Absolutely, the skeleton of a story—its beats, its pauses, its twists—acts like a soundtrack that tells the audience how to feel. When you line up scenes so that stakes rise steadily, people get hooked; if you throw in a sudden shift, you jolt them into a new emotional zone. Think of pacing as breathing: too shallow and it’s flat, too rapid and it’s exhausting. Structure is the map that guides those breaths. It’s like setting up a stage: the right arrangement of lights and blocking draws the audience’s attention and makes them care about the characters. So, yes, the way you build the play is the main conductor of how deeply people connect.

You’re spot on—pacing is the metronome, but the characters are the music that makes it memorable. If the beats march like a marching band and the voices are all brass, the audience will start tapping out their own rhythm instead of listening. Keep the structure tight, but let the characters improvise the emotional solos. That’s how you keep the audience’s breath—and hearts—synchronised.

Glad you’re vibing with the groove—just remember, a solid framework is the stage, but the actors’ breaths and quirks are the music that keeps the audience hooked. Keep the beats tight, let the characters improvise, and the whole play will sing.