As promised on Monday, I’d like to do a series on the different elements of crafting a story. This is from my personal experience, what I’ve learned from those kind enough to critique me and some of the better craft books I’ve read. Three vitally important ones, that I recommend every writer read are: Writing The Breakout Novel (By Donald Maass), Save the Cat (Blake Snyder), and  On Writing (Stephen King). If some of my ideas seem very familiar, they probably come from what I’ve learned from these sources.

One of things those of us who are unpublished most hear is “keep them turning the pages.” The best way to do that is keep the stakes and tension high. As the old adage says noting worth having comes easy and this should be especially true for your hero/heroine. They should have to fight and claw for every step them make toward their goal, make a couple wrong turns and end up in a back alley or two.

No matter the genre you’re writing, I think it’s best to think about thriller movies when focusing on your tension. Flipping the pages is the equivalent of sitting on the edge of your seat. Two movies immediately jumped to mind I thought about a real roller coaster ride. I’ll talk about the newer one first: Taken

First take a look at the trailer:

From the time his daughter is kidnapped, we can imagine the hero’s (played by Liam Neeson) pain, but really the viewer was already on that thrill ride even before that.

We learned he used to work for a government agency, is very good at security measures and tracking people, and left his career behind to be close to his daughter (Who lives with her mother and step-dad). Mom and Daughter pressure him into allowing the daughter to go overseas for the summer (Though the lie about the circumstance) He reluctantly agrees after employing security measures (like an international phone and a long list of rules) only to find out as the daughter rushes past security at the airport that she isn’t going on the trip he bargained for.

Tons of tension, before we really get to the inciting incident. The kidnapping that sets the chase in motion.

The other example of a great movie that kept tension high throughout is Con-Air (1997).

Another movie full of twists and turns. Nothing comes easy for Nicholas Cage’s character as his desire is to return home to his wife and daughter, but is conflicted by the need to stop the prisoners who have taken over the plane.  Early in his capture he is given an option to leave, but an internal moral compass has him give that up and risk his own life to save that of a fellow diabetic captor.

It’s not the last time the character is forced to choose what’s best for him and the greater good, which i will probably revisit when I tackle characterization. But it is just as important that there is a balance of push and pull as the jouney wages on.

For every two steps forward, a step back will help increase the tension.