Tension: the anticipation of what will happen next in a story.
The stakes in fiction matter because stakes create tension. The protagonist's ultimate happiness, perhaps even his life, depends on the outcome. If the stakes in the story are low, then tension will be weak. The stakes are often linked to inner conflict, as the protagonist wonders if what is at stake is worth it.
In this chapter I'll be talking about how to add tension to your story!
Are you killing your story's tension?
DO'S AND DON'TS :
DON'T make things too easy for your character.
DO let your character struggle through obstacles and even lose battles.
DON'T let all of your characters get along all the time.
DO let your characters fight, dislike, and mistrust one another.
DON'T resolve all of your conflicts too early.
DO introduce new conflicts as others are resolved.
How to increase your story's tension
1. Don't let your characters have what they want.
2. Ask how you can make your character's situation worse.
3. Build flaws and conflict into your setting/story world.
4. Create conflict between your characters.
5. Increase the consequences of failure for your characters.
Hope this helps you guys!! And Merry Christmas! The next chapter is going to be about writing your first chapter!
YOU ARE READING
𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬 & 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬
Random𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐬 from creating characters to killing them off.
