Tension is an often overlooked tool in fiction writing, but it's an important element in keeping the reader turning the page. When editing your manuscript, evaluate the amount of tension in each scene to determine where improvements can be made.
The tension should rise throughout each scene and chapter, building until the story reaches it climax and then falling gradually as you approach the ending. Editing for tension isn't difficult, but because it is an important part of the self-editing process, it requires that writers be honest with themselves and what they've put on the page.
Read and rate each scene.
Read your first scene. What happens? How does the ending make you feel? Does the tension build until the ending or does it feel flat? Rate the scene on a scale of one to ten. One means it has little or no tension, and ten means it's edge-of-your-seat-intense. If nothing happens to move the story forward, then the scene lacks tension. Let's pretend the scene rated a two. Write 1-1-2 on a sheet of paper to indicate Chapter one, scene one and the tension rating. Now go to the second scene and do the same. Then repeat with all of the scenes in chapter one.
Evaluate
Let's pretend you gave the three scenes in chapter one a rating of two, three and five. This is good tension because it rises as it should. Move on to chapter two and repeat the process. Let's pretend you gave the second chapter a rating of one, three, and one. The tension has dropped twice, but this may not be terrible if the story progresses in each of these scenes. Occasionally you need to let the reader breathe.
Graph your results
Once you've read and rated every scene in every chapter, make a line graph of the results. If you've been honest about the tension, then you'll see the areas, or scenes, where the tension drops significantly or lags, leveling out for too long.
Make Changes
Use your graph to make changes in the problem scenes and to build the tension up where it's sagging. If there's only one scene in ten that drops, then you might not have to change anything. Often after a lot of action, a scene that contains little action, but that still moves the story forward, gives the reader a break and this is okay. But if you have two or three scenes in a row that do nothing to move the story forward then you have a problem. Determine first if the scene is necessary. If it is not, rewrite to remove it. If it is necessary, insert conflict or an event that will boost the tension and push your story forward.
Editing to improve tension in your novel works only when you're honest with the content of each scene. When you improve tension, you also improve plot and pacing. The reader may not enjoy hanging on the edge of her seat for 300 pages or more, but you do need to keep her there most of the time. As you close each scene, dial it back a little, but remember to crank it up as soon as you can so that your graph shows consistent spikes and tension that moves upward.
Renee Miller - Co-author of Writer's Companion, a reference manual for creative writers, and freelancer/fiction writer.
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