All right, so this part of the writing guide is a little more ranty or what have you. Maybe. So think about what I mean when I say pacing for plot. Or just pacing in general. It's the flow of the story. Now, if you read a comic book, things tend to happen quickly with action scenes and then it's over. I know it's sad to say, but that's because of the pacing. They need the build up, the reactions of people in the battle about to come their way, and when the battle finally happens, it's harsh and violent and over rather quickly. I know it's because having an entire issue dedicated to a battle isn't really progressing anything. HOWEVER, when you're writing a story with someone, as you do in RP, you should probably, oh I don't know, SLOW DOWN! If you're reading a book, how much longer does it feel? How much more satisfying? Much more, if you're like me. Maybe you don't like longer paced stuff, whatever, that's up to you, my own personal preference is for things to progress at a pace that feels natural to both people involved.
 

If you jump forwards leaps and bounds in a RP to get it done, you aren't really doing anything other than giving a comic book version of splash pages in quick succession. Yawn. Boring.

 

So with all of that in mind, how do you control the pacing? It's simple. A little at a time. You give little details here and there, you build up, add more at a slow pace, and progress from there. Let's say you are infiltrating a bunker full of soldiers....cool! But you don't just get from the entrance to the main core and blow it up and get back out in four paragraphs. That's just...yuck I hate it.

Now there are VERY powerful characters out there. Very. But if you are controlling one of those people, do you really want to be the boring, one dimensional powerhouse, save us Jesus type person? Not really my style, but if that's your thing more power to you. Not gonna be too happy to RP with you personally, but hey, tomato towmahtoe. Anyways, if you've got this powerhouse character, and you can sweep through the dregs of an establishment like cleaving a stick of butter with a broadsword, then you MIGHT want to hold back. Otherwise you'll be taking all of the fun out of a scene and some people will feel useless. Seriously, that's not a good feeling. If you can take everyone out in one fell swoop than what purpose did I serve other than to observe you being god-like? Do you see what I'm getting at here? Don't be boring.

Introduce elements of drama, hold back on the power and let things get dramatic, introduce ideas of being overwhelmed. I know I know, you character can handle it, but that doesn't mean they SHOULD. If you wanted people to see you just wipe out droves of people without real input from anyone else, you should just post a solo scene and call it a day. So in short. Pacing is everything. Build up slowly, add more details down the line, and don't go all out at the beginning. You want to progress to that point, not dive right into it. You want to immerse yourself and your audience in it, otherwise you get a cheap lukewarm kind of feeling. And that's gross.