Write the same event once fast and once slow

Say a scene takes twenty seconds in real life. On the page, you can easily wrap that event up in two lines, but you can also stretch it to three hundred words. That difference doesn’t come from the clock running faster or slower. It comes from what you, the writer, zoom in on, and just as much from what you skip.

There’s no simple rule for pacing in prose, like “short sentences are fast and long sentences are slow.” Five short sentences in a row can actually put weight on each separate moment. One long sentence can rush a whole series of actions past in a single breath. Rhythm comes from variation, selection, and the balance between showing and telling.

You notice this most when you write two versions of the same event. If all you change in the second version is the number of adjectives, you haven’t really slowed the scene down. In the slow version, you describe the actions in more detail. You do that without adding new events or changing the outcome.

That’s why in this writing exercise you describe one small event in two versions. The fast version keeps the actions close together; in the slow version, you give the decisive moment more room.

Intermediate exercise: Twenty seconds, twice

Write the same event twice: a character sees the bus pulling up, takes out a bus pass, drops it, picks it up, and makes it onto the waiting bus after all. Version one runs 120 to 150 words and has to move quickly. Version two runs 160 to 190 words and slows down mainly at the moment the pass hits the ground. Keep the actions, the order, the point of view, and the outcome the same in both versions. Don’t make the second version longer just by adding embellishments or a new incident. Put the headings “Fast” and “Slow” clearly above the two versions.

• Length: 280 to 340 words total
• Time: 1 hour

Learning Objective

Practice pacing and sentence rhythm by telling the same series of events at different speeds while the content stays the same.

Criteria

• Contrast: the two versions feel noticeably different in reading speed and in the attention the decisive moment gets.
• Rhythm: sentence length, pauses, and transitions support the chosen speed without falling into a mechanical pattern.
• Consistency: all the required actions, their order, and the outcome are the same in both versions.
• Selection: the slowdown comes from observations and actions that serve a purpose, not from throwaway additions or explanation.

Write the fast version all the way through first, without rereading it. Then write the slow version from scratch, with exactly the same events. Put the two texts side by side and look at where the reader gets more time.

Paste both versions, with their headings, into the widget below. ViaScripta then compares them on contrast, rhythm, consistency, and selection.

Want more practice? Browse the full list of writing exercises.