The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting!
The awesome co-hosts for the April 1 posting of the IWSG are Melissa Maygrove, Cathrina Constantine, Kate Larkinsdale, and Rebecca Douglass!
April 1 question - If you have a playlist (or could put one together) that either gets you in the groove to write or fits with one of your books, what is it? What type of music or what songs?
Today we have a guest! Please welcome Angela Ackerman.
The Secret to Stronger Scenes:
Choosing the Right Fear Level
Fear isn’t pleasant, but it serves a clear purpose: keeping us safe. When a threat appears, the body shifts fast into survival mode. Adrenaline surges. Focus sharpens. The brain scans for danger and possible outcomes. Then we act: fight, flight, freeze, or fawn.
Our characters also experience fear, and that’s a good thing. Not only will readers relate to a POV character’s immediate physical responses—a racing heartbeat, breath catching, muscles tensing, etc.—it also generates instant tension. Readers (like us) are hardwired for survival. When a character they care about is threatened, they grip the pages tighter and read faster.
Fear is a powerful element and can be used for so many reasons: to reveal a character’s vulnerabilities, strengthen stakes, steer motivation and plot, juice scenes with tension, and more. But fear isn’t one-size-fits-all. It comes in a range of intensity levels that can be used for different purposes.
In The Fear Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to What Holds Characters Back, Becca and I came up with the concept of the FEAR ELEVATOR to illustrate fear’s wide range.
Think of it as an elevator in the world’s worst apartment building, one housing all types of fears. It can stop on any floor, but the lower it goes, the darker and more destructive the fears get.
At the top of the building are Fleeting Fears, those brief spikes that pass quickly: Your character jumping at a boom of thunder or gasping at a near-miss when changes lanes. These work well when a scene needs a crackle of tension, foreshadowing, or redirect that doesn’t slow the pace.
Mild Fears cause discomfort, say when your character is trying to muster up the nerve to ask someone out. These everyday fears show readers how your character is human and feels vulnerable at times.
Managed Fears are when old fears are triggered—being in a location where they were once mugged or running into their ex—but the character is able to master their emotions and stay in control. Use these to show a character’s growth and resilience!
Persistent Fears get in your character’s way. They steer behavior—your character avoid relationships after being dumped or they play it safe in life rather than risk more failures. Persistent fears show how your character is caught in a loop, facing the same problems, making the same fear-driven choices, and is unable to break free.
Phobias are life-altering. Classified as an anxiety disorder, a character’s fear of crowds, small spaces, open water, or other phobias send them into a state of panic even if no actual threat exists. These are a good option to show how a fear can limit and create monumental, lifelong challenges.
In the basement with good reason, Deep Fears & Wounds are tied to past trauma. They negatively shape a character’s identity, beliefs, worldview and self-worth. This is the fear at the heart of most stories, the one that must be faced to change, grow, and achieve meaningful goals. It creates the biggest moments of inner conflict and will be the hardest type to confront.
Fear works best when you use it with purpose, so in ever scene, get clear on your goal. Do you need to provide a jolt of tension, a layer of unease, or triggers a cascade of fear-driven choices? Whatever it is, match your goal to the fear type that will best bring this about.
If the scene needs momentum, send the elevator to the upper floors. For character vulnerability and resilience, try the middle. If your goal is to reveal deeper struggles, go lower. And when you need to show a character’s greatest fear, the thing they must overcome to succeed, head to the basement.
Stories thrive on fear, so don’t be afraid to use it! And if you need more help, The Fear Thesaurus explores 80+ deep fears and shows you exactly how each can hold your character back. Angela Ackerman is a story coach, international speaker, and co-author of the bestselling book, The Emotion Thesaurus: A Writer’s Guide to Character Expression, and its many sequels. Her guides are used by novelists, screenwriters, and editors around the world.