There is little worse than reading a story with poor pacing. Whether it’s too slow and dull, or everything happens in a blur, you’ll find a lack of enjoyment. The key is getting the pacing just right, building tension, revealing information, holding back secrets, and ensuring suspense while maintaining reader interest. With that in mind, here are some essential tips for pacing your novel.

Start with the action
Slow starts will get you nowhere. It can be tempting to open with world building, character descriptions, and thorough backgrounds, but these details won’t capture readers’ attention. Don’t get me wrong; you need to know these things. But you should start with the action, rather than the lead up to it. That way you pull the reader in at once.

Avoid preambles
Your characters don’t need to enter scenes one by one, with introductions and descriptions. Again, it can be tempting to…