Learning to be deliberate about the pacing and tension is key to creating a strong, solid manuscript. Pace and tension are two of the most important ways we can create a sense of both momentum and cohesion in our writing.

Some stories ask us for a racing sense of speed and chapters that end on breathless cliffhangers, while others require a quieter, slower sense of discovery. Most novels require a bit of both.

Part of the alchemy of learning to work with pace and tension is that it will often guide you in your revision and rewriting, helping you to sharpen your work and avoid falling into the trap of over-writing. In this workshop, Naima uses her many years of scriptwriting for news and current affairs to inform a rigorous sense of pace and tension in creative writing.

Detailed outline including structure and learning outcomes:

How to identify strong pacing and tension as a reader
Outlining and story-mapping for tension and pace
Specific ways to use sentence and paragraph structure to create pace and tension

Workshop Details

When: Saturday 6 April, 10am – 4pm

Where: In-person at the Byron Writers Festival office

Cost: $155 members/$200 non-members inc. GST

Group size: 10 participants max.

About Naima Brown

Naima Brown is the author of The Shot (fiction, Pan Macmillan, 2023), How To Age Against the Machine (non-fiction, Hardie Grant, 2023), and the upcoming novel Mother Tongue (Pan Macmillan, 2025). Her short fiction has appeared in Popshot Magazine and the Love On The Road anthology. Her essays have appeared in The Guardian Australia, Vogue Australia, and more. In addition to her writing, she is also a documentary (SBS, Channel 7) and podcast producer, having created five Audible Original series.

*Please note, if you are experiencing financial difficulties payment plans are available. Please contact our Project Manager, Amy Shaw on projects@byronwritersfestival.com