Stop Ending Chapters Where You Feel Comfortable

Most new authors think that a lack ideas causes manuscripts to drag. But what most often bogs down pacing is refusing to leave the room on time.

Editors soon learn to spot a familiar pattern that tends to show up in early drafts. A chapter reaches its natural resolution. All necessary information has been delivered. The emotional beat has registered, and the reader knows what matters next.

Then the chapter keeps going anyway. One more line of dialogue is tacked on. A reaction is spelled out after it’s shown. The narrator lingers, explaining how everyone feels about what just happened.

And while editors grasp the problem immediately, readers feel it without knowing why.

The problem lies not within scenes, but at the boundary between them. Many writers pour their attention into openings and middles while treating endings as a place to rest. They assume clarity requires closure, and closure must be reassuring.

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