The first step in routining your show is to choose a number of effects that 1) you perform very well, 2) you are comfortable performing and 3) fit your stage personality. (If you don't know what that means, see this article.)

Make a list of the effects. Next to each effect, note the time it takes to perform the effect. (If you are not sure, perform the effect in front of someone, music and assistants and all -if they are used in the effect- and have the person time you. Don't try to time yourself; performing without an audience is never, ever the same in terms of time.)

One of the secrets of a successful act is pacing. In order to hold an audience's interest, your act should be "textured". That is, there should be some variety in the effects you perform. This does not mean that you have to perform all different kinds of magic! Even if you are a close-up card magician, this secret applies to you. What it means is this: you should stagger quick effects with longer ones, nice little effects with mindblowers, audience participation ones with self-performed ones. If you are a comedy magician, stagger small jokes with big ones. If you use music, stagger silent (to music) segments with talking ones. If you are a stage performer, stagger illusions with in-front-of-the-curtain effects. If you do birthday parties, stagger "watch me" type tricks with audience participation.

Another secret is to use your most spectacular effects to open and close your show. You want to grab the audience's attention right away, so choose your opening effect with that in mind. You want them to think "Wow! This is going to be great!". Likewise, you want to end your show with a bang, leaving the audience feeling like they really saw something great. Many performers save their best for last, and it is quite effective.

Yet another secret is to select your effects so that they build on each other. A good idea is to use a "sucker" effect (one in which the audience thinks they know how it's done, but there is a surprise ending) and get an audience member to shout out how they think it's done. When the spectator joins you on stage, you automatically have a volunteer for your next effect.

A final tip for routining your show, and a too-often overlooked one: select your effects to fit into a specific time frame. That's why it is important to know exactly how long it really takes you to perform each effect. Magic acts are often too much of a good thing. The audience really doesn't appreciate sitting through a 30-minute act that takes 60 minutes to perform. More is not better! Choose effects that fit into 30-, 45-, and 60 minute time frames so that you have a show for a number of different occasions. Then stick to the schedule. You will appear more professional.

Proper routining is often skipped over by magicians because it is not exciting. Yet a solid routine is the backbone of your act. The successful magicians spend as much time, if not more, perfecting their routining than practicing their magic skills. It's well worth the effort.