: Re: What are some conventions for creating a sense of urgency? I do not believe I came up with the concept of urgency in a main conflict, but I cannot find the original source, so I will just

The formula for urgency is very simple:

Time constraint + emotionally significant consequences = Urgency

That's all there is to it. You can vary this endlessly, and always end up with urgency. For instance, if Jamal doesn't get to the restaurant on time, his girlfriend is going to leave him. So it's very urgent that he get out of this traffic jam right away. No bomb or monsters needed.

However, without the emotionally significant consequences, you can't get urgency, no matter what heavy artillery you're throwing at the story. Keep in mind, however, what is significant depends on your character. If your character's self-image is based on always winning, even something as trivial as getting to the front door first can seem urgent --to her. So, if you want to end up with urgency, you want to start with a character who is going to really care about whatever the stakes turn out to be. That's easier if the stakes are life-and-death. But it's far from impossible if they aren't.

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: Re: What are some conventions for creating a sense of urgency? I do not believe I came up with the concept of urgency in a main conflict, but I cannot find the original source, so I will just

More posts by @Moriarity138

: Protagonist Goal and achieving it My MC is a famous singer/songwriter who is bad at writing lyrics. Her goal is to write commercially successful, deep, serious songs. How do I design the character

: Once written down it's set in stone What's the strange property/disease/habit called in which you need everything you write down to be 'the truth' once it's written down. Even while drafting,

: How to shorten a prologue? I understand that a prologue is meant to open up a story and introduce characters, themes, and the world to my audience. It is not supposed to be a long length

: What challenges are there in writing a fantasy cookbook? I ask mostly out of curiosity. Obviously, a proper cookbook would involve real ingredients and not fantasy creatures. There's such a cookbook

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