Sunday Writing Tip: Add Tension to the First Line of Every Scene

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Each week, I’ll offer a tip you can take and apply to your WIP to help improve it. They’ll be easy to do and shouldn’t take long, so they’ll be tips you can do without taking up your Sunday. Though I do reserve the right to offer a good tip now and then that will take longer—but only because it would apply to the entire manuscript.

This week, look at the opening line of each scene and chapter and make sure it has enough tension in it to draw readers into the scene.

We’ve looked at our scene openings before, but this time, let’s pat particular attention to the first line. Even if the scene itself has a hook, does the opening line have enough tension to get readers to that hook?

For more on crafting tension in your novel, try these articles:

• How to Hook Your Reader in Every Scene
• Three Ways to Add Tension to a Scene During Revisions
• Shh! It's a Secret: How to Raise Tension and Conflict in a Scene
• 4 Mistakes to Avoid When Building Suspense in Your Novel
• SPARK UP YOUR STORY – A Workable Plan for Adding Tension, Suspense, & Intrigue
• How Unanticipated Interactions Can Elevate Tension; A Scene Analysis
• Whoa, That’s Tense. 3 Ways to Raise the Tension in Your Scenes
• Skill Builder: What is Tension? (And How to Make it Work for You)
• The Key to Creating Suspense Is...
• A Quick Tip for Adding Conflict and Tension to Your Scenes