Bad Pacing Advice

Bad Pacing Advice

Anything that can go wrong, should go wrong. Right?

Not necessarily.

This is really common advice for when a plot feels flat or boring. And sometimes, it's really good advice. But sometimes, it the worst advice you could get. It really depends on why the plot is feeling flat.

A plot is made up of beats: events that have to happen in order to move the plot forward. Another way of saying this is, what things need to happen before the story's conflict can be resolved?

When a plot is falling flat, it generally has one of three problems. Either there aren't enough story beats, the story is moving too quickly from one beat to another, or the story is moving too slowly from one beat to another.

Making things go wrong is good advice if there aren't enough story beats. Too few beats means there might be too much space between beats where the story can sag and get boring. In other words, slow pacing. It can also make the conflict seem too easy to resolve, because story beats are often obstacles that need to be overcome before the story can satisfactorily end.

However, if your story is moving too quickly between beats, making things go wrong isn't always the right answer. It can work if you deliberately use a set-back to delay getting between two points that would otherwise be too close. But just making something go wrong for the sake of it will only add more beats to the story, it won't slow them down.

If your story is moving too slowly, making more stuff go wrong is about the worst thing you can do. At best it just makes your story longer. At worst, it adds new beats between your already existing beats, increasing the distance between them even more. It might seem counter intuitive but making things go wrong (killing a character, losing a fight, getting captured, friendship and relationship drama etc.) can actually slow your pacing down more.

I notice this issue a lot in epic fantasy stories. Maybe it's just me, but I find when things are constantly going wrong -- when the plot isn't getting any closer to being resolved because every time the characters try to take a step forward they end up worse off than before -- I get frustrated and bored. I just start thinking "here we go again. Get to the point!!"

Sometimes your characters need to succeed too. Good pacing isn't making your characters fail at every opportunity. It's knowing when to let them fail and when it's time to move forward.

More Posts from Deal-of-the-damned and Others

2 years ago

every now and then i see posts about how kids these days don’t know how to pirate anymore but i was hanging with an 11 yr old today and she was telling me about all her favourite illegal streaming sites to watch anime and how she made a japanese google play account so she could play magia record so i guess i’m here to reassure you that cool kids very much do still exist. and they will never go extinct as long as you keep teaching your little cousins and neighbour kids how to pirate

3 years ago

The worst thing about not being able to sleep is that sometimes, you get trapped in your own mind. Your brain conjures up plenty of thoughys, and images, and scenarios, and all you can do is just lay there and absorb. You can't really fight your own mind when you're that exhausted, and it sucks.

Sometimes I get neutral or happy things, like inspiration for shit or ideas for fics, the drive to clean my room.

Sometimes, I get the shit end of the stick. Sometimes I recall a bad memory, or I put myself down, or a little voice is telling me to give up on loop.

Right now, I just want to curl up in a ball and stop existing. My brain hurts and I haven't slept properly in weeks. I might have to talk to my doctor again about pills.

I hope you guys are having a good night though. Sweetest of dreams and happiest of thoughts for all of you~~~


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2 years ago
Looks About Right

Looks about right

2 years ago

HARUNO SAKURA

The Haters may hate her, as much as they want..

..but, it really doesn’t matter, cuz even their own favs, love her.

Naruto Uzumaki

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“Check it out! Superhuman lady ninja teacher, Haruno Sakura!” (Sakura Hiden)

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Sasuke Uchiha

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“So she has become a ninja people can count on? Then I can’t stop either.“  (Sasuke Shinden) 

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Kakashi Hatake

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Tsunade Senju

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Sarada Uchiha

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Hashirama Senju

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Ino Yamanaka

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“I wonder if it wasn’t also because her beloved hero Sakura was right there in front of her. You don’t know? You’re super popular with the younger ranks. You’re a medical ninja, but a strong fighter. And on top of that, you’re great at your job and beautiful. All that, you’re bound to be popular.”

