Why Your Story Feels Like It's Running Through Mud

You know that sinking feeling when you're reading through your manuscript and realize the pacing is completely off? Maybe your middle section drags like a Monday morning, or your climax rushes by so fast readers get whiplash. Pacing problems are one of those insidious issues that can make or break a story—and they're notoriously tricky to fix.

Here's the good news: there's a brilliantly simple technique that can help you blast through these pacing blocks and discover solutions you never would have found otherwise. It's called The Twenty Ideas Technique, and it's about to become your new best friend.

What Exactly Is The Twenty Ideas Technique?

The Twenty Ideas Technique is deceptively simple. When you're stuck on a problem, you force yourself to generate twenty possible solutions—no matter how ridiculous, impractical, or seemingly impossible they might be.

Twenty. Not five. Not ten. Twenty complete ideas.

"But I can barely think of two solutions!" you might protest. That's exactly the point.

The magic happens in the struggle. Your first five ideas will be the obvious ones—the solutions everyone thinks of. Ideas six through ten will be harder, forcing you to dig deeper. But ideas eleven through twenty? That's where the gold is hiding. That's where your brain, desperate to complete the task, starts making unexpected connections and suggesting wild possibilities you'd normally dismiss.

When one of your initial "crazy" ideas sparks something workable, you'll wonder why you didn't see it before.

Why Pacing Issues Are Perfect for This Technique

Pacing problems are particularly well-suited to the Twenty Ideas approach because they're rarely one-dimensional issues. A saggy middle might stem from:

- Lack of conflict or tension
- Too many scene transitions
- Insufficient character development
- Missing plot complications
- Wrong point-of-view character
- Scenes that serve only one purpose
- Pacing that doesn't match the story's emotional arc

The list goes on. When you have a complex problem with multiple potential causes and solutions, forcing yourself to explore twenty angles means you'll likely stumble upon the real culprit—and several ways to fix it.

How to Apply This Technique to Your Pacing Problems

Let's walk through the process with a practical example. Say your first act is dragging, and readers are telling you they almost put the book down before reaching chapter three.

Step 1: Define Your Specific Problem

Get clear on what you're trying to solve. Don't just say "the pacing is off." Be specific:

"The first three chapters feel slow. The inciting incident doesn't happen until page 45, and readers are losing interest before the story really starts."

Write this down at the top of a blank page or document.

Step 2: Generate Your Twenty Ideas

Now, start listing solutions. Don't censor yourself. Don't judge. Just write. Here's what that might look like:

1. Start the story at the inciting incident instead
2. Add more action scenes early on
3. Create a prologue with high stakes
4. Cut chapter two entirely
5. Introduce the antagonist earlier
6. Add a ticking clock from page one
7. Start with the protagonist in a different emotional state
8. Open with a flash-forward to the climax
9. Weave in more conflict in the "quiet" scenes
10. Change the opening setting to somewhere more dynamic
11. Give the protagonist an immediate small-scale problem
12. Add sensory details to make existing scenes more vivid
13. Shorten all scenes in chapters 1-3 by half
14. Introduce a secondary character who creates tension
15. Start each chapter with a hook or cliffhanger
16. Eliminate backstory dumps; weave information in later
17. Have something go wrong in every scene
18. Restructure to alternate between two timelines
19. Add internal conflict that mirrors the external plot
20. Begin the story at a later point and reveal earlier events through flashback

Notice how the ideas get progressively more creative? The early ones are fairly standard fixes. But by the time you hit idea fifteen or sixteen, you're exploring structural changes and narrative techniques you might not have considered otherwise.

Step 3: Evaluate and Combine

Now comes the fun part. Read through your twenty ideas and mark the ones that resonate. Often, you'll find that combining two or three ideas creates the perfect solution.

In our example, you might combine ideas 1, 11, and 17: start at the inciting incident, but give your protagonist an immediate small-scale problem that goes wrong, creating instant stakes even as the larger plot unfolds.

Step 4: Test and Refine

Choose your most promising solution and try it. Revise a chapter or outline how the change would ripple through your story. Does it feel right? Does it solve the pacing issue without creating new problems?

If not, you've got nineteen other ideas to explore.

Making This Technique Work for Different Pacing Issues

The beauty of the Twenty Ideas Technique is its versatility. You can apply it to virtually any pacing problem:

For a rushed climax: "Generate twenty ways to expand and intensify the final confrontation."

For a saggy middle: "List twenty complications or obstacles I could add to the second act."

For uneven chapter pacing: "Come up with twenty different scene structures or rhythms I could experiment with."

The key is always the same: be specific about your problem, then force yourself to generate the full twenty ideas.

The Real Secret: Quantity Breeds Quality

There's something almost magical about the number twenty. It's high enough to be uncomfortable but low enough to be achievable. It forces you past the obvious solutions and into genuinely creative territory.

You'll be amazed at how often idea seventeen or nineteen turns out to be exactly what your story needed. These breakthrough ideas were always possible—you just needed a framework that forced you to dig deep enough to find them.

Your Turn to Break Through

The next time you're staring at your manuscript, frustrated because the pacing just isn't working, resist the urge to endlessly revise the same three solutions. Instead, grab a notebook, set a timer, and commit to generating twenty ideas.

Yes, some will be terrible. Some will be impossible. Some will make you laugh at their absurdity.

But buried in that list will be the solution that transforms your story from something that drags or rushes into something that flows with exactly the right rhythm—carrying your readers effortlessly from first page to last.

So what are you waiting for? Pick your pacing problem and start listing. Your twentieth idea is out there, waiting to surprise you.