Tension Engine v2.1

Track what can be lost, what is unknown, what can change, why it matters, and what pressure is currently active. Tension is not intensity; it is a credible possibility of loss.

Foundations

Tension requires all of:

• Stakes — something the characters would genuinely lose.
• Uncertainty — the outcome is not settled in the reader's mind.
• Pressure — a force acting now, not merely a condition.
• Credible consequence — the danger can actually arrive.

A scene missing any one of these fails differently. No stakes means indifference. No uncertainty means suspense without fear. No pressure means a situation rather than a scene. No credible consequence means announced danger, which reads as noise.

Kinds

Distinguish where useful: