We know that stories are about conflict and tension and how characters resolve or overcome it to achieve a goal. How you write those scenes matters.
Writing Tip for Today: Let’s look at how to build scenes that grow tension up to the climax scene.
Start Passionately
In your opening scenes, the Main Character must hint at or be oppositional to the goal. Whether it’s to save the world from evil or snag that romantic interest, write a character who lets readers know what the goal is and who or what is against that person(s).
Your best chance of nailing the opening will be in setting that character into action. Stories that rely on long monologues tend to be ruminative and exclude both the character and the readers from the action. Remember that a lone character on stage can’t express tension as well as a direct scene with at least one additional character. I call this The Wilson Principle.
By putting at least two on stage, your scene can illustrate what’s at stake, who is against the goal and whether or not your Main Character is sufficiently passionate to give it a muscular try. Remember to first ground readers by showing them when and where these characters are and then allowing them to disagree in some way. You can add quite a bit of interior thought by the Main Character to let readers know some of the same stuff contained in a monologue or soliloquy.
Build Gradually
As each scene marches toward the final resolution, you’ll want to be sure that they stack on one another. By this, I mean that every subsequent scene should somehow build tension.
To build tension, each scene can either be a win or a loss. Each win should be rather peripheral—you can’t resolve the big question in the middle of the story. Wherever the character wins the goal is where the story ends. Losses—setbacks—enable the character to adjust and become more determined.
Keep the tension taut by not allowing your story to contain scenes of chit-chat or nattering. Increase tension by giving your character a worthy adversary and by showing your character’s mettle as in growth through adversity. Add micro-tension to every scene. You can keep sparks flying by putting tension in every line of dialogue, every bit of body language and inner thought.
Stack your scenes so that tension builds gradually.
Tension Acme
As you approach your climax scene, final battle or do or die moment, don’t forget to give your character an “all is lost” moment. This scene is pivotal in reminding readers of the passion in the opening and how that tension has grown. This “all is lost” scene also gives readers the chance to see if the character really desires the goal, if it has changed and why it changed.
Your scenes have gone from “really really want this” to “I can’t win” and on to “One last try.” As you write your climax scene, you’ll understand why you saved the biggest tension for this moment. By building gradually to the climax, you will allow readers to grow their anticipation and anxiety.
The scenes after climax are called resolution or denouement. These scenes are somewhat of a letdown as far as tension goes but are important to let readers understand how the character has changed and grown. Keep resolutions short, round up all your subplots (aka as rounding up the horses) and leave readers knowing if the character has won and is happy or unhappy or lost and is unhappy or happy. Follow this way of building tension for a winning story or novel.
