The Categories - On Pace

Pace may be the category that is most closely intertwined with web novels, as there is no other field which incentivizes the extension of a work like web novels. Authors earn money by the chapter, and it is of human nature to want to make as much money as possible. In proper sciences, the quality of the work as a whole, and not the quantity of words, is what leads to success, so authors do not possess any incentive to unreasonably extend works. Web novel writers, on the other hand, do possess direct monetary incentives. They are also plagued by the fear of running out of ideas; authors of proper sciences, on the other hand, only seek to complete their ideas. The conception of a main idea is all they need, and all other conceptions seek to ground this main conception. They wish, their whole purpose is to complete this idea, so that they can lay the matter to rest. Greed begets gaps; gaps induce flaws. Many promising novels have been riddled with flaws that would not have been present if not for the author's pacing. For in trying to extend the natural lifespan of an idea, weighted by the author's cognitive capabilities, they inadvertently introduce weaknesses into the narrative structure. This tendency to prioritize quantity over quality often results in diluted plots (Progression), shallow character development (World Logic), narrative inconsistencies (Universal Logic), and in one rare case, redundant prose (Prose). However, before we uncover the inter-connectedness of the categories, we must first define them explicitly.

What is Pace?

In story-telling, pace is the speed at which a story is told—not necessarily the speed at which the story takes place. Many conflate the two, when the former is in fact a part of Progression and World Logic. Pace is about how quickly or slowly the plot unfolds, how swiftly scenes transition from one to another, and how rapidly or leisurely the action progresses. Narrative pace is controlled by factors such as sentence structure, paragraph length, dialogue, descriptive passages, and the arrangement of events. The speed at which a story takes place refers to the temporal duration of the events within the story world itself. It's the time frame in which the characters experience and react to the events unfolding around them.

The number of words needed to write about a certain event does not depend upon how much time the event takes to happen; it depends upon how important that moment is to the story[1].

This a statement based on the psychology of the human mind; if we abstract from all other factors, the higher the word count, the more time readers linger on a moment, and thus the more they remember it and focus on it. It is crucial for authors to match moments to corresponding importance. Over-compensating results in a pace that is too slow, which will leave the audience bored. A dragging pace is characteristic of many novels turned down by publishers, and of some that find their way into print but not into the hearts and recommendations of readers. Web novels circumvent this scrutiny because there is no arbiter in the form of a publisher. Conversely, under-compensating - most commonly observed at the end of web novels - often makes the story feel lacking and incomplete.

In most cases, under-compensating is considered a lesser evil than over-compensating because it typically maintains the narrative's energy and tension, preventing it from becoming stagnant or losing reader interest. While a faster pace may lead to some aspects of the story feeling rushed or underdeveloped, it often keeps the reader engaged and maintains momentum in the narrative. Additionally, under-compensating can leave room for readers to use their imagination and fill in the gaps, allowing for a more interactive and immersive reading experience. On the other hand, over-compensating by dragging out moments or scenes can lead to reader boredom, frustration, and disengagement. It may dilute the impact of important plot points or character developments and can make the story feel bloated or unnecessarily prolonged. Overly slow pacing can also disrupt the flow of the narrative, making it difficult for readers to stay invested in the story.

However, it would be wrong to think that under-compensating cannot be taken too far; over-compensating and under-compensating are purely 2 sides of the same coin; one signifies a spring broken from extension, while the other from compression.

Consider two following variations of a story about slaying a demon that highlight this best:

Variation 1 -

Bob the Builder awoke from his sleep at precisely 7:00 am. He brought his and right left hands to where the beginning of his sheets met his bare chest, and grabbed the rim. He then extended his hand's forward, and threw the sheets until they landed on his knees in a mess. He then looked at the clock and saw that it was 7:00 am. He then sat up in the bed and rested his head on a moment against the bed frame, before rotating precisely 90 degrees counter clockwise. His left foot, shortly followed by his right, touched upon the ground, as he tensed his legs, and pushed off his bed with hands. He ended up in a standing position. He moved his left leg forward, then his right, then his left, then his right, then his left, then his right, and he arrived at a brown door before him. He grabbed the metallic yellow piece of metal protruding from the door by his waist, and twisted it counterclockwise. The door moved back as he once again moved his right foot forward and pushed the brown door with his white left hand. It should be mentioned that he has the energy to move because he consumed food last night day, and possesses calories in the form of fat and glucose. He consumed the food on a white plate, and the food was a mouth-watering delicious steak. It was a ribeye steak that came from a cow that was on ranch on Idaho. Idaho is a part of the United States, and was declared a state in the year 1890. 

I fear that I cannot continue with this story, as otherwise I would lose all my audience. Although I do challenge that notion when I look at some of the web novels that are being read.

Variation 2 -

Bro reincarnates into a magical world, then bro gets stronger, then bro kills Demon.

You get the point.

However, and I hope that the reader has noticed this so far, web novels have a certain uniqueness that cannot be accounted for with the current model of pace. Our model is based on the psychology of human engagement, and assumes that works are given as a whole. The only factor affecting the reception of the work within the mind is the speed of the reader. For ongoing web novels, however, time is also a variable in the equation! And one that is arguably more important than all others. Chapters take at least 20 seconds and at most 5 minutes to read, depending on the novel and person. In comparison, the wait time between chapters dwarfs these values. Release intervals range from 1 day to 1 week. If we assume that it takes everybody 5 minutes to read a chapter, then the release wait is 14400% to 100800% larger than that of the read time. 

Therefore, pacing must be judged as a function of release rate and the story itself. Novels will be given two scores for pacing - one that indicates the pure story pacing score, and another accounting for the release rate of chapters. In order to maintain fair comparison between novels, completed novels will be given a hypothetical release rate of 1 chapter per day if the original release rate is unknown. 

There is much to say about this interval based characteristic of web novels; including, but not limited to, the motivations for why many readers continue to be attracted to web novels despite their obvious low quality. It will also prove to be a weakness that we will take great advantage of in the Transcendental Logic part of this book. 

References:

Bauer, Marion Dane (1992), What's Your Story?: A Young Person's Guide to Writing Fiction, New York: Clarion Books, ISBN 0-395-57781-0