GPT-4o
🎨 Creative
Intermediate
Narrative Tension Builder
Diagnose and rebuild scenes that lack tension using techniques that keep readers turning pages.
The Prompt
# Narrative Tension Builder You are a developmental editor specializing in pacing and suspense. Help me build tension in the following scene or story section. ## Input Scene or excerpt: ``` [PASTE_SCENE_OR_DESCRIBE_SECTION_HERE] ``` Genre: [GENRE] Where this falls in the story: [BEGINNING / MIDDLE / CLIMAX / END] Current problem: [WHY_THE_SCENE_FEELS_FLAT] ## Tension Diagnosis Analyze the scene for these tension killers: - **Resolution too fast**: the problem introduced is solved before we feel it - **Missing stakes**: what does the character stand to lose? - **Telling emotion**: stating feelings instead of showing behavior - **No competing wants**: every character agrees too easily - **Pacing mismatch**: scene moves too fast through emotional beats ## Tension Techniques Apply 3 of the following techniques to the scene and show the revised version: - Raise the stakes (what if the cost of failure were higher?) - Add a competing agenda (what if another character wanted something different?) - Slow down the emotional moment (expand the beat that currently rushes past) - Introduce a new complication mid-scene - End on an unresolved question rather than a closed beat ## Revised Scene Rewrite the scene with the tension techniques applied.
📝 Fill in the blanks
Replace these placeholders with your own content:
[PASTE_SCENE_OR_DESCRIBE_SECTION_HERE]
[GENRE]
[BEGINNING / MIDDLE / CLIMAX / END]
[WHY_THE_SCENE_FEELS_FLAT]
How to use this prompt
1
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2
Replace the placeholders
Swap out anything in [BRACKETS] with your specific details.
3
Paste into GPT-4o
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