Pacing relates to how quickly or slowly the reader moves through the tale. In general, descriptive sections slow things down, whereas conversation and action sequences hurry things up—but reducing the tempo of action at strategic points may also enhance tension. The speed at which a reader can understand and assimilate information depends on many factors: the complexity of the language used, the degree of familiarity he or she has with the subject matter, their current emotional state, etc. A writer should not try to make his or her story too exciting or mysterious too soon, or readers will be distracted from its content. There are several ways to increase the pace of your writing without changing the narrative's direction entirely. You can move more quickly through the scene, using shorter sentences and less description; use different types of sentences (questions, commands, exclamations); include more recent events before earlier ones; and so forth. These techniques are useful for keeping things moving along when you need to shift gears in order to reveal more about the characters or their situation.