Being chased is an exciting and terrifying experience. No matter if it’s by a tiger, a bear, a dog, or a swarm of angry bees, when you’re in the middle of it you feel like a total badass. It can be exhilarating to run for your life, dodging obstacles and jumping over hills, but it can also feel heart-pounding to know that you’re about to be eaten alive.
Fortunately, when it comes to writing, you can use this adrenaline rush to work up some memorable imagery and powerful words to describe your incredible adventure. In this blog post, we’ll teach you how to do just that. Let’s get started.
The Setting
The first step is to set the scene. If you’re writing in first person, try for an intimate setting – maybe you’re in the woods, hiding behind a tree and looking out for your pursuers, or maybe it’s just you and the tiger chasing one another through the trees. The details here don’t matter as much as getting the emotion across, so take your pick.
You want to describe the thrill of the chase without going into too much detail. A good rule of thumb is to keep things simple yet evocative. As a general rule, don’t add any more characters or plot twists than necessary. Your ultimate goal is to evoke that ‘zing’ feeling when your readers (or audience) first encounter the material.
The Pacing
How fast does your story go? That is the question. Is it a page-turner? Can you just dive in and forget about the world for a little while? The pacing of your story is all about creating that perfect flow – the right combination of action and tension. To help you, think about how you’d respond if you were in the middle of the scene described above. You’d want to read faster, wouldn’t you?
In a smooth, engaging read, the reader should be able to jump in and start enjoying the ride without having to think too much about what is going on. If you want to create that sense of urgency, shift the focus of the story towards the climax, or towards the moment when you realize you’re going to be caught. That is going to make your readers work that little bit harder, which means you’ve accomplished your goal. They’ll be able to forget about their day-to-day lives as soon as they pick up your work – that is what good pacing is all about.
The Confrontation
The confrontation is one of the most exciting parts of any thriller. Whether it is a cat and mouse game or a life-or-death struggle, when the bad guy finally catches up with the good guy, the tension is unparalleled. It is very easy to overdo it and make the confrontation sound like a chore, but you want to make sure that your readers experience that moment of relief when the ‘good guy’ defeats the ‘bad guy’.
The confrontation should not be an easy, automatic victory for the ‘good guy’. There should be some tension until the very end, some uncertainty as to whether or not he is actually going to beat the bad guy. In a way, the confrontation is the climax of your story – it is what drives the narrative and allows you to bring everything else to a head.
Think about what you would do if you were caught in the middle of a massive fight with a tiger. First of all, you would want to find something bigger and more vicious to fight back with, so that you don’t end up like a chew toy. Also, you would want to use tricks and skills that you’ve learned throughout the years, because you know that tiger is going to lash out eventually. So, what would you do? Fight back. It’s an all-or-nothing strategy. Either you fight and maybe win, or you give up and let the tiger eat you alive. The choice is yours.
BONUS TIP: Create a sense of urgency
There is nothing worse than getting to the end of a story and realizing that it has gone on for way too long. You want your readers to rush to the end so that they can find out what happens, but you don’t want to make it seem like a rush, as if you’re forcing the story to be over as soon as possible. To create that sense of urgency, work on your pacing. Cut back on the details and add more action. Then, as you near the climax, increase the pace even more. You want your readers to feel that adrenaline rush that comes with the terrifying realization that you’re going to be caught.
Describe The Fear
The story of your life is one that you’ll always have the option of writing. In that way, it is a bit like your own private movie. But, while your story is vivid and alive in your head, it can be difficult to put into words what exactly you’re feeling. That is why it is a good idea to write down what you are feeling at any given moment. Maybe you are facing a tiger at the moment and feel a primal fear that is making you want to run for your life. Or, perhaps you are hiding from a tiger that is just waiting to pounce and tear you apart. Whatever the case may be, try to put into words what exactly you are feeling at that moment.
In creative writing, there is no right or wrong answer. Everything is subjective, and it is all about what works for you. What you are writing is going to be your story, and the only person that can judge the quality of what you have written is you, the writer. So, be proud of what you’ve created and know that you can always improve on it.