3 Ways to Keep Audiences Engaged Without Explosions or Chase Scenes

Keeping your audience engaged is imperative to the success of every script, but sometimes it’s more nuanced than packing it with explosions or chase scenes. If it sounds too analytical instead of playful, the diction and sentence structure may be off. Instead of technically describing each action/image, find some ideas with light-hearted and fun connotations, and challenge yourself to use those words to write the scene.

Hyper-specific details help. Think about how someone might typically describe your scene and then subvert that with a fresh detail or a precisely-placed word that really sings. It’ll go a long way in making your story have intrigue and excitement. Nevertheless, let’s dive into how to keep your audience engaged without the common examples you might expect!

Still from 'Rear Window' (1954). Photo credit: IMDb

3 Ways to Keep Your Audience Engaged

We use these three structures, often referred to as the Tripod of Suspense Storytelling, as tools to understand how different suspense frameworks can shape a viewer's or reader's experience as your story unfolds.

The "tripod" consists of three distinct narrative structures: surprise, suspense, and curiosity. Each one elicits a unique emotional response from the audience or script reader. By rearranging the order in which story events are revealed, you can evoke different psychological reactions without changing the core story elements, just the sequence in which they’re presented.

Your story needs momentum. You need tension, conflict, and all the usual ingredients that keep a narrative alive. In the first ten pages, your job is simple: make the reader unable to stop. They should still be turning the pages if their house were on fire.

Don’t get discouraged, sometimes it’s just a structural issue. Maybe your setup and exposition feel heavy-handed. If so, try weaving them in while something dramatic is happening. Or, if you're holding off on big dramatic moments, whatever's on the page must be wildly entertaining.

1. Have a Surprise

Surprise in a screenplay arises from an unexpected event that catches the audience off guard. To create this effect, the script must withhold a key piece of story information early, without alerting the audience that anything is missing. This hidden element is revealed later, retroactively explaining the shocking moment and transforming the audience’s understanding of what happened.

Example:

●     Maria enters the kitchen

●     She opens the fridge, frowns, and grabs a bottle of water

●     She turns to leave and suddenly collapses

●     Her phone buzzes on the floor as a text appears: “Don’t drink the water.”

The critical scene showing someone tampering with the water supply was intentionally left out earlier in the script. As a result, Maria’s collapse is jarring and inexplicable–until the later reveal of the sabotage provides context. If the tampering had been shown before Maria’s entrance, the audience would have been filled with tension (suspense), but because it was withheld, her sudden collapse creates a surprise.

2. Have a Character to Root For (or Against)

Whether you're writing a short sitcom pilot or a feature-length film, your goal is the same: keep the audience invested in your protagonist’s journey. The same goes for antagonists. They should be just as engaging, creating real tension and stakes. If you care about the characters you’ve written, heroes and villains, your audience is more likely to care too.

Developing each character’s backstory, quirks, and even signature phrases is essential, especially in television writing. When creating multiple episodes, consistency and depth in character design are what keep viewers coming back.

3. Create Suspense

Suspense is created when events unfold chronologically, starting with a moment that signals looming danger or consequences. The story builds tension by giving the audience key information before the character becomes aware, engaging viewers through concern and anticipation over what might happen next.

Example:

●     A loud noise hisses beneath the floorboards

●     Upstairs, Daniel lights a candle

●     He walks toward the living room, unaware of the noise

●     The noise becomes a figure

●     A low rumble starts to build

The audience knows about the mysterious figure in this structure, but Daniel doesn’t. The tension doesn’t come from the noise but from the dread of knowing the figure. We’re in suspense, worried for Daniel’s safety because we have more information than he does.

This differs from the Surprise Structure, where the audience would not be told about the gas leak in advance. In that case, the explosion would come as a sudden shock, creating a completely different emotional impact rooted in unexpectedness rather than anticipation.

Final Thoughts - Curiosity in a Script

The goal is to keep audiences late into the night glued to the screen. Unlike surprise or suspense, curiosity doesn’t rely on a specific event. Instead, it’s generated by questions. Questions like: Why is this character acting that way? What’s the secret they’re hiding? Where is this all leading?

Try planting narrative promises early in your script. Tease something that demands resolution. Maybe your protagonist is staring at an unopened letter in the first scene, clearly afraid to read it. What’s in the letter? Who sent it? Why now? The audience won’t know, but they’ll need to.

Let the audience know just enough to stay intrigued, but not so much that all the mystery drains out. Think of your story as a trail of breadcrumbs, leading the audience through the forest of your plot.

Make your characters do unexpected things (not for the sake of shock), but in a way that hints at deeper motivations. For instance, a well-dressed man sneaks into a public library, tearing pages from a specific book. Why? We don’t know, but we want to find out.

Of course, none of these techniques matter if the writing doesn’t engage. Style matters. Voice matters. You could write a story where nothing “big” happens; no explosions, no chase scenes, and still have something riveting, simply because the way you tell it makes it irresistible.

This is where tone and language shine. Try experimenting with contrast. Combine serious content with light, quirky narration. Or play against genre expectations. Write a noir mystery with a narrator who sounds like they walked out of a rom-com. These choices can pull the audience in with novelty alone.

Dialogue is another essential ingredient. Audiences will stay with a scene if the conversation crackles with subtext, wit, or vulnerability. Think of how some of the greats write scenes where the tension lies entirely in how something is said, not just what is said. One great line can be more thrilling than an entire car chase.