Pacing Techniques in Storytelling: Why it Matters

In this "Powerful Pacing for Storytellers" course, students will have the opportunity to learn effective pacing techniques aimed at refining story rhythm and maximizing reader engagement.

In this course, you will learn techniques for utilizing pacing to create tension, highlight significant story moments, and enhance reader involvement.

Introduction to Pacing

The course will delve into story pacing, exploring its three distinct timing clocks, and introducing a formula designed to help participants manage the relationship between time, speed, viewpoint depth, and emotional intensity.

The sections covered in this course include:

• Introduction: Understanding Pacing
• The 3 Clocks of Storytelling
• The Storyteller's Pacing Formula

We will explore the relationship between reader perception of time and the pacing of a narrative. Additionally, we will examine various techniques to adjust pacing in order to effectively manage the reader's level of engagement and excitement.

Understanding Reader's Perception of Time and Pacing

We will delve into the way a reader's perception of time changes in response to the intensity of the narrative, and explore methods to finely adjust pacing to regulate the reader's emotional involvement.

Mastering Pacing Techniques

This section will focus on specific techniques to control pacing and manipulate the emotional intensity of the narrative, particularly from different character viewpoints.

The Impact of Writing Modes on Pacing

We will analyze how different writing modes influence pacing and how authors can utilize these modes to regulate the tempo of their storytelling.

Controlling Pacing through Fiction Delivery Modes

We will discuss how various fiction delivery modes, such as dramatic summary, action, dialogue, narration, description, and exposition, can be employed to effectively control the pacing of a narrative.

Understanding Scene and Sequel in Fiction Writing

In this section, we will delve deeper into the structure of Scenes and Sequels, exploring their relationship with Fiction Delivery Modes.

Scene and Sequel: The Foundation of Fiction Writing

Exploring the Intersection of Scene and Sequel with Fiction Delivery Modes.

Practical Exercise

Analyzing Pacing through Fiction Delivery Modes.

I have developed this course with the aim of assisting writers in enhancing their ability to control pacing, thereby captivating their readers. The only prerequisite for enrollment is an openness to learning.

Feel free to access the course videos on the landing page and preview the complimentary lesson.

I am eager to welcome you to the class.

Wishing you a wonderful day, and may the muse inspire you.

Warm regards,
Vanessa Grant

Storytellers who want to keep readers interested throughout their stories.

1. I did like the course very much. It said its theme would be pacing - and it really was. I was disappointed by other courses when the title didn't fit to the lesson. I liked to see the theory be mirrored in a real novel. I will have a new look on my own writing and the writing of other authors. Thank you Vanessa! ~ F Pfeifer
2. Informative and easy to follow. I will re-watch this class several times I'm sure to make sure I have it all down. Thank you ~ Dorey N
3. I love how Vanessa Grant unfolds this course to engage all writing levels and genres. The examples and explanations are engaging, fun, and light handed. In addition, Vanessa's suggested books and authors gave me the stepping stones I look for in self-education without the need for more research. The sections in "Playing with Time" were compact and a convenient length for anyone with a busy schedule. As a mom, ending my day with a few videos with Vanessa Grant was exactly what I needed to power on my writing. I am now enjoying the exercise and would love to see more! Thank you! ~ L A Olson
4. Sometimes when I'm writing a book, I get that gnawing feeling that what I'm doing isn't quite right. Something in the story feels--off. I'm not always quick to recognize what's gone wrong, and that inability often slows me down. It can also make me doubt my story and my skills as a writer. Vanessa Grant, in this comprehensive course, has reminded me of the impact of pacing (slow and fast) on what I write. Her in-depth analysis of what pacing is, how it works, and how critical it is to making a story exciting and engaging for a reader, is bang on. I now have a solid list of checkpoints to use going forward. Checkpoints that will help me to judge whether or not the pacing in my work is a problem. Next time when I get that miserable gnawing feeling that something's wrong in my current work--I'll be thinking about this course and what I've learned from it. Great course! Thank you ~ EC Sheedy
5. I love these short mini lectures. Vanessa gets right to the point and explains her subject well. Graphics are interesting and helpful. In this Pacing course, I found the exercise in Section 16 really helpful! And it was fun, and colorful, too. Taught me to look at the dynamics of writing in an entirely new way. This is the second class of Ms. Grant's that I have taken, and I've learned a lot in both of them. I can see my skills improving as I use her techniques ~ K McHughes
6. This course is exactly what I need! So far, everything is explained clearly, at a pleasant pace. I'm looking forward to the next lesson, which is about scenes and sequels! ~ Kate S
7. Good course. Helpful to me as I develop my story idea ~ S Marsh
8. Gave me an enhanced appreciation of timing in fiction ~ E Omokhudu

1. Identify three different kinds of time in storytelling, and the formula that cuts through the confusion of pacing.
2. Discover how pacing controls the reader's perception of time.
3. Use your understanding of the six primary fiction delivery modes to analyze pacing.
4. Use pacing to make your story more powerful and keep your readers wanting "more".
5. Control pacing using the relationship between Scene and Sequel and Fiction Delivery Modes.
6. Understand pacing's relationship to "camera angle", depth of viewpoint, emotional intensity, and scene and sequel.

The only requirement is a willingness to learn.