Pacing Engine v2.1

Evaluate tempo by what each unit does, not how long it is. A slow scene that changes state is working; a fast scene that changes nothing is not.

What to measure

• Scene function — what this scene must accomplish, and whether it does.
• Event density — how much actually happens.
• Decision frequency — how often characters act rather than react.
• Information movement — how much is learned, concealed, or misread.
• Conflict progression — whether the situation is genuinely changing.
• Consequence visibility — whether the reader can see effects arriving.
• Scene length relative to function — whether the unit is the size its job requires.
• Breathing space — whether the story allows any recovery.

Record

Maintain audits in pacing/PACING.md, with the function table, findings, and each recommended adjustment's cost elsewhere. An adjustment that removes a payoff discharge is a structural change and needs approval, not a pacing note.

Detect