Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

The Dramatic Intensity Curve

The Dramatic Intensity Curve (DIC).

It should go without saying, however, this is a good time to hammer the obvious. As a story goes along it should build in intensity…It doesn't alway happen this way but it should. If the reader or audience is going to maintain interest, it better build. Still, how often do you read something where the rising action comes in fits and spurts interspersed with periods of sheer boredom? Like the writer remembers a trick from his/her term paper writing days and stuffs some filler into the middle. Sorry, I know that none of my readers ever tried this.

Anyway, someone, somewhere down the line, came up with a tool to measure Dramatic Intensity for stage plays. It’s one of those fandango little graphs that has two axis. On the horizontal is the time line of the story and on the vertical is the rising action. Every play or novel has a time line, or word line and the number goes up as the manuscript ambles along. Some writers actually plot this and any writer will benefit from keeping an eye on their DIC. ...So as you read your story, put the key events on the vertical cue and the time line on the horizontal and take note of where the line of the graph is heading.

It should be moving steadily upward and to the right, albeit in a squiggly line. As something interesting happens it will spike and fall back and then repeat as something else cool happens. It makes sense in theory and it should prove out on your story. If it doesn’t…if it flat lines or drops during the boring part..., (You know, that vein of prose certain to win you a Pulitzer Prize...?) Take note. As an alternative you might decide to forego some of that fame for something faster paced.