I wanted to unpack this technique in a blog post for those of you who might find it useful, too!
When plotting, drafting, and revising, I love visual maps of my manuscript. I draw “character webs” to lay out how characters are related to one another. I once made color-coded notecards that correlated to all the scenes of a WIP (the colors were based on which POV the scene used), pinned them to a giant corkboard, and then spent days shuffling them around, testing how drama and tension deepened when the scenes came in different orders. And I use plot-thread tension maps to track the overall flow of my manuscript.
These plot-thread maps work on an X-Y-axis model, with characters and main plot threads (a heist, a romance, a disappearance, etc.) on the Y, or vertical, axis, and story beats (acts 1, 2, 3, etc., or another kind of timeline) on the X, or horizontal, axis. Here’s a very rough example made with the only highlighters I could find in my house (what happened to all my highlighters?!):
When looking at the story overall, I scan through each main character’s arc and sketch it to see when it gets very intense versus a little slow. I do the same with the main subplots: In a romantic subplot, for example, I chart when is there peak sexual tension versus when the characters involved don’t see or think about each other for a while. Obviously, there should be variety in each of these character/plot arcs: ups, downs, quiet moments and climaxes. On a granular level, mapping these can show you if you’ve let a character or thread go dormant for too long and fall out of the story for a bit. Or maybe a character is ALL DRAMA ALL DAY and sketching out their arc shows you it might be good to give them some quiet moments, for contrast.
But the real magic happens when you map out all these arcs on the same piece of paper. Then you get a broad overview of the rhythms of your book: where the plot/character threads complement each other, or where everything goes too quiet for too long. (This often happens in the middle of manuscripts – I’ve heard it referred to as the “middle slump” – and if you see all your plot/character arcs sagging in the middle of the manuscript map, your book might need some attention there!) If you find a problem area where everything is too quiet, think about which character’s arc or plot thread could use a boost in tension at that time, and how to add it (someone’s car is totaled, someone’s dragon goes missing, the heist’s targeted safe is relocated, etc.). The goal is to have at least one thread providing rising tension at all times to keep the reader reading. Some character arcs or plot threads will end mid-book (if someone dies, for instance, or if a particular crime is solved). Those that are still in play by the end of the book should usually start to peak at the climax.
And that’s it! I hope you found this helpful. I’d love to see some of your tension maps: tweet them to me @katrinacarrasco.
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