Building Tension in Short Adventure Stories

Short stories have been an increasingly important part of my science fiction reading for the past few years. One reason for this change is research—I’ve been reacquainting myself with stories and themes published during the “Golden Age of Science Fiction.” Another reason involves my job as editor and anthologist for Far Orbit Speculative Space Adventures, Far Orbit Apogee, and Far Orbit: Last Outpost.

As I read through these stories, I’ve found that the most effective short adventure stories have a common structure that ratchets up the tension through repeated try/fail cycles until the conflict is finally resolved in the climatic action scene.  The stakes increase with each try/fail cycle and the pressure builds to the climax.  The wrap up sequence (i.e., falling action or denouement) lowers the intensity somewhat, but it never returns to the base levels.

My mental image of this process is that of a trebuchet or ballista where the crew works together to create tension on the ropes. Cogs click and clank, preserving their progress. The crew pauses a moment then struggles anew.  They crank until the machine groans from the strain, teetering between action and destruction. With a stroke, the tension released and the projectile is hurled into the distance. That’s my kind of story.
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This action cycle is works well in every speculative fiction genre and in traditional action-adventure stories.  Try/fail cycles certainly aren’t an absolute recipe for success.  You still need story craft, a hook at the beginning, meaningful characters, compelling story, and a killer ending but the tension needs to build, one try/fail cycle at a time. ​