Rising Action Writing Tips: 15 Tips To Craft Engaging Plots

Whether it’s a novel, short story, or screenplay, you can give your work an extra edge of drama and suspense. Rising action is a key component of any well-crafted story, and these rising action writing tips tips will help you make sure your writing has that extra oomph to keep readers hooked.

15 Tips for Writing Rising Action In A Story

1. Create believable Obstacles

Create believable obstacles for your characters. Make sure these challenges are realistic enough so that readers can relate them back to their own lives or experiences. For instance, if your story is a romance novel, craft believable impediments that prevent the characters from uniting—maybe one has lingering trauma from an old flame or another is not yet ready to settle down. This type of obstacle creates suspense and makes readers want to find out what happens next.

2. Up the Ante

As you progress through your narrative, be sure to up the ante—this means adding more pressure or danger with each hurdle that is confronted by your protagonists. For example, let’s say two characters have finally reunited after being apart for a long time; instead of having everything turn out hunky-dory from then on, introduce further complications like relatives not giving their blessing for the reunion or someone else trying tooth and nail to drive them apart again.

If done correctly, this can help to cultivate anticipation and exhilaration as readers ponder what could possibly occur next

3. Make It Relevant

When crafting your rising action be sure it resonates with today’s world events and culture – this helps draw people into your story even more as they recognize situations similar ones they may have encountered themselves in real life.

You could even use current news stories or pop culture references when applicable. This will make it easier for readers connect emotionally with what’s happening in the book since they already know about these topics outside its pages too.

4. Make sure your characters develop

Your characters should be interesting and complex, not one-dimensional stereotypes. As the story progresses, they should grow in some way. Give them unique backstories that reveal their motivations and their flaws to make them more authentic.

5. Use subtle hints to foreshadow what’s coming

Spread out clues throughout your story that hint at what’s coming. These hints should be subtle enough that readers don’t catch on immediately, but when everything comes together at the end, they should feel satisfied.

6. Don’t make it predictable

As you introduce twists and turns in the plot, try to think of unexpected ways to resolve them. Surprise your readers by taking the story in a different direction than they were expecting. For example, if you’re writing a fantasy story, your hero might not be the one to save the day.

8. Vary the pace of the rising action

Don’t just focus on one type of conflict or problem throughout your story. Vary the tension and release moments to keep readers engaged. Include both fast-paced scenes with exciting reveals and slower scenes that allow for character development.

10. Make sure the stakes are high

What’s at stake for your characters should be significant enough that the reader is invested in their success or failure. The higher the stakes, the more suspenseful the story will be.

11. Escalate the conflict as the story progresses

As the plot progresses, the stakes should get higher and higher. Make sure that each plot point leads to a bigger problem or challenge for your characters.

12. Pay attention to pacing

Your story should have an engaging rhythm that builds tension as it moves forward. Start with shorter scenes and then gradually increase the length of each scene as the conflict develops.

13. Use dramatic irony to add depth

Dramatic irony is when the reader knows something that the characters don’t. This can be used to build suspense and create an interesting dynamic between the characters and the audience.

14. Introduce new elements at strategic points

Don’t be afraid to introduce new characters, plot twists, or settings as you progress through the story. Doing so can help keep your readers engaged and add depth to the narrative.

15. Make sure each scene has a purpose

Every scene should move the story forward and contribute something meaningful to the overall plot. If a scene doesn’t do that, it’s likely not necessary and can be cut.

16. Be consistent with your world-building

If you have a fantasy or science fiction story, make sure to establish the rules of your world early on and then stay consistent as the story progresses. This will help keep readers immersed in your narrative.

Final Notes on Rising Action Writing Tips

With these tips, you’ll be able to set up exciting scenes full of suspenseful moments that keep readers hooked until the very end. With well-crafted rising action – which includes creating believable obstacles along with increasing stakes – authors can ensure their stories remain engaging all while drawing audiences deeper into each scene and connecting them emotionally too.