark. TK
The importance of pacing to good writing
Examples of pacing
Tips for creating better pace in your fiction and nonfiction
A writing assignment
Avoid the Slog
“It’s taking forever now,” my husband said. He was wedged into the corner of the couch, reading. The book had sucked him in for days, kept him up nights, and now he was nearing the end, but his attention was scattered.
“It just feels long now,” he said, shaking his head. “It could have ended 40 pages ago.”
He put the book down and got up to rinse dishes.
That’s how pacing works. Or doesn’t.
A writer who knows how to handle the techniques of narrative pacing will captivate readers and hold their attention right through the last pages, but good pacing requires a balance of elements tuned just right.
Whether you are writing fiction or nonfiction, a white paper or landing page, your writing will have a rhythm, a tone.
That rhythm will carry readers along, drive them forward, or lose them in the noise.
Let’s look at how to create a piece with a good pace.
