I’m so excited to get the amazing Roxanne St. Claire back for another guest appearance here at Plotmonkeys…especially on a Craft of Writing Saturday. She’s an amazing teacher…and she proves it today!
If you do not know Roxanne, you should…but suffice it to say, she’s an RITA-award winning, best-selling author of the popular Bulletcatchers romantic suspense series, as well as some super hot category romance novels for Silhouette Desire. And she’s a great friend!
——————————————————————
PACE-KILLERS AND PACE-MAKERS…WHAT GIVES A BOOK AN AMAZING PACE?
Thank you so much, Plotmonkeys, for inviting me to join in on the Saturday fun. I love the craft discussions – they are my favorite. When Julie asked me to guest blog on a topic, I decided to offer up my thoughts on pacing for a couple of reasons. For one thing, I did a workshop on it in Atlanta in 2006 and I was devastated that the taping of the workshop had a technical glitch and about 2/3 of my talk is…gone. It isn’t evident from listening to the tape, so I sort of sound like, well…like my pacing’s off.
But that’s not the only reason I decided to share my thoughts on pacing. I think the pace of a book is right up there with character and conflict as one of the most important elements of storytelling to me. When a review or reader letter that comments on the “can’t put down” pace of my books, it thrills me. So, I’ve plucked out my notes from the pacing workshop-that-wasn’t, and decided to take this opportunity to share some of the guidelines that help me write (I hope) page-turners.
Remember that pacing is subjective. One writer’s “leisurely, descriptive, flowing prose” is a wall-banger to some and pure poetry to others. One author’s breakneck speed leaves some readers breathless, and others just plain tired. The speed your story progresses from beginning to end – the speed of each scene, of each chapter, of the entire book – can really make or break your story. Not only that, butpacing is actual invisible and ethereal, sort of like beauty. You just know it’s there, but it’s very hard to say why.
And all that makes it very difficult to “teach” pacing. While there is no formula to ensure your pace is perfect, I can tell you what I believe are the elements that ruin pace, and offer some tips to turn these pace-killers into pacemakers.
The Number One Killer of Pace – BACKSTORY.
Backstory can slow a book and a backstory dump can lose a reader in the first chapter. You know this dump. You’ve read this dump. Here it is: when the heroine spends the first four pages of chapter one thinking about how sick she is of being a goody two shoes because her sister was always the wild one and now it’s her turn, damn it, to go out and get laid for the fun of it and that’s why she’s in this bar, on this night, staring at that stranger in the cowboy hat. Sorry, you lost me goody two shoes. Just put her butt on the barstool next to the cowboy, and let’s find out he’s done her sister. Banter and conflict beat backstory any day.
My tip on backstory is simple: keep it to a minimum, wipe it out of your first chapter and remember the reader doesn’t have to know everything about a character, YOU do.
INTROSPECTION. This is backstory’s evil cousin. When used properly and in a deep POV, introspection can be one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal. However, it can be overused, misused, dropped in the wrong place, or even become the crutch that helps hobble the opening of every single scene into action.
This is not to say you can’t have backstory and introspection. You must. But you need to drop that backstory in gracefully, through dialogue, action, and lots voice-filled clever thoughts interspersed in dialogue and action.
My tip on introspection: be sure your character’s internal voices match their dialogue voice, and don’t all sound the same. This will help keep introspection in character and interesting. Also, bonus tip: don’t drop into introspection in the middle of a high action scene. It’s not realistic and it really pulls the reader from the story if the heroine is musing over the breadth of the hero’s shoulders when they’re running from bad guys.
INFORMATION EXCHANGE. This can kill the pace of any book. Often these scenes are there as the solution to backstory dump, but they can be out and out boring. You know the scene – the shared meal, the car ride, the morning after scene where the hero and heroine reveal their defining moments and dark secrets.
Here’s my tip to fix keep those info exchange scenes lively and “readable”: don’t have one character tell something the reader already knows, unless the character there is going to be an emotional reaction that the reader doesn’t anticipate. And make something else happen in the scene besides information exchange – a little action goes a long way to smoothing out the bumps on the info exhange road.
IMBALANCED DIALOGUE AND NARRATIVE. Without a doubt, the more dialogue you have, the faster the book reads. But the actual speed of the dialogue is important, as well as how many tags you use, and how many lines start with dialogue or start with “thought.” Try reading a book you love for no other reason but to watch how dialogue is handled: a great writer will shake it up, keep it real and make it fast.
Snappy dialogue should be balanced by the length and flow of narrative paragraphs. Long, meandering paragraphs full of lovely prose are certainly acceptable in certain genres, but they will slow your pace. If you love them, keep them at a minimum. My tip (but not a rule!) is: try to limit your paragraphs to no more than about five or six sentences to keep things moving quickly and vary the length of every paragraph.
NUMBER OF SUBPLOTS AND NAMED CHARACTERS. Too many or too few subplots can have a powerfully negative impact on the story pace. Introduce too many storylines that are ancillary to the romance and main story arc, and you will drag that arc too low. Introduce too few and your reader will wish the story had “more going on.” As well, a character, as you’ve probably heard, should have a reason for being in the story. Make sure you know that reason.
My tip for subplots: interweave them so seamlessly into the main plot that the reader doesn’t even realize they are being introduced to a subplot. If the subplot is the main “plot point” of a scene, it should not be so separate from the main action that the reader feels she’s been dropped into another book, another love story. For characters: the use of non h/h point of view is very helpful in developing a subplot, as long as that person is intrinsically involved in the main story and not just a secondary thrown in for the sake of another POV or subplot.
PLACEMENT OF PLOT TWISTS and TURNING POINTS. These are, as Jenny Cruisie says, the poles that hold your story tent up and prevent a sagging middle. In romantic suspense, they can include finding the dead body, eliminating a major villain, ratcheting up the stakes, or increasing the threat to the main characters. In straight romance, they are just as important, but the “number of times they occur” may be different. How many and how often? That absolutely depends upon you as a storyteller.
I like to introduce a major plot tornado at the quarter points of a book – every 4 or 5 chapters in a 20 – 22 chapter book. In between, I throw in some storms, a mini plot twist or new clue in every other chapter. My secret pageturning tip: try to end every scene and every chapter with a hook that could be a plot twist.
THE SPEED OF CONFLICT & STORY RESOLUTION. You’re certain to have lots of conflict and story lines that need to be resolved in a good book – internal and external for both characters, family issues, history, villains and mysteries, other potential sources of problems for the characters. Be careful how and when those storylines and conflicts are “solved” for the reader. Too soon, and the end of the book is draggy and dull. Too late, and the reader doesn’t feel satisfied.
The tip: think very carefully about the order of conflict resolution. You don’t have to end with the romance. Sometimes closing with a little, sweet moment of the secondary romance, and showing how it relates to the main romance, can really tie a great bow on a story!
Bottom line, ladies (and gents) – everything impacts pacing. Think of it as a numbers game: too many chapters, too many scenes per chapter, too many pages per scene, too many unbroken paragraphs, too many sentences in a paragraph, even too many long words or similar sentences….all pacekillers and not pacemakers!
Hope that gets you thinking! I’ll be around for comments and questions all day!
By all reports, Julie Leto was a sweet child once, somewhat shy, preferring to play quietly in her room making up stories. However, being raised with three brothers in a loud, primarily Italian household did have its influences and Julie discovered her inner tough girl. That’s probably why most of her heroines kick serious butt. Writing sassy heroines has worked out, as she’s sold nearly thirty books to three publishers featuring strong, confident women. Julie lives in Florida with her husband, daughter, spoiled dachshund, enormous guinea pig and a wide range of relatives all within driving distance.
3 Seductions and a Wedding
Hot Number
Play With Me
Wild For Him
Subscribe to Posts 
Comment
Welcome back, Rocki! Always a pleasure. Thanks for the pacing workshop. It helped me on the scene I’m working on!
Comment
Rocki–So wonderful to see you! Wish it was in person.
This is fabulous stuff!!
The “backstory dump” can be a huge problem when trying to write category with limited pages. It ain’t easy and I know some of my books have horrible ones.
What I wouldn’t give to rewrite…
Missing you!
Comment
Hello Roxanne, welcome back to the jungle…loved today’s lesson on pacing…as I was reading, I kept thinking about books that I read and kept versus those that I read and gave away…in retrospect a lot of the books that were keepers had the right kind of pacing as wells as subplots, twists and enough enticements about a second storyline about secondary or tertiary characters that I was hooked…those I gave away was lacking in some of these areas…most of them had either too much backstory or too little…thanks for the lesson…coming to the jungle on Saturdays and learning is helping me to make a decision about writing a full length novel…I am having a ball learning different things…these lessons also help me to read books in a different way…thanks
for inviting Roxanne back…Have a great Saturday all…
Peace and love,
Comment
I loved “Take Me Tonight” and it was one of those books that I read in a day. Obviously, I couldn’t put it down. And you share great, great information here. I only hope my brain can process and retain it all!
Thanks for stopping by the jungle and sharing this valuable information and your time! It is so very much appreciated!
Comment
Thanks for the welcome, Monkeys & glad you liked the blog, Paula! Does anyone else find themselves composing comments strictly by how many of these guys :giggle: you can use? Am so happy to be here. :banana: Happier still that I finished a book yesterday – well draft-to-agent-finished, not finished-finished – and I am, for the first time in weeks and weeks FREE on a Saturday. :happy2: I’m getting a mani, shopping (Wal-Mart for Halloween doodads, but still, there’s a store, purchases and a credit card involved, so it qualifies as shopping), taking my daughter to lunch, and hanging here when you want me.
Leslie, the state of Florida has lost its sunshine without you.
All right… hit me with questions, comments, stories, pacing problems, whatever.
xoxo
Rocki , off to walk the
Comment
Good morning Plotmonkeys! Hi Roxanne! Welcome to the jungle. Glad you’re here.
Thank you for the mini lesson pacing. As I read your comments, I was mentally skimming through my current WIP which is on the home stretch now to see where I might have dropped the ball on pacing. Pacing is a critical point in writing a good story. Thanks for the great information.
Have a great Saturday everyone. I’m off to rehearsal,
Cher
Comment
I can’t think of a better way to spend a Saturday than with Rocki! Thanks for sharing this great info! I am definitely going to put it to good use. Lynette
Comment
Can I just say WOW
Roxanne I hope to put all that info to good use 
for taking time from your free Saturday to guide, and advise us, I really appretiate it :flower4you:
Thanks
Comment
Hi Roxanne:
Thank you SO much for this crtitical topic. I must confess I can vomit out backstory better than anything. I’ve entered my books into contests (and after I shed a few tears from the comments)- took a deep breath and started surgery, one book at a time.
I’ve been told my pacing is good- just too much info dump. I have a question on dialogue. One of the contest judges said that I didn’t have enough dialogue tags in a scene that was clearly between the H/H. I think have a good handle on the “he said, she said” tags. What I struggle with is adding movements, facial expressions, etc.
Is a page of straight dialogue a major no-no? Every book I read- the handling of dialogue varies so much it’s hard to know what to do. Thanks for taking the time to do this!
Rosemary
Comment
Welcome back to the jungle, Rocki! It’s always a pleasure having you here! Awesome workshop on pacing!
Congratulations again on your beautiful, gorgeous, shiny RITA!!! :banana:
Comment
Hi Rocki!!!
:flower4you: :flower4you: So glad to see you on the Monkeys. Even more excited about your upcoming visit to TARA in November!
As always, your advice and insight on writing is terrific!
(And yes – I love these smileys
These ladies have the best selection :grin1:)
By the way – you are one great dancer!
Cheers
Cheryl
Comment
Rocki,
You always have the best advice! This was just what I needed to give my WIP a kick in the pants :grin1:.
Jules
Comment
Thanks Rocki!
And a big hand for finishing your agent draft of your current book!
Okay, I’ve been sending out my latest Coast Guard story to agents and I’ve decided about half of chapter two has to go! It’s been one of those gut feelings all along–you know, the one that says it’s not working
so after reading your wonderful blog on pacing, it’s GONE 
Now, all I have to do is weave in a few tidbits from those scenes and punch up the ending and I can begin sending it off again!
Thanks Rocki, you’re the best! :flower4you:
Comment
Hi again! So glad you guys got some info from the mini-workshop. (I’m still stinging over the Bill Stephens snafu on the tape.) I LOVE pages of pure dialogue, and I think, done right, they bring a story alive. BUT, when *I* get confused in the writing, then I know I’ve got too many lines of dialogue without a tag or an action to help “ground” it for the reader. ure you can have PAGES of dialogue with almost no narrative – love them – but the characters have to be doing something. You have to give your reader, I think, an “image” that they can visualize while they watch your movie. And, if you’re really good, like the ladies who run this blog, you can use the images/action to “show” the reader something about the character, or the way the other character is perceiving the conversation.
Does that make sense?
I am definitely one of the judges who will comment on backstory dumping, and it is, without a doubt, the number one error I see in contests that I judge. Of course, a sentence or two is necessary, but not pages of it. You know, I don’t think the reader WANTS all that backstory. They want to take the ride and figure it out and have it unfold with the story. Children want backstory. You know how when a movie starts and the kids want to know “who is that” and “why are they doing that” and you have to say WAIT, it will all be clear. ??? Smart (grown up) readers want to enjoy the peeling of the onion, I think.
Thanks for coming by, everyone! I’ll be bahkkkk…
xoxo
Rocki
Comment
“I don’t think the reader WANTS all that backstory. They want to take the ride and figure it out and have it unfold with the story. Children want backstory. You know how when a movie starts and the kids want to know “who is that” and “why are they doing that” and you have to say WAIT, it will all be clear. ??? Smart (grown up) readers want to enjoy the peeling of the onion, I think.”
That makes so much sense to me and puts it all in a whole different light for me. I know backstory isn’t good, but I’ve always struggled with how much you need to give and how much is too much. If I think about it, based on your description, I think it will be much easier for me to sort through now. Thanks!!! :flower4you:
Comment
Hi Rocki,
I’m not an aspiring writer but I wanted to day “Hi” & let you know that after your first visit to the Plotmonkeys I had to read all the Bullett Catcher books. Now I’m looking forward to the next one when it comes out. Thanks for spending some of your Saturday with us. Enjoy lunch with your daughter & the shopping. Halloween stuff is so fun to shop for! :bat: The bat is closest emticon to Halloween that I see!! :yikes:
Comment
Good Afternoon Rocki.. just popped in to wave and say hello to one of my favorite authors… :wave:
Jolene(nascarandbeans)
Comment
The plotting “class” is a big help.
I know there’s lots of your advice my WIP 
can use.
I’m printing this off to keep on my bulletin board, right by the
computer.
Just a thought :idea!: How about an article in RWA magazine on this subject? For all of the poor souls
who haven’t found the :monkey monkeys yet.
Fiona :wave:
Comment
Great information.
I love your books.
Comment
Hey guys – I’m back from the Wilds Of Wal-Mart. (The book section was from hunger in this one, I tell ya.) And I had to stop in one of the best restaurants in the world, which just happens to be in Indialantic, Florida called The Blueberry Muffin. (I’m not kidding – the publisher of Pocket Books who eats in some pretty fine restaurants calls it her very FAVORITE – at least it’s her favorite diner in FLA.) So, I am one Reuben and about six onion rings fatter than last time I posted.
Hey, Jolene, girl! Good to see you! Jodie, glad you liked the “kids” analogy – I thought of it last night when i watched You’ve Got Mail with my ten year old daughter. She wanted to know *everything* from the first scene and I had to cover her mouth and tell her to shu…..LISTEN and she’d figure it out. Backstory will emerge, all in good time, my pretty. (Oh, that movie made me weeeeeeeep as always. When she closes the bookstore and remembers her mother! Waaaah.)
Donna – so glad you like the Bullet Catchers! Thank you! And, Sharon, that Coast Guard book is going to sell. I feel it in my bones. (Which were easier to find before the reuben and rings.) Oh, Fiona, I have NEVER written an article for the RWR. I think up until this past year, I’m still feeling like a “newbie” in the industry, so I’ve never submitted an idea. Maybe I will – you’ve inspired me. Oh, and Cheryl! They had your new book in that Wal-Mart! Front and center, baby. And believe me, they didn’t have a very big selection. Well done, CL Wilson!! Jules, honey, I love to kick your pants. In the kindest way, of course.
Oh, I forgot to emote! :cursing: And you can’t go back and insert them – I tried.
Will stop back later…right now there are four teenagers of mixed genders in my den and I need to make an excuse to see what they’re doing. 
xoxo
Rocki
Comment
Hi Rocki
Just droped in to say hi to my favorit author
Comment
Hey Sharon!! So nice to “see” you here at Plotmonkeys. CONGRATS on your double contest placement news!! I know you are thiiiiiiissss close to selling and can’t wait for you to!
Comment
Well, guys I am back after a long day of reading….I am deep into SWAK right now Carly and finishing up Rhonda’s story in WB…loving both at the moment…yeah, I read more than one book at once…
Roxanne, I am glad you were able to spend some QT with your daughter…BTW, I call going to Walmart shopping too…that is where I get most of my books…the one near me, is a little slow on putting out new releases, but they have a great selection…
I am going to sign off for the night…once again, thanks for hanging in the Jungle with us today…talk to you all soon
Peace and love,
Comment
Hey monkeys…just home from a romantic dinner with my husband. :heart1: The “heart” emo is very appropriate since he had open heart surgery two months ago and this was our first “date” in about nine weeks. We got a little teary :love: but are so proud of how far we’ve come since he was wheeled off to the operating room on July 31. Thanks again for all the props here today, I had a blast!
I would LOVE to come back to the jungle and swing on some more vines! 
xoxo
Rocki
Comment
Wow Roxanne, I can appreciate what you’ve been through with your hubby. My husband had surgery to remove a brain tumor on Aug. 2nd and we too have had a long haul recovering.
We went out to dinner about 2 weeks ago with some friends, but it was too soon. He still gets overwhelmed pretty easily with lots of noise and action and we couldn’t get out of there fast enough. But last Friday he and I went out to a nice quiet lunch and that was a surprisingly emotional experience.
It’s amazing how something like this can make every day things mean so much more. I don’t take a single minute for granted anymore! Thanks for spending your free Saturday with us today! Hope your husband continues to heal and that your life returns to normal very, very soon!! :hug2:
Comment
great to see u again roxie. congrats ont he awards
:banana: 
Comment
I’m late in commenting, again. Seems it’s been this way for a couple of weeks now.
Loved the mini workshop and can’t wait till November.
I’m a dialogue girl at heart. That part always comes easy to me. NOt that I don’t have to fix it, move it, or cut it sometimes but I love it. And characters, oh yeah, I have to be careful or I’ll introduce to many. I sometimes forget that the name of the person calling with a wakeup call isn’t important. Not so much. Well, unless their coming back into the story as the H/H or bad guy.
Thanks for your tips. They’re great!!! (Need a Tony the Tiger here)