Pace is one of the most important elements for any short fiction writer interested in success. When handled correctly a good sense of pace can help create a piece of written art, when mishandled it can spell disaster for a short story. Learning the difference between the two is what divides ambitious amateurs from successful writers.

Given the inherent brevity of short fiction, pace plays a more prominent role than in novels and larger texts. In order to fully tell a story within the word restricted remit of a short story, a writer must utilize their skills to keep the plot moving along at a fast clip; fast enough to keep the reader interested, but detailed enough to be comprehensive. Below are a few methods with which to ensure a successfully paced short story.

One of the most fundamental skills a writer needs in order to write a well paced story is the ability to differentiate between a story that works well as a short fiction and one that does not. Amateur writers are often so determined to tell their story that they neglect to consider the correct form of the piece. A longer fiction artificially compressed into short story loses the elements that made it a good story in the first place; as side plots, secondary themes and minor characters are cut to meet the word limit the story loses its ‘heart’. Likewise, although less common, when a single scene or flash fiction is expanded into a short fiction it ceases to be effective as superfluous elements are added to pad it out; and the pace of the important elements slows accordingly. Knowing when a piece needs to blossom into a longer fiction and when it should remain as a single scene or idea is the mark of a good writer.

Having identified a suitable story, how then does the writer maintain a pace fast enough to convey it fully in a limited word count? Where novels and long fictions are able to spend pages building up complex descriptions and imagery, a short fiction writer must have a prudent and comprehensive vocabulary. Where a novel uses many descriptive words, a short fiction uses few. Therefore those used must be suitably evocative, able to conjure up an image or describe a scene briefly but completely. Essentially in this regard a short fiction writer utilizes the same skill as a poet, paring down their work and selecting only the most powerful words. In this way a skillful writer can keep the word count down, but convey just as much meaning and impact in far fewer words than a less skilled writer with twice the space to fill.

Pace is by no means an easy writing element to master, but with practice and patient reworking of short fiction it can be a real asset to a writer and with it a story can shine.

Nicholas Cockayne is a talented UK-based writer with a BA in English and a MA in Creative and Critical Writing. He’s currently involved in Media Consulting, Marketing, and Advertising.

How do you control the pace of your writing? Have you ever considered it’s importance before?