Raising the Stakes

*** Schedule Note: As the author of Word Wanderings, I've decided to put the blog on a more regimented schedule where posts are concerned. Unless we're having a special guest interview or blogger, Word Wanderings posts will begin to appear on the 2nd and 4th Mondays of the month. And now, back to your regularly scheduled blog. ***


When I have readers critique my work, one thing I'm typically complimented on is my pacing. I'm not bragging, it's the truth, and I honestly don't know how I've managed it. Since I know I have many areas of weakness in my writing, I'm grateful to know what I'm doing well. At least it's one less thing to worry about!


But, that's gotten me to think about what makes a story that's paced well enough that it'll keep the reader hooked.

Personally, I think the biggest thing is to keep raising the stakes on your characters. They have to have some reason to keep moving forward, or your story's just not going to keep that reader hooked. It doesn't matter if you're writing a western, a romance, or a mystery. Raise the stakes. 
 

In J.R.R. Tolkien's 'The Fellowship of the Ring', everything is just going along peachy for Frodo. Then he gets the ring. (Raising the stake #1.) The ring has mysterious powers and is very dangerous to The Shire, so he has to get it out of there. (#2.) His stakes rise further when Sam, then Merry and Pippin, join his party, and he has to be concerned about their well being. Having to avoid the Ring Wraiths, then getting stabbed by one takes it up another notch. When he's healed--and you think he can go back to The Shire--Frodo does something unexpected, and takes on the burden of carrying the ring to Mordor to destroy it.

Insert dramatic music here.

Just in the first half of the movie (or book for you purists), Tolkien has raised the stakes a minimum of five times--probably more if you really want to get specific about it. Each time makes it less likely you as the reader will want to tear yourself away and stop reading (or watching.)

So, how's your story coming along where raising the stakes are concerned? Do you need to add a body on page 47, after your P.I. discovered the first one on page 32? Or maybe your cowboy needs to get kidnapped--or worse--shot! Maybe your leading lady is too focused on her intended, and needs to have a few irons in the fire to burn through--an ex-girlfriend wanting to get back with her old flame could be waiting in the wings for your Mr. Right.

As for me, I'm going to check my stories and make sure my characters have a few more hoops to jump through before they reach the end.

Until next time,



As an aside, I just wanted to make note of the fact that one year ago today, at 2:06 PM, my little girl was born. While I actually wrote this several weeks ago, anticipating I'd be a teensy bit swamped, I would be remiss as a mother if I didn't acknowledge this. One day, I hope she'll see Mommy's blog and know I thought so much of her to note this for her special day. So, Happy Birthday, Sweetie. I know you can't read this now, but one day, you will. Love you.

For more information on the topic of creating tension, please refer to the following blogs:
Wordplay:
The Art of Frustration
The Necessity of Conflict

No, I'm Not a Sadist

I love torturing my characters.

What's more, I find that the books I enjoy most are the ones where the characters are tortured (sometimes figuratively rather than literally) by the author.

Some might say that makes me a sadist. Nope. Just a writer with a healthy respect for conflict.

In order to make an enjoyable and page-turning story, there needs to be a healthy amount of conflict. Most writers agree there should be conflict on every page. While that may be a little difficult to accomplish, depending on the genre you write, it is a good goal to strive for. Sure, you can have minor scenes along the way alleviating the tension, but until you reach the final climax, the goal of writing a novel should be to add tension as the story grows.

One of my favorite books in the 'In Death' series by J.D. Robb is Conspiracy in Death. *WARNING* Spoilers!!! In this book, Eve Dallas is faced with a murderer who will stop at nothing to prevent her from discovering who s/he is. As she and her team get closer to zeroing in the murderer, Eve has confrontations with an officer who has a vendetta against her. What she doesn't know is that the officer is a lackey for the murderer. Besides the arguments with the officer, Eve is also threatened by a droid owned by the murderer. When the officer is murdered and Eve is relieved from duty and emotionally crumbles, there's no way I'm putting that book down! While the end is still far, this climax in the middle of a book I've read several times always manages to suck me in to see what happens next.

Granted, part of this is an emotional connection to Eve Dallas. I'm not going to discuss that aspect at this time, though K.M. Weiland has a great blog this week if you want more info. And while caring for the characters you write (and read about) can heighten the feeling of conflict in your story, you can care all you want about your characters, but if nothing difficult ever passes through their life during the timeframe you're writing about, you're not writing a saleable story.

That being said, I'd urge you to review your latest work-in-progress. Try to identify what kind of conflict is going on every page or two. If you can't find it, it's likely your reader/agent/editor won't find it either.

I'll be off, creating havoc in the lives of my characters.

Until next time,

--Liberty--