Oct 24 2009
How to Give Your Writing Urgency
1. Use a ticking clock. That helps remind us what’s at stake for the characters. Perhaps a bad event is timed to go off at a particular moment, like a bomb set to blow up in eight minutes or fairy magic that ends at midnight. However, a specific time is not required; for example, the protagonist in DOA has been poisoned and has only about two days to solve his own murder. Ticking clocks are also interesting because they often force characters to move more quickly, cut corners, etc. Desperation is dramatic.
