keep incrimenting post offset in a custom query
<?php
// the query
$the_query = new WP_Query( $args ); ?>
<?php if ( $the_query->have_posts() ) : ?>
<!-- pagination here -->
<!-- the loop -->
<?php while ( $the_query->have_posts() ) : $the_query->the_post(); ?>
<h2><?php the_title(); ?></h2>
<?php endwhile; ?>
<!-- end of the loop -->
<!-- pagination here -->
<?php wp_reset_postdata(); ?>
<?php else : ?>
<p><?php _e( 'Sorry, no posts matched your criteria.' ); ?></p>
<?php endif; ?>