My bad — as I was getting into my cab yesterday on my way home from Dallas, I hollered at my Book Therapy cohort, Rachel, to blog about Dr. Notes, forgetting that Tuesday was Drs. Notes day– and yesterday was Ask the Doc — so, sorry for that switcharoo!

I taught four workshops at last weeks American Christian Fiction Writer’s conference, and then spent all day Sunday brainstorming with my crit partners. One of the most common questions that surfaced had to do with keeping tension tight on every page. Someone said, “I have a main plot, with lots of tension, but the story seems to slow in the middle to almost a standstill. How do I keep that tension increasing on each page?

Great question. And one solution: Create Peripheral Stakes.
You remember last week in Dr’s Notes how I talked about the balance between Stakes and Goals for keeping tension high. Another way to keep the reader turning pages is to put pressure on other parts of the pov character’s life through raising the peripheral stakes.

While I was in Dallas, I rented “Die Hard or Live Free” the latest in the Bruce Willis saves the world saga. Basically, bad guys have taken over, through the internet, all the transportation, finances and utilities in the US, and if they succeed, the entire world as we know it will collapse. But, if that isn’t bad enough, (because after a while, we as the reader get immune to the larger stakes), the creator chooses to bring it home, to make it personal by having Bruce’s already estranged daughter kidnapped, her life threatened.

These are peripheral stakes. By putting pressure on Bruce to save his daughter and abandon the quest to save the world, we now have a twist that re-engages the reader into the storyline. Another great example of peripheral stakes is 24. Notice how, at any given point, Jack has two or three other issues to deal with, on a personal level, along with saving the world? Maybe something to do with his daughter, or Audrey, or his family. All of these raise the stakes by making it harder for him to complete his task.

Look around you — each one of us has people and things we care about in a widening circle. This is our periphery. What is the worst thing (within reason) that could happen, right now, to someone or something in your periphery that would derail your own quest in life? Now ask, “What is your character’s periphery?” Pick someone or something in his periphery and create trouble. Something that could potentially divert your hero’s attention, or even damage him. As he races to solve this peripheral problem, of course, the larger stake is affected, and worsens. And your reader is at the edge of their seat.

Peripheral stakes. Just another way to keep that story tight.

See you tomorrow when we take a look at some of my writing mistakes and how to fix them!

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