5 Ways to Build Intensity

Good books need to have a minimal level of intensity in them (please see the Deltora Quest). That is why I am here writing about how to make your stories more intense.

Intensity is the kind of thing that makes the reader wet his pants and madly flip pages while skimming over frustratingly long paragraphs. At the time, the undisciplined fan will skip whole chapters in places that have enough intensity.

This is not always a good thing, but to a minimal level, this is a good way to create a climax and highly emotional phrases.

So please go over this list, print it out, and stick it in your office wall. Or write it down on your forehead backwards.

1. Run-ons. Guess what? It’s not an essay for math, so you might as well put in some run-ons. I really don’t know why they work, but when you’re building intensity, somehow the drag of the sentence makes the reader excited about what’s coming next.
2. Slow Action. There should be lots of it, but don’t just rush to the end and leave your reader wondering how your character jumped the cliff. That kind of intensity happens in real life, not on the page.
3. Descriptions. So it’s the end of the story. You’ve introduced all the characters, all the settings, all the theory and all the philosophy behind the story, right? Wrong. Keep going. Metaphorically compare the shattering of glass as your hero races through the window and flies out of the sewer, closely followed by the vampire’s pet werewolf.
4. Complex emotion. Even towards the end, the story should not be of victory. Your character always has mixed feelings. In other words, drive mad the average autistic child. Happiness is a simple emotion. So is sadness. Fear, anger, relief and shame are relatively medium emotions. Regret and hesitation are slightly more complex. For intensity, however, you’ll want to go for a combination. For example, a Bob needs to pull the fire alarm in order to evacuate the building so he can climb into the air conditioning and stop the timer bomb that should explode in 5 minutes. He does this hesitantly, as he knows this is wrong. However, all the teachers and higher figures are possessed by aliens and will not help him. He is also angry, because he just got yelled at by his girlfriend. This is a perfect atmosphere for intensity.
5. Drag. Drag your intensity scene for as much as you can. The longer, the better, and the more pages the reader will have to go through till the end.

So until next time, please keep writing, and make sure you remember the three I’s, Intensity Intensity Intensity.