Have you ever read a picture book where each page and paragraph carried a subtle sense of anticipation, pulling you deeper into the story? Where you felt you just had to keep reading to discover what was going to happen next? That’s the power of micro tension—small moments of intrigue that keep readers engaged. One of the best ways to create micro tension is by hinting at what’s happening rather than giving it all away in overly descriptive “tells.”
What Is Micro Tension?
Author C. S. Laskin describes micro tension this way:
Just what is microtension? Just as the prefix suggests, it’s tension on a micro level, or in small, barely noticeable increments. But microtension is achieved on a line-by-line basis. …Microtension can be small, simmering, subtext, subtle. Even the choice of words or the turn of a phrase can produce microtension by its freshness or unexpected usage.”
In other words, micro tension is the moment-to-moment tension within a scene or spread. It keeps readers curious by planting small questions rather than stating everything outright. Instead of revealing all the details upfront, you create interest by allowing the reader to piece things together through a series of subtle hints and clues.
How to Build Microtension in Picture Books
- Avoid overly descriptive topic sentences
Let’s face it, most of us probably excelled at writing essays in school where we learned about the importance of a topic sentence to summarize our main idea. But sometimes, that is the exact opposite of what we want in creative writing. Let’s say I’m writing a picture book about seahorses. Here’s my first draft of a paragraph about how the dads incubate the eggs.
Unlike most animals, daddy seahorses carry the eggs. For days, he cradles the eggs in his pouch, keeping them warm and protected. Then, when the time is just right, out they come, wiggling and swirling into the water, hundreds of baby seahorses no bigger than a grain of rice. With a flick of his tail, Daddy watches them drift away, ready to begin their own underwater adventure!
Notice how the topic sentence pretty much gives away everything that’s to come, including the potentially surprising fact that it’s the daddy who incubates the eggs. I don’t know about you, but the writing doesn’t really compel me to read further. How do we fix it? Read on.
2. Drop hints and delay the reveal
In the underwater world of seahorses, something unusual happens when it’s time to raise their young. Sea horse eggs need a warm, safe place to grow—but who carries them? Not the mother! Instead, seahorse daddies cradle their eggs in a special pouch. When the time is right, hundreds of tiny seahorses wiggle free, swirling into the sea. With a flick of his tail, Daddy watches them drift away, ready to begin their own underwater adventure!
Above, we’ve delayed the reveal of a surprising fact (dads carrying the eggs) by just a few sentences, but notice what a big impact it has on the tension in this paragraph.
But delaying reveals isn’t just for topic sentences. …
3. Delay reveals inside scenes and paragraphs too
How can we add even more micro tension to the above paragraph? By subtly delaying reveals inside the paragraph. For example, what if we interrupt the moment the seahorses wiggle free, forcing the reader to hang on just a minute more?
Then, when the moment is just right — pop, pop, pop — Daddy shoots the tiny seahorses from his pouch, sending them wiggling free into the swirling sea.
See how the addition of “then” plus the onomatopoeia (pop, pop, pop) forces readers to wait just a moment more? Again, tiny moments. Tiny tweaks. Microtension.
A word of caution
Now, do we want to do this with every single sentence in every single spreads?! Probably not. We don’t want this to feel gimmicky and contrived, so you have to strike a balance. In addition, we have to ensure that we aren’t delaying critical information that a reader needs to understand what is happening in the scene. Confusion will cause a reader to stop reading altogether — the exact opposite of what you want with microtension.
Want to Master Suspense in Picture Books?
Micro tension is just one of the many ways to keep young readers engaged, and it’s a technique I’ll be covering in my upcoming class, Keeping Readers Hooked: Building Tension and Suspense in Picture Books and Beyond on April 10th, 2025 at 7 p.m. Eastern. Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, learning how to create small moments of suspense and micro tension will entice your readers to keep on reading. It’s just $25, and a recording is available to registrants.
Join me and discover how to keep kids (and their grown-ups) eagerly turning pages! Sign up now.
Thank you, Kirsten, for this dive into micro tension!
Glad it was helpful!