Immediacy

I plotted out my WIP (still without a name, PS. I swear, it must have an identity crisis with how many names I've tried out for it) but as I was revamping motivations and conflicts this past few weeks, I felt as if something was missing.

Missing in that eating a sugar-free dessert kind of way. It looks like dessert, even smells like dessert, but something got lost in translation.

I pondered, I hemmed and hawed. I read, I reread, and I revised. Still, nothing.

Finally, while reading my dear CP Hal's work last weekend, I decided that my problem was that there was no driving force, no deadline for my characters, nothing hanging immediately over their heads. Oh, it's a paranormal and it has all that save the world/good vs evil goodness that I know and love. But I wanted them to feel more panicked, more pushed all the time. They were too comfy in their little roles and I wanted something hanging over their heads, somethig they dreaded.

What's save the world suspense without the suspense?

I added in a couple things and suddenly, wahlah! (Is that how you spell that?) They're counting down time, there's an external endpoint, and their conflicts feel more immediate.

Case closed.

For now.

How do you add immediacy to your writing? What keeps the suspense in your stories?