I’m so excited! My editor at Oliver Heber Books gave me an editorial letter yesterday, along with in-manuscript comments and edits!

I woke up early this morning to dive into editing. And…it’s much harder than I remember it being. The most consistent recommendation in the editorial letter is to up the tension all over the book, and there are certain scenes my editor has pointed out where things could get more intense, but readers…I’m kind of at a loss! I made it to page 158 in rewrites and edits before stopping. I want to go back into the manuscript today and keep going, but I think I need to do some research first, and some deep thinking. Maybe a break is needed.

How do I build tension?

After watching this video, I think there are a couple issues with my manuscript: I have a lot of things happening in a short amount of time (my pacing might be too fast), and also, I have major events occurring that don’t really have a build up to them.

The scene in question that my editor pointed out was when the family was gathered around having breakfast, when all of a sudden, the death of a major character is announced via a note from a messenger. My editor wrote that I needed to increase the tension there. And readers, I don’t exactly know how to do that!

The character is lost at sea, and in places here and there, Lily (my FMC) and her family wonder if that is exactly what would happen. However, other things overtake that worry and characters focus on other issues. I wonder if that deflated some of the tension.

I’ve got to keep looking things up to get ideas.

Here’s another helpful guide to increasing/tightening the tension in novels, courtesy of Cheryl St. John of Writer’s Digest:

1. Set up the tension. 

Keep saying no to your characters. Whatever it is they want, hold it back. The best conflict is one that appears unsolvable, so heap difficult situations on your characters and make them prove their mettle. Don’t make their situations easier; always make their lives harder. […]

2. Backstory slows things down, so plan ahead.

Leaving details about the character in question until later in the story is an effective way to intrigue your readers. Don’t fill in all the answers, but give them enough so they won’t be frustrated. Backstory in a tense scene slows the pace. Save backstory for sequels, and use them only sparingly. If you need to reveal information, you can do it through a quick flash of internalization or a secondary character’s dialogue. Hint at certain details to make the reader want to know more. […]

3. Make the reader feel emotions right along with your characters.

It doesn’t matter what kind of book you’re writing or who your characters are—a story is feelings. The more that’s at stake for your character, the more emotions he feels about events and situations. If you’ve set up your character for a big problem, you’re ready to fire it at him. Internal and external conflict and character motivation must be in place to create tension. If you want a specific reaction, set up a scene or a motivation to induce it. […]

I think this has given me enough to think about! Because I’ll be giving this a good hard think. I have a limited amount of time to spend on revising, as we’re on a deadline and the process of publishing needs to get started…so I hope I can figure out how to solve this problem soon.