Nothing keeps readers engaged with story more than well developed tension.
It’s often the difference between successful and average writing.
You can’t develop tension without understanding and developing the super trifecta.
I cover tension more directly throughout my genre articles, collected in my genre guide download at Story To Script…
but I wanted to share this “formula” I recently shared with a long prose client, to help her keep her tension at the forefront of her chapters.
Before we get into it, consider these two points which I have mentioned numerous times:
Tension is “a heightened emotional state derived from an immediate danger or threat.”
Tension arrives from the moment you identify a threat (danger), to the moment that threat arrives. When the threat actually resolves itself, tension is dissipated. (Threat of violence/harm builds tension, actual violence/harm diffuses it.)
To build tension around any narrative element:
INTRODUCTION
* Foreshadow the relevant jeopardy.
* The target/victim of that jeopardy forms “a plan to avoid it.”
COMPLICATION
* Surprise the Reader: Something acts against “the plan to avoid the jeopardy.”
* Create struggle. Tension doesn’t arrive instantly, you build to it. The longer you build to it, the more potential you create for explosive tension.
CRISIS
* Surprise the Reader: All plans to avoid the jeopardy fail.
* The jeopardy fast approaches.
* Increase the stakes. The outcome is worst than expected.
RESOLUTION
* Surprise the Reader: No matter the outcome, subvert expectations.
( Remember the rule of plausible causality, avoid deus ex machina at all costs, BUT be creative. When in doubt, subvert expectations by falling back on your core concept elements and your Story Shine.)
Use these bones specifically to target high tension in your narrative and your story will be nearly impossible to put down. ▪
About the Author —
If you enjoy this article, please share the direct link on your social media.
Newcomer or veteran writer, if you’re working on a project that needs commercial success, Nick urges to you read this intro article.
Nick Macari is a full-time freelance story consultant, developmental editor and writer, working primarily in the independent gaming and comic markets. His first published comic appeared on shelves via Diamond in the late 90’s. Today you can find his comic work on comixology, Amazon, and in select stores around the U.S.