Create tension with silence

Beep, bop, zorp - article under construction 🤖👷‍♂️

How to use silence to create tension

Silence is dialogue’s secret weapon. The things your characters don’t say — the pauses, dodges, glances, and interruptions — often carry more emotion and meaning than their words. This upcoming post will teach you how to use silence, pacing, and omission to stretch tension like a wire, turning casual exchanges into emotionally charged standoffs.

This article is part of the Fix Your Dialogue guide, which covers everything from how to reveal character with dialogue, to subtext, to revisions, to tips for avoiding information dumps.