# Pacing Analysis

> Diagnose scene-length rhythm, sagging middles, and same-energy runs.

A structural pacing read of the draft. It measures scene-length rhythm, detects a sagging middle, reports the action-to-dialogue ratio, finds runs of scenes at the same energy, and marks natural structural beats — against genre benchmarks when you name one. It returns findings without changing your pages.

- Scope

  The full script

- Output

  A report only — no changes to your draft

[Try Pacing Analysis in Plot](https://app.inkwell.software/signup) [All skills](https://www.inkwell.software/skills)

Pacing Analysis · The full script Inside Plot

## Bring the work

- 01 The complete script
- 02 Scene order, length, and dialogue balance

Run one focused pass

Pacing Analysis

## Review the result

- A scene-length rhythm read with the sagging stretches named
- Action-to-dialogue ratios, same-energy runs, and the structural beats it found

One screenplay. One specialist lens. A result you can review where you write.

## When to reach for it

1. 01 A reader said it drags without saying where
2. 02 You want the shape of the draft before a rewrite
3. 03 Two acts feel like they run at the same speed

## Where this pass stops

- Change a single line — this pass is analysis only
- Give a pacing score without showing the scenes behind it
- Compare you to a genre benchmark you did not ask for

## Tune the pass

Parameters you can set when you run /pacing-analysis.

- Genre

  The genre whose benchmark bands the read is measured against — action, thriller, drama, comedy, horror, sci-fi/fantasy, or romance. Leave it unset and the draft is read against its own baseline.

- Target Page Count

  The length you are aiming for, so the rhythm read is against your target.

## About Pacing Analysis

Practical answers before you run the pass.

**Does this rewrite anything?**

No. Pacing Analysis returns a read of the draft's shape and leaves every line where it is.

**What is a same-energy run?**

A stretch of consecutive scenes pitched at the same intensity. Each may be good on its own while the run reads as monotonous, which is the kind of problem that is invisible scene by scene.

## Related skills

- [Act Structure & Story Threading](https://www.inkwell.software/skills/act-structure)

  [Read act breaks, turns, and story threading across the whole script.](https://www.inkwell.software/skills/act-structure)
- [Scene Necessity](https://www.inkwell.software/skills/scene-necessity)

  [Ask of every scene: what does it accomplish, and does the story change if it goes?](https://www.inkwell.software/skills/scene-necessity)
- [Suspense Pass](https://www.inkwell.software/skills/suspense-pass)

  [Find where screenplay tension stalls: trace danger, who knows what and narrowing choices, then review suggested edits and a suspense report.](https://www.inkwell.software/skills/suspense-pass)

## Related templates and terms

- [Smash cut](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/smash-cut)

  [When an abrupt cut between scenes is the joke or the shock, and how to write SMASH CUT TO: on the page.](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/smash-cut)
- [Jump cut](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/jump-cut)

  [How a cut that skips time inside one scene compresses or unsettles it, and when to mark it in a script.](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/jump-cut)
- [Juxtaposition](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/juxtaposition)

  [How placing contrasting scenes side by side makes each one land harder, with examples from film.](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/juxtaposition)

[Run /pacing-analysis on your draft](https://app.inkwell.software/signup) [Back to all skills](https://www.inkwell.software/skills)

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Canonical page: <https://www.inkwell.software/skills/pacing-analysis>