: Re: Alternative sources of drama/tension when the setting is low-violence So, I think I might just have turned my fantasy setting into a Saturday morning cartoon. I just, don't want people to die

@LarsenBagley300

Three sources of tension/conflict according to Sanderson:

The intersection of plot and characters, =or= The intersection of plot and setting, =or= The intersection of setting and characters.

(and presumably between setting/setting, character/character, and plot/plot.)

Here I asked a question along the lines of your question because I didn't understand how plot/setting can conflict with one another. And I wanted to, because like you, I don't have a lot of death in my story. I don't want death in my story. But I needed more tension, I was told.

An answer to that previous question is slowly coming to me: A tense scene that conflicts plot and setting would involve a scary setting (in your case, maybe a Waring blender) standing in the way of plot progression. But there is no violence needed. Just a threat.

So: I've added a forest fire into my story, it's horrific, half the fictional booze is destroyed. "Oh no!" I've added a scuba diving incident too, also hair-raising, the tank springs a leak "Oh No!"

These are just a couple ideas I've now thrown in to perk up the chapters that were too saggy. These are plot/setting conflicts, I think. And that's my answer to the question of how to raise tension ... without death. The characters are dealing with scary threats but NO VIOLENCE is involved.

Separately, I've increased tension by having a character lose their magic halfway through act II (this is a character/plot conflict). And, I've put subplots into the story which aren't technically necessary for the plot but they 'fit' well enough, and they allow me to make sure each chapter feels like an advancement. (A couple chapters that originally just deepened character/world now also advance subplot lines.)

Hope something in there helps. I love the idea of less violence in stories.

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