We Think in 500 Word Intervals
Use it t
A good story, whether it be a work of fiction or an informative article, should move the reader through each section of text as naturally as possible. This isn’t something you look for, and if it’s done right, it isn’t something that is noticed, but it’s essential to writing that doesn’t put readers to sleep.
There are many pacing tools to encourage readers to read further, from choppy sentences to cliffhangers, but one important tool is writing to the attention span of the reader.
Good authors intuitively understand our attention spans
Have you ever read a novel and thought: “okay, I get it. The sky is pretty and the car is red. Get to the damned story already!” The author spent too long on flowery descriptions of the setting before delving into the story.
If you crack open almost any bestselling novel, you’ll find that there is a change of thought — Micheal La Ronn calls these transitions “seams” — every 500 words or so. Each of these sections between the seams explores what we’re experiencing in the scene and then moves the action forward to the next section.
For example, a chapter might begin with a setting of the scene, describing the environment using the five senses. After 500 words of this, the author…
