Is enough “worse” enough?

Every writer’s heard the advice, “Things can always get worse.”  But every once in a while, for me, enough is enough.  I don’t need to have my protagonist bloodied to a pulp before I turn the last page of a book.  Sure, he has to work to fix whatever problem whacked him out of kilter in the book’s first chapter.  He has to try and fail a few times, or else his problem only deserves a few pages.  But there are lots of ways to build tension in a story. If you need additional help, you can always refer to http://www.top-custom-writing.com/.

Antagonists, opponents, competitors, and arguing love interests can add tension in scenes. Heck, even weather or nature can add stress.  The stakes can rise in more than one area of the protagonist’s life, so that he’s buried under an accumulation of problems, and he has to dig his way out before he can finally solve the book’s big problem.  Lately, some authors I admire have gone one step further, though. In their series, the protagonist has to get beat up, hurt, or bludgeoned more with each book.

I’ll use a mystery writer whom I enjoy as an example.  I won’t name names, but I read her because I enjoy her humor…