You’re halfway done writing your fantasy epic or romance-sweeping novel, and you hit that feared spot where the scene won’t move. It’s not that nothing is happening, as your characters might be doing nothing more than walking and talking or even fighting, but somehow the juice has drained. The pages are heavy with it and you start worrying: Will readers feel that way too?

That’s pacing. And when it fails, it can turn even the most wonderful world or romantic love story into trudging through wet cement.

Pacing isn’t a mysterious gift that some authors possess from birth. It’s a crafting ability you can master once you understand what slows down your story and how to fix it.

What Pacing Means

Take pace with the rhythm of your narrative. Music finds rhythm in how the music sounds when it rises, when it stops, when it comes crashing over with a mighty chord. Prose finds its pace in the push and pull of tension, action and thought that draws readers in.

Fast pace zooms along like a speeding car: shorter sentences, snappy dialogue, and quick scene changes.

Slow pace invites readers to sit back and get comfortable with more detailed descriptions, inner reflection, and emotional scenes.

Neither is better than the other—it’s a matter of balance. You can’t write a book at full throttle any more than a song can consist of only cymbal crashes. The key is knowing when to floor it and when to cruise.

Pacing Pitfalls That Slow Down Stories

If your readers are skimming (or worse, losing interest and putting the book down), you might be working with one of these culprits.

1. Scenes That Go Nowhere

These are when your characters are moving, but your narrative isn’t. Perhaps they’re conversing about the weather, repeating old facts, or walking through the forest with nothing changing in stakes.

Example (Fantasy): Your protagonist wanders three pages to the castle, detailing every tree on the way yet nothing is discovered and no tension is created.

Example (Romance): Your leads spend half a chapter in a café, talking about their favorite films, but the dialogue doesn’t enrich the relationship or advance the plot.

The Fix: Each scene needs to have a purpose, conflict, and resolution. Something—no matter how small—should be different by the end: a decision is made, a secret is exposed, and a relationship is altered.

2. Repetitive Dialogue

Honest conversations repeat themselves, but it’s like a stalled engine on the page. If your characters have the same argument or go around the same issue repeatedly, readers will catch on.

The Fix: Cut repeated beats. If a point has been made once, don’t repeat it unless it takes on new significance.

Raise the stakes of the dialogue. Every exchange needs to raise the stakes or reveal new layers of tension.

3. Overlong Exposition

Yes, your world-building is gorgeous. Yes, you’ve thought through every magical law, every courtly custom, and every café menu item. But dumping too much at once can smother momentum.

The Fix: Weave details into action. Let readers learn about your world or backstory as characters interact with it. Instead of a paragraph about the royal feast, show your heroine pushing away a goblet because she suspects it’s poisoned.

4. Spending Too Much Time in One Emotion

Fantasy and romance require emotional depth—but excess time spent in one emotion can bring pacing to a halt. A three-page-long impassioned stare across the ballroom may have its fairy dust gone by paragraph two.

The Fix: Layer emotions with action. Pair that longing with obstacles, dialogue, or revelations that build tension.

How to Identify Pacing Issues in Your Manuscript

You might not notice plodding pacing as you write—especially if you’re relatively close to the scenes. Here’s how to catch them in revision:

Read it aloud. If you are zoning out or want to skip, your reader will too.

Check scene purpose. Can you cut the shift to one sentence? If not, the scene may be dragging.

Monitor tension levels. Note on a chart when tension builds and decreases. Long flat sections may indicate trouble areas.

Go to a beta reader and ask them where they were tempted to skip. Those places are pure gold for detecting pacing problems.

Strategic Pacing: When to Slow Down

Slowing down isn’t always a bad thing—in fact, it’s necessary. These are times when your story needs to catch its breath:

Big reveals—Let readers enjoy the twist.

Emotional payoff: When the confession is finally made, or the prophecy fulfilled.

Atmospheric immersion—mood creation in a creepy forest or ballroom.

Character development: Pensive moments where the hero makes the crucial decision.

Example: In romance, the first kiss can slow down so that every breath and heartbeat is fleshed out. In fantasy, the moment when a hero enters the throne room of the enemy may stretch out to build fear.

Strategic Pacing: When to Speed Up

Some moments require quick action:

Action scenes – Battles, chases, hair’s-breadth escapes.

Argument scenes – High stakes, temper, and words flying.

Race-against-the-clock scenarios – The countdown, real or imagined.

Example: In fantasy, a fight with swords speeds up using short sentences and fast beats. A heated lovers’ argument benefits from crisp, overlapping dialogue in romance.

Devices to Control Pacing in Revision

1. Sentence Length

Shorter sentences = faster pace, increased feeling of urgency.

Longer sentences = slower tempo, more reflection.

Quick Test: Try rewriting a slow passage with snappier, more chopped-up sentences. See how the tempo shifts.

2. White Space between Paragraphs

White space makes reading move faster. Breaking up big paragraphs makes scenes feel lighter and quicker.

3. Short vs. Long Scenes

Short scenes quicken the pace, especially when they end with hanging questions or cliff-hangers. Long scenes slow down—save those for big emotional beats or world-building.

4. Cutting Redundancy

Every repeated idea, over-described setting, or unnecessary sentence weighs as an anchor around the narrative’s ankles. Cutting 10% of a draft will often work wonders for pacing.

5. Causing Obstacles

Where a scene is too easy, add an obstacle—a misunderstanding, an unexpected threat, a countdown. Even a small problem can generate momentum.

Balancing Pacing in Fantasy

Fantasy gets bogged down on pacing because of world-building. It’s simple to explain it all. But dumping it all at once can be a chore to read, like stumbling through a history textbook.

Reminders:

• Feed your lore through action and dialogue.
• Use setting details that serve the purpose of the character’s immediate goal.
• Alternating exposition with tension—don’t dump it in tranquil scenes.

Balancing Pacing in Romance

Romance exists on emotional beats, and the story gets stuck if you have too many in succession. The romance must cross with outside events, giving both momentum.

Tips:

• Let outside conflict (work, danger, family drama) move the plot between romantic beats.
• Save most profound emotional moments for points where they’ll have the most impact—like after a significant setback.

Quick Pacing Check Before You Publish

Here’s a speedy checklist to run through before releasing your book into the world:

• Is every scene pushing the plot forward, developing the character, or escalating stakes?
• Are long descriptive or emotional passages offset by action?
• Don’t action scenes drag on endlessly without discoveries?
• Is your climax the fastest-paced part of the book, followed by the satisfying slow-down in resolution?

Conclusion

Pacing is not about stripping your story bare—it’s about guiding your reader through a journey of rhythm, tension, and release. Think of yourself as a conductor: sometimes you need a crescendo, sometimes a pause, but always a melody that keeps readers in harmony with your story.

So as you revise, don’t just ask, “Does this scene work?” Ask, “Does this scene move?” If it doesn’t, adjust the rhythm until it does.

And if you’d like an outside eye to help you spot where your story slows, I’d love to step in. At Once Upon a Manuscript, I help fantasy and romance authors fine-tune pacing so readers never want to put the book down.

Ready to make your manuscript sing? Explore my editing services, and let’s shape your story’s rhythm together.