Author Archives: Judy Bodmer

Feeling Discouraged?






What You Can Learn from a Rejection Letter








Clichéd: unoriginal story, characters, or setting.







Familiar: Too many books in this genre.









Shrugs, Smiles, and Glances: Make Your Character’s Movements Meaningful













Here’s another example:





“Me? Who told you that?”

Amar rolled his eyes.





“Me? Who told you that?”

Amar rolled his eyes.




7 Ways to Increase Tension in Your Writing (Goal Setting)








Goal: Detective goes to a home to face the antagonist.





7 Ways to Increase Tension in Your Writings (Foreshadowing)









Drought worsens as book moves into final scenes.








If this has triggered idea, share them here.


Man vs. Nature






7 Ways to Increase Tension in Your Writing (Man vs. Man)

The fifth way to add tension to your writing is to add an element of conflict. Oh, you say, you hate conflict. Then you’re thinking of it the wrong way. Conflict doesn’t only mean two people quarreling, although it can be that. It means two different entities in opposition to one another. Here are some examples:th3

Man vs. Man

Conflict can be between two people: children arguing over a toy, two adults wanting the same parking space, or a wife feeling neglected by her husband. But it can also be two people with opposite personalities placed in close proximity. Remember Oscar and Felix? One was a slob and the other a neatnik? How about two roommates at college, one is sophisticated, glamorous, the other overweight and athletic? Children who populate the family who have their own unique set of personality traits that naturally clash. Sitcoms do this all the time to great effect.

Even romance is a considered conflict. Two people who are attracted to one another, yet fearful of rejection, trying to get to know one another with everything at stake, their heart, their future. Will this work out, or won’t it? One of the reasons romances are so widely read is because of the “conflict” of romance. You might be writing a murder mystery or general fiction, but consider an element of romance to heighten the tension.

Conflict is also violent: murder, robbery, and even war. These topics populate modern literature, and even the Bible, for good reason. Readers pick sides. They have an inborn sense of justice and they want the good guys to win and the bad guys brought to justice. Don’t think you’d ever write anything like this? How about a third party stealing the beau in your romance novel, or your main character being accused unjustly of a misdeed in your mainstream novel?

(Next week I’ll talk about Man vs. Nature)

7 Ways to Increase Tension in Your Writing (Part Two)

Make the story personal.

7 Ways to Increase Tension in Your Writing (Part One)

After a strong opening, stories can bog down: readers become bored, and they might put our novels aside. Here are some things we can do to add tension in our writing so this doesn’t happen.

Ask a question that demands an answer.

Mysteries do a good job of this. Who killed John Doe? A romance does the same thing. Will Mary find Mr. Right? General fiction often asks what’s going on here. This can work as long as you do it well and don’t confuse the reader.

You can boost a scene that seems to drag by giving your MC (main character) a question that she must answer by the end of it. Example: Elizabeth has need of a babysitter so she can go for an important job interview. The scene opens with her calling her next door neighbor to ask if she will do her a favor. You can fill in the scene with all kinds of delays, but by the end, Elizabeth gets her answer: yes, no, or my favorite, yes, but. The “but” comes with a complication. The neighbor can sit with little Sally, butfor only two hours. Elizabeth MUST be home by 4:00 p.m. (Can’t you just feel the tension mounting?)

Increase the stakes

Are you too soft on your characters? By this I mean, what happens if they fail? What if Elizabeth doesn’t get her job? What if she doesn’t make it home by 4:00 to pick up her daughter? Maybe you need to raise the stakes.

Make failure:

Life and death

Happiness and despair

Bankruptcy or plenty

Disaster, ruin, end of the world

If the secret is discovered? Divorce; children taken away; lose the family home, the family fortune, good reputation, love of a lifetime, highly valued career. Perhaps the MC will be forced to live on the streets, etc.

World (or a loved one) will be destroyed if character doesn’t achieve goal.

Create a deadline

Deadlines are effective in raising the tension and can be set for the overall novel or for scenes.


Example:         Must make it to town by 6:00 a.m.
                        Waiting for an important phone call and battery is running low on cell phone.


Example:         MC has three camels and the first one just died.
                        MC has to find three jewels in order to open the door to the hidden treasure.
                        MC has two candy bars and three children who want them.


Example:         MC has $6.00 to buy a pair of shoes for his dying mother and they cost $12.00

MC needs $10,000 to save his ranch from foreclosure.

                        MC’s credit card is maxed out.


Example:         MC has six miles to go and the gas tank is on empty.
                        MC is running out of food, water, or fuel.
                        MC is making pancakes and doesn’t have enough flour.


(Cont’d. next week)