Shh! It's a Secret: How to Raise Tension and Conflict in a Scene

By Janice Hardy

Tension is a valuable tool for getting readers to turn the page—no matter what genre you write in. 

Conflict and tension are two things writers want in every scene, but it can be rough getting them both in there without a fight. Characters can't always be at odds or butting heads, and "conflict as a fight" gets old pretty fast. Even a solid difference of opinion can only happen so many times before it starts to feel repetitious.

It's also tough to find new ways to build tension when the characters in the scene are friends working toward the same goal. How do you create conflict and not have friends turn on each other?

Whoa, That’s Tense. 3 Ways to Raise the Tension in Your Scenes

By Janice Hardy

Tension isn’t about what’s happening—it’s about what might happen next.

Great stories keep us on the edge of our seats, but they aren’t always packed with nonstop explosions or fight scenes. Sometimes, it’s a drip-drip-drip of water that plays on your nerves, a heavy silence before someone drops a secret that will change everything, or a glance that lingers too long and means so much. What makes us tense is the anticipation—that nagging sense that something bad could happen any second.

The movie Sanctum is a fantastic example of how to take advantage of tension. Set in a labyrinth of underwater caves where one wrong move means death, it layers danger, dread, and impossible choices until viewers are holding their breath right alongside the characters. Even though I’ve never been cave diving, I have dived wrecks with tight, confined spaces, and I know how quickly “this is fine” can shift into “this can kill me.” One wrong turn, one bad decision, and you’re in real trouble.

3 Ways to Add Tension to a Scene

By Janice Hardy

If your scene lacks excitement, try making someone squirm.

I wrote an interrogation scene for my detective WIP that should have been dripping with tension, but it read like a giant infodump. No resistance. No stakes. Just the bland back-and-forth of information I wanted readers to know, and the whole scene just went splat.

This is pretty common, especially in early drafts. We know what happens in our story and why, so we tend to skip over the uncertainty that creates that all-important story tension. 

But without that uncertainty, scenes can feel like they're just going through the motions.

The Key to Creating Suspense Is...

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Suspense matters in all novels, not just the thrillers and the horror stories.

The most memorable experience I've had with suspense and storytelling, was watching the final episode for season one of "Why Women Kill." Despite the name, the show is a drama, not a documentary, and is brilliantly told through three sets of characters, in three time periods, all in the same house. All you know going in is that one of the women in each time period is going to kill. You don't know who, you don't why, and you don't know how.

The final episode where all is revealed is sheer genius.  

I literally sat on the edge of my seat, knees pulled to my chest, hand over my mouth. I was riveted. 

The Rule of Three and How it Helps Our Writing

By Janice Hardy 

Three is a magic number in writing, and can help you craft stronger stories.

There was a joke in my house growing up, that things always happened in threes—good luck, bad luck, it didn't matter. If the car broke down, that meant two other things were sure to break within a few weeks. Someone got a raise, well, then two more good things were certainly on the way.

Most of the time it did actually happen—but probably not for the reasons you'd think. Good and bad things happen all the time, but we don't always notice them or make the connection to other similar events. It’s part of our culture and so ingrained in our subconscious that we notice (if not seek out) patterns that fit this rule. 

What “Mama” Can Teach Us About Tension & Suspense

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Want a bestselling novel? Grab your readers and don't let them go until the end.

Once in a while, a story comes along that blows me away. It might be a novel, a movie, a game, or a TV show, but how it’s written or structured illustrates an aspect of storytelling that expands my writer’s mind.

The film, Mama, by Andrés and Barbara Muschietti is one such story.

If you haven’t seen it, the basic premise is this: Two young girls abandoned in the woods are rescued by a tormented spirit who decides to raise them as her own. When the girls are found five years later, things get…complicated.

Although classified as horror, this film is really more psychological suspense in the “peek through your fingers while on the edge of your seat” way. It will utterly creep you out, but also make you laugh so hard you can’t breathe. And it makes you care—deeply.

How the Setting Raises Tension in Your Novel

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Your characters’ world provides opportunities to create mood and raise the tension in your scenes.

Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights is a perfect example of how a setting can influence the people in it.

The park is decorated with haunted houses and scary set pieces, and costumed staff (some with chainsaws) lurk in the shadows to jump out at guests. One group is startled and they scream, which makes everyone around them nervous, and just when people start to relax, another staff member leaps out. People who normally wouldn't be startled tend to shriek, because the setting already has them on edge.

This isn’t a happy coincidence. These staff members are trained to target guests who typically scare the easiest, so they look for younger people (particular teens and women) in groups, because they scream the loudest, and screams are contagious.

Why Every Plot Needs A Ticking Clock

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Sometimes, characters need a little boost to get them moving so the plot doesn’t stall.

I tend to procrastinate, especially when I already have a lot that on my plate. My to-do list fills up, and any task that won’t get me into trouble if I ignore it falls lower and lower on the list until it’s forgotten.

This can be problematic in life, but it’s deadly for a plot.

If the novel’s problem can be resolved “whenever” and it doesn’t matter when that happens, there’s no sense of urgency to the story. No urgency lowers tension, and low tension makes it harder for readers to care. And a lack of caring means the book will probably wind up forgotten at the bottom of a to-read list.

A Workable Plan for Adding Tension, Suspense, & Intrigue

By Jodie Renner, fiction editor, @JodieRennerEd

Part of the How They Do It Series

JH: Keeping the reader glued to the pages of our novel is a goal for every writer. Jodie Renner returns to the lecture hall today, to share tips on adding tension and intrigue to the story. 

We all know that thrillers and other fast-paced popular fiction need lots of tension, suspense, and intrigue to keep readers riveted to the story. But so do all the other genres, to varying degrees. No matter what type of fiction you write, it’s all about hooking your readers in, engaging them emotionally, and keeping their interest to the end.

Tension, conflict, and complications are what drive all fiction forward and keep readers engrossed.

A happy scene is a boring scene. If the character has no cares or the problem is minor or easily solved, readers will lose interest and look for another book. And intrigue is what piques readers’ curiosity and keeps them turning the pages of your story, no matter what the genre. And of course, you’ll need to ratchet up the tension and suspense a lot more if you’re writing a fast-paced, nail-biting page-turner. Go through your manuscript with the list below to see if there are some ways you and amp up your story to make it more engaging.

How to Hook Your Reader in Every Scene

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Everyone knows how important the first line of a novel is, but in truth, every opening line in the book matters.

As the saying goes, “Well begun is half done.” This is particularly true in writing, where we often get a single line to hook our readers and convince them to give our novels a try.

But it’s also true for the rest of the novel—not just that critical opening sentence.

Tension Starts with a Scene’s Opening Line

Every time we break a scene or end a chapter, that’s a chance for us to lose our reader’s attention. If we end at a low-tension moment, the odds of them putting the book down go way up.

Creating Story Tension: Rooms with an Unexpected View

By Bonnie Randall 

Part of the How They Do It Series 

The benefits of using unexpected places to create tension in a story.

Consider a house. Envision its rooms. Think about the living room (or perhaps you say ‘family room’) where everything social goes down: TV, gaming, chatter and kid squabbles (sometimes popcorn mashed between sofa seats). The bedroom, where rest and intimacy happen. The bathroom (restroom, if you’re American) where privacy is expected. The stoop, porch, or front step where visitors are met and strangers are kept at a safe distance from the inner sanctum. Then there’s the kitchen, the ‘heart of the home’. Here we prepare meals (with recipes that are often part of our heritage or history), we break bread, and we share dinner conversation with one another.

How Dramatic Irony Can Heighten Tensions and Strengthen Plots

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Dramatic irony is a fun way to create tension in a story while building a strong plot.

Dramatic irony is a wonderful tool to create mystery and tension in a novel. Not only does it allow you to convey vital information, it lets readers in "on the secret' and makes them feel like they're part of the story. 

For those unfamiliar with the term, dramatic irony is when the reader knows information but the characters don’t, and some of the story's tension comes from wondering what will happen when those characters finally meet or realize the truth.

(Here's more on dramatic irony)

There’s a lot of fun for readers to imagine how things would be different if only the characters knew what they knew (this works especially well in the romance department). It's also fun to play one character off another, which can add a nice layer of mystery since the reader might not be sure which character is telling (or knows) the truth and which one is wrong.

4 Mistakes to Avoid When Building Suspense in Your Novel

By Laurence MacNaughton, @LMacNaughton

Part of the How They Do It Series (Contributing Author)

Have you ever read a book that you just couldn't put down? The whole time you were turning pages, you were probably desperate to discover the answer to a burning question. That's the essence of suspense, and it makes readers devour your book. So how do you build suspense in your novel? Start by avoiding these four suspense-destroying mistakes.