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Shizune

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Shikamaru Nara

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Rock Lee

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Lady Chiyo

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Sasori

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Gaara

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“Medical-nin were precious assets in the front lines for saving lines, but they couldn‟t really be compared to a shinobi of Gaara‟s class, because there would be an incredible difference in the skill of their taijutsu. Haruno Sakura of Konohagakure was the rare exception for that rule. “

“But then, take Konoha’s Haruno Sakura for example. She didn’t come from an unusual bloodline, but her strength made her an outstoundingly great shinobi. “

(Source: Gaara Hiden)

Jiraiya

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Sai Yamanaka

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“We strung up one of Kido’s subordinates. Although seeing how things have turned out, I guess you were okay by yourself.” Sai grinned wryly.

Source: Sakura Hiden

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Boruto Uzumaki

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White Zetsu

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Hinata Hyuga

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Karin Uzumaki

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Morio - Iwagakure Nin

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Wasabi Izuno

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Gigi

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Kido - ANBU HIRE-UP/OFFICER

 “Just like a medical ninja to figure it out. Sharp Insight”

“A woman of superhuman strength, just as word had it,” Kido said

“That is an almost terrifying destructive power. To be able to injure my body when it’s enhanced by the Tailed Beast drug”

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.Konohamaru

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Shino

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Suigetsu

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“But, aren’t everyone connected to Sasuke like super strong?”  (about Team 7, Sasuke Shinden: Book of Sunrise)

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Masashi Kishimoto

“My wife is a strong Woman. So, I guess, I can say that she is more similar to Sakura.”

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2 years ago

Writers, please, please, please, I am begging you

I know we don't vibe with Mary Sues, and I know we like watching characters fail...

But if your character is the world's best assassin, they shouldn't be botching nearly every single step of every single job just because the plot demands it. If your character is one of the greatest fighters to ever live, they can't badly lose every single fight the plot throws at them and then barely win the final confrontation. If your character is a competent military strategist, they need at least a few small successes during the course of the plot. If your character is an experienced leader, they can't be constantly making the kind of missteps that realistically would cause their subordinates to lose confidence in them.

If your character is good at something. Show them being good at it.

3 years ago

Fandoms

MY FANDOMS!

There are too many to write down so I'm going to just go off the top of my head and write them in the tags. It's possible I may have forgotten some, so feel free to ask me for some that you're curious about. If I do, I'll add them here, but if not I'll let you know. That doesn't mean I won't write for them if you request, but it will definitely take longer than those I'm familiar with.

Also, guys, please be aware that some things make me uncomfortable to write. I'll make a post for it, but keep that in mind before sending in your requests. Aside from that, go ham!

Fandoms I write for:

-Kingsman

-Naruto

-Harry Potter

-American Horror Story

-Avatar: The Last Airbender

-Marvel

-DC

-Soul Eater

-Disney

-Pixar

-Vampire Academy (I can feel y'all judging me but LISTEN I had so much hatred for romance when I was younger that I rewrote the whole thing without any pairings, my writing was AWFUL please just trust that I have learned from that experience)

-Narnia (half my knowledge of Narnia though is in French so please don't mind me going through bookstores to find them in English lol, oh and the movies too)

-Resident Evil (if you guys request the live action movies, y'all getting automatic crack unless specified otherwise, I don't care, I will ship Alice with Nemesis so DO be on your guard)

Other Fandoms:

-Homestuck

-RWBY

-Oathbreaker

-Supernatural

-Fullmetal Alchemist

-Ouran Highschool Host Club

-Step Up

-Star Wars

-Sandman

-Matrix

-Candyman

-Dune

-The Umbrella Academy


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2 years ago

traumatized fictional man with dubious morals I'd like to fuck

2 years ago

That’s a cute foot fetish you got there, would you mind keeping it 25796323689432 feet away from me?

1 year ago

Endlessly diabolical how you can't say words like rape and suicide uncensored without either being criticised by idiots or punished by conglomerates.

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deal-of-the-damned - My Reprieve
My Reprieve

18+ Interactions ONLY Tat, 27, previous blog was lost so I'm starting anew! Welcome to my dungeon. I like many fandoms, I'm willing to talk to anyone, and my AO3 Account is PunkTheKat I posted my first fic, it's a Reggsy fic! Please check it out! Rules Fandoms

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