The Green, Yellow, and Red of Pacing: A Writer’s Exercise
The Green, Yellow, and Red of Pacing: A Writer’s Exercise
How To Assess Your Writer Pacing
Ever wonder why some stories grab you from the first sentence while others, despite their beautiful words, feel like trudging through mud? Often, it boils down to pacing, and truly understanding it can change your writing game.
I recently sent a rejection to a writer. Their story was undeniably lovely, a testament to their mastery of words. Every sentence felt like it could have come out of Pride and Prejudice. But, because of this, it had, what I would call, “Victorian-level pacing.” While their piece was a perfect example of its kind, it was a slog to read. This got me thinking about a helpful exercise I often share with writers: the Green, Yellow, and Red highlighter method.
This isn’t saying this is the “right” way to writer. Part of the beauty of writing is that each author has their own style. Consider this more, “food for thought;” a diagnostic tool—a way to actually see the rhythm and flow of your narrative in relation to pacing.
Here’s how it works:
Grab Your Highlighters!
Print out a copy of your story and arm yourself with three different highlighters: green, yellow, and red.
Green: The Bare Essentials (Dialogue, Action, and Must-Knows) Go through your story and highlight in green all the (1) dialogue and all the (2) action. This means anything a character says or does, and any event that is needed to push the plot forward to the next plot point. Also, highlight anything else that, if you took it out, would completely confuse the reader about what’s going on. These are your absolute must-haves, the engine and core of your story.
Yellow: The Glue (Transitions and Connections) Next, highlight in yellow everything that helps the piece feel more complete, moving us from idea to idea. This includes sentences or phrases that bridge scenes, smooth out the narrative, or offer important context without getting bogged down in description. These are the connectors that make your story feel cohesive.
Red: The Slow-Downs (Scene-Setting and Inner Thoughts) Finally, highlight in red everything that “sets the scene” or describes internal feelings. Think lengthy descriptions of settings, deep dives into a character’s thoughts, extended metaphors—anything that slows down the immediate progression of events to build atmosphere or explore a character's inner world.
What Do the Colors Tell You?
Every magazine and publisher has their own preferences, but generally, publications like ours look for short stories where almost every word falls into the green or yellow sections. We want narratives with momentum, where the reader is constantly engaged by what’s happening or being said. Ideally, only about 10-15% of the story would be highlighted in red.
Now, this isn't to say stories with a lot of “red” are bad. Far from it! There are beautifully written and perfectly showcase slower, more reflective stories. It just isn’t what we are looking for. However, some other literary magazines or specific genres might actively seek out and celebrate exactly that kind of pacing.
Your Story, Your Rules
The Green, Yellow, and Red exercise is a fantastic way to objectively see the balance of pacing in your work. It can help you understand why a story might feel slow or fast, and where you might consider tweaking things if you’re aiming for a different effect. It's a tool for self-awareness, not necessarily a command to rewrite. It’s rule to be reviewed, and if you think you should, to break.
So, print out your latest piece, grab some highlighters, and see what colors dominate your story. You might be surprised by what you discover!
