The underlying sense of unease or conflict simmering beneath the surface of a scene.
Tension is the electric charge that runs through your prose when something feels unresolved, unstable, or ready to snap. Unlike suspense, which is about not knowing what will happen, tension is about feeling that something is wrong right now. It can come from conflicting desires, unspoken words, power imbalances, or anything that makes the reader sense a storm is brewing.
Tension is what makes a scene about two people eating dinner feel like a battlefield. Without it, your scenes become inert - stuff happens, but nobody cares. Learning to create and sustain tension is one of the fastest ways to make your writing feel more professional and compelling.
Nearly every line of dialogue is loaded with tension. George and Martha's vicious verbal sparring makes the reader feel like they are trapped in the room with them.
Rooney builds tension from the gap between what Connell and Marianne feel and what they are able to communicate. The tension is not about danger - it is about missed connections.
McCarthy sustains tension through sparse prose and an unstoppable antagonist. Even quiet scenes feel charged because the reader knows violence could erupt at any moment.
Resist the urge to resolve conflicts the moment they arise. Let characters stew. Let the reader marinate in discomfort.
Some of the most powerful tension comes from inside a character or between characters who love each other. A couple trying not to fight can be more tense than a car chase.
Tension needs to ebb and flow. If everything is tense all the time, readers become numb. Give them breathing room so the next spike hits harder.
Write a scene between two old friends having coffee where one of them has a secret they are not willing to share. Never reveal the secret to the reader. Instead, build tension entirely through body language, pauses, and the way one character keeps steering the conversation away from certain topics. Keep it under 600 words.