How to Keep Tension High in the Middle of Your Story
Middles are always a bit hard to nail. Beginnings are kind of clearer, and writers usually know where their stories end, but those middles can get really tricky. It’s difficult to keep that tension going—to keep the story moving forward at a good pace. To have the readers on the edges of their seats the whole time with those one-more-chapter feelings.
But luckily, I have some tips to help.
Climbing a Mountain
Think of the main conflict of your story as a mountain peak. The story is always heading toward that one spot. But getting there requires climbing that mountain, and that’s where the chapters come in.
Every single chapter should be like taking a step toward that mountain peak. Obstacles and roadblocks can get in the way, but every step should be in the direction of the mountain peak.
When pacing slows, and tension falters in a story, it’s usually because the chapter doesn’t take a step forward. Instead, it takes a step sideways or backward. Or it doesn’t take a step at all. It’s not as focused around the main conflict.
What to Do When You’re Stuck
When you’ve hit a stump of how to take a step toward that mountain peak, and you aren’t sure what to do, you can try these tips.
Write an outline of where the book is going
Often, it is easier to start from where the book ends and then work backward from there to see what steps need to be taken.
Write a list of each chapter from the ending back to where you are now and mark how each chapter should advance the plot (so you don’t lose track). Sometimes, working the problem from a different angle (backward to forward) helps to see how to get to that mountain peak.
Ask some questions
- What’s the worst thing that can happen to my protagonist(s) right now?
- What could stand in their way even more to up the stakes?
- If you’d like a softer plot, what’s something that can really inconvenience my protagonist(s)?
Another way is to think from the point of view of the antagonist(s).
- Can the antagonist(s) be doing anything else to put more pressure on the protagonist(s)?
- Can even a third party or the government/a job/a power over them come in to put more pressure on the protagonist(s) from a different angle?
Those questions can be building blocks to help add twists into the story or to complicate the plot line even further and up the stakes.
Talk with a close writer friend
Bounce ideas off of each other. A good human conversation can be where creativity blooms and thrives. Sometimes, we can’t see what’s holding our stories back, but other writers can help us see it by looking at our story from another angle.
Emphasizing Those Steps Up the Mountain
What if every chapter you have is taking a step toward the mountain peak, advancing the plot every step of the way, but the story still doesn’t feel like the tension is high in the middle?
You can work with this in a few ways.
Write a list of how each chapter takes a step up that mountain
For example, following The Hunger Games:
- Chapter one — Sets up the reaping, and Prim’s name is drawn
- Chapter two — Katniss volunteers for her sister, and Peeta’s name is also drawn
- Chapter three — Katniss says goodbye to her family and gets mockingjay pin (rebellion symbol)
- Chapter four — Katniss vows to not get close to Peeta since he’ll have to die for her to see her family again but reaches an understanding between Peeta and Haymitch before arriving at Capitol
- Chapter five — Katniss and Peeta create a hefty impression on the Capitol with matching costumes featuring synthetic flames but are now under the Capitol’s eye even more
When everything is listed out, it can be easier to spot which chapters aren’t advancing the main plot or aren’t pulling as much weight as the others. It’s there that you can identify which chapters to focus on.
Ensure each chapter emphasizes the main plot at the end
Leave the readers with the highest note of tension—instead of letting the tension resolve or instead of letting the chapter skip away to a new scene at the end.
Letting the tension resolve brings the height of your tension down. So, even if the chapter just had a big tension-full moment, if the tension has eased some by the end of the chapter, some of the stakes are gone, and there’s not as much to push the story forward into the next chapter. To really get that one-more-chapter feeling with readers on the edges of their seats, don’t resolve anything at the end of chapters.
And when the last paragraph or the last sentence or two jumps ahead to what’s going to happen in the future, it can take the readers out of the story as well. Instead of being immersed in the moment of the scene, they’re thinking ahead. It’s like having one foot in one room and another foot in the next room over. The readers are not fully committed with both feet in the same room. They’re not fully immersed in that one room, that one scene. Therefore, staying in the moment gets them to more likely have that one-more-chapter feeling.
What you leave readers with—whether it be the ends of paragraphs or the ends of chapters—is naturally emphasized. Those moments stick out to the readers a lot more. Take advantage of that to emphasize the tension at the end.
Deepen the internal conflict alongside external obstacles
While you’re focused on getting your protagonist up that mountain, don’t forget about the emotional and psychological climb happening inside of them. Each external obstacle should also force your character to confront something within themselves—a fear they’ve been avoiding, a belief that’s holding them back, or a flaw that keeps tripping them up.
Going back to The Hunger Games example, when Katniss volunteers for Prim, it’s not just about surviving the Games. It’s about her wrestling with whether she can trust others and what kind of person she wants to be.
This internal journey creates a second layer of tension that keeps the readers invested even when the external plot might slow down. When both the external and internal conflicts escalate together, readers get that deeper emotional investment that makes middles feel just as compelling as explosive endings.
Slow down the important moments
When the stakes are high, go deeper into those moments as well. Show the characters’ emotions and reactions a bit more. Show the details of all that’s happening around them more.
Slowing the pacing around important moments can help build the tension because when a story slows down, it’s a signal to the readers that something important is about to happen. It also immerses the readers in the characters’ shoes even more, letting them feel and see every little thing the characters do, which tugs at their emotions and builds the tension.
Remember the Mountain
With art, there are always different pieces of advice to play with and try out for your own novel. But when building that middle of a story out, remember the mountain peak the story is heading for.
I hope these tips help!