Mistake #1: Answering all of the questions.

At or near the beginning of every scene in your book, you need to fix a question firmly in the reader’s mind. Give them something to worry about.

How Unanticipated Interactions Can Elevate Tension

By Bonnie Randall

Part of the How They Do It Series (Monthly Contributor)

As an author I watch shows, and certainly read books, with my ‘eye on the prize’; mining for those scenes which contain elements that make the story more powerful, or elevate the tension in replicable ways. Few can rival Shonda Rhimes in employing techniques that make good stories great. Here is an examination of how a scene from what I refer to as ‘The Golden Age of Grey’s Anatomy’ (aka: Seasons 1-5) offers up an unexpected interaction—and thereby jacks the tension, deepens the characters, and forges a more complex connection between the viewer and protag(s)….all within one rapid-fire 1:16 minute clip of a scene we expect to be sedate…yet is anything but.

Skill Builder: What is Tension? (And How to Make it Work for You)

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Tension is one of those writing terms that’s used all the time, but not every writer knows exactly what it means or how to apply it to their writing. They know they need it, they know it’s important (especially when paired with conflict), but they struggle to understand it. Tension is like show, don’t tell in that regard.

While creating tension in a novel can be challenging, this is all it really is: the anticipation of what will happen next.

Deceptively simple, right? Create situations where readers want to know what happens next—from the next few seconds (Agent Donald Maass calls this micro-tension), to the next few chapters, to the end of the novel. We keep reading because of tension. We want to know what happens and the anticipation of that holds us in the story.

What Are Your Characters Not Saying?

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

I was working on a fun scene yesterday, with two characters having a conversation. Each character’s goal was to get information out of the other without giving away what they knew. They had just met, didn’t trust each other one whit, but were the only clues to help both of them solve a mystery they both need to solve.

While they had particular plot reasons for keeping quiet, this verbal dance is a technique that can benefit a variety of scenes, because it adds tension and conflict, and can create mystery. People hold back information all the time. We don’t say what we think, we keep secrets, we don’t want to embarrass ourselves, and all for a myriad of reasons both good and bad.

How Being Ambiguous Can Work in Our Writing

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Most of the time, ambiguity in our writing is a bad thing. It confuses the scene, makes readers pause to figure out what’s going on, and can even create hysterical sentences that ought to be serious.

But sometimes, a little ambiguity creates uncertainty, and uncertainty can be a strong and powerful hook.

The sitcom Angel From Hell is a great example of ambiguity that works (although sadly, as I’m writing this I discovered CBS just canceled it. But the device it uses still works, even if TV viewers didn’t click with it in this case)

Tick--Tick--Tension: Setting the Clock

By James R. Tuck, @JamesTuckwriter

Part of the How They Do It Series (Monthly contributor)

Story is about tension.

Conflict, its resolution, and the build up to that. Sometimes your story is about the tension between characters, sometimes it is the tension between a characters actions and the oncoming consequences, sometimes the tension comes from the circumstances the plot has put your characters in.

Tension occurs when you inform the reader that something is going to change, to be revealed, or even be destroyed. As the author you set a ticking time clock on the story and that knowledge will keep your reader turning pages.

Ready, Set...Where's the Action? Keeping Informative Scenes Tense

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

You hear it all the time. Make it active. Start with the action. Make sure your characters act. But we've all written scenes where we have to convey a lot of information and there is no action to speak of. We know we can't just flop the info out there and get away with it, so what can a writer do? How do you convey all that information and still keep the scene tense?

I like the layer technique.

On the first draft, I just write what needs to be said and don't worry that it's probably a pretty boring scene. It's critical information, and what matters at this stage is getting it in there.

A Quick Tip for Adding Conflict and Tension to Your Scenes

By Janice Hardy, @Janice_Hardy

Before we dive in, just a heads up that my monthly post is up over at Publishing Crawl, where I’m talking about ways to serve your story.

Agent Donald Maas once said, “You can never have too much conflict.” He’s not alone in this thinking, and “not enough conflict” is a common reason manuscripts get rejected. Even novels with strong plots and solid core conflicts can earn a, “sorry, not for me,” because the conflict comes in dribs and drabs and there's no tension on every page or in every scene.

But there’s an easy fix for this.

Look at your scene and ask: