Read the paragraph.

kev leaned heavily against the kitchen table where he sat, elbows propped, chin in his hands. inspiration would not come, though he had long pondered the essay topic in front of him. he exhaled a dreary sigh, the sound of which was interrupted by a drip from the kitchen faucet. kev’s eyelids drooped, and his thoughts drifted.

which words reveal the pace of the story? check all that apply.

kitchen table
long pondered
in front
dreary sigh
kitchen faucet
eyelids drooped

There are three phrases that refer to the narrative pace of this story: long pondered, dreary sigh and eyelids drooped. In this excerpt, the pace of the story has slowed down and the writer is dedicating a few lines to describe, meticulously, the character's introspective and gloomy behavior as a result of his lack of inspiration. The sentences are long, there is no dialogue, and it seems as if the action had been frozen, or at least slowed up, and all these writing strategies or tools contribute to create a slow pace. Kev had been thinking deeply and for a long time about the essay topic, but he was not inspired, so he sighed drearily, and, perhaps in an attempt to forget momentarily his creative drought, he let his eyelids droop, "and his thoughts drifted." The reader can visualize a weary and hopeless character, who moves slowly and who seems to carry a big weight on his shoulders - a shortage of inspiration can be devastating for writers, and seriously burden them.