Pacing Is Invisible Until It's Wrong
Segun Iwasanmi@iwasanmisegun212159
4 days ago
© Iwasanmi Segun
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One night I was reading someone's manuscript and I found myself checking the time, it wasn't because I was tired, but because the story refused to move. (No offense meant, I just want you all to learn) It was like sitting in a bus that had fuel, engine, everything… but the driver just kept pressing brake for no reason.
Funny thing is, the writing itself was not bad. It had clean sentences, good grammar, even small small wisdom inside. But every scene stayed too long, like a visitor that doesn't know when to stand up and say "let me be going." You know that visitor. The one that has said goodbye four times but is still standing at the door talking. 😀
And I've seen the opposite too. Stories that are running like they are chasing something. Big moments just fly past you, no time to feel anything. Before you even understand what just happened, they've moved to the next thing. You finish reading and you're just there, blank. Like you attended a party and somehow missed the whole party.
That's pacing. You won't notice it when it's right, but the moment it's off, your body knows before your mind catches up. You either start skipping lines or you stop caring quietly.
So when I sat with that manuscript, we didn't start changing big big things. We just sat with each scene and asked it honest questions. "Should this scene really stay this long?" "Why are we rushing this part?" The writer would look at me, look at the page, and something would show in their face or voice. Like they were hearing something they already knew but needed someone else to say out loud. Small adjustments followed, but the story began to breathe differently. You could feel it.
Sometimes, it's just removing one unnecessary paragraph. Sometimes, it's giving one moment two extra lines to land well. And everything starts to feel… right.
Most people think editing is about correcting mistakes. It's not always that. Sometimes, it's just helping the story walk at the pace it was meant to walk, not dragging its feet, not running ahead of itself.
And once you've seen what proper pacing does to a story, you can't unsee it. Even the ones you've already written will start looking at you somehow. The real problem is, seeing the issue and fixing it alone are two very different things. One is awareness. The other needs another pair of eyes, one that has sat with enough broken pacing to know exactly where to press.
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© Segun Iwasanmi | ™The Man With The Story.
Book Writer | Screen and Scriptwriter | Creative Fiction Writer | Book Editor.
I help people turn rough ideas into bold stories that work
