There are many ways to ramp up danger in a story, but few work as well as creating a constant threat. Unlike a sudden crisis that’s resolved in a single chapter, an ongoing threat follows your characters wherever they go.
As a story device, it builds tension, moves a plot forward, and reveals who those characters really are under pressure. It also helps you avoid second act pacing issues: that familiar (and formidable) mid-point slowdown.
In this article, we’ll look at one threat device specifically: surveillance. Creating credible surveillance starts with understanding how it changes a character’s behavior. But remember, when danger is always lurking, paranoia sets in fast.
Always observed
Living with non-stop danger changes people. Some characters become jumpy and hyper-vigilant, constantly looking over their shoulder. Others go completely numb, shutting down just to get through the day.
There are three basic types of surveillance threats:
- Physical danger (bodily harm, survival)
- Emotional risk (rejection, betrayal)
- Systemic pressure (losing a job, public exposure)
Depending on the type of surveillance, a character’s body language and coded speech change in very specific ways.
Nowhere to hide
Physical surveillance puts people directly in harm’s way. It includes things like hidden GPS trackers, hacked security cameras, or someone watching a house. The danger may be immediate like an attack or break-in, or build slowly as a character realizes they’re being surveilled.
When fearing for their physical safety, characters will engage in behavior such as compulsively checking locks, keeping away from windows, and startling at sudden noises. They may frequently check behind them, or scan windows and rooftops.
Walking on eggshells
Emotional surveillance is more intimate. It causes a person to feel unsafe, controlled, anxious, or constantly judged. One character might demand constant video calls or texts from another to keep tabs on them. A stalker might read private messages or build fake social media accounts to track an ex. Even neighbors can use security cameras and online groups to track and harass each other.
As this kind of pressure builds, characters start to:
- Avoid eye contact
- Pace, tap their fingers, or bite their nails
- Oscillate between extreme anger/panic and flat detachment
- Change their daily commute or routines
- Overthink or second guess themselves
Eye in the sky
Systemic surveillance is a threat to both individuals and society. Characters can be monitored at work, at home, or in public. Employers might spy on them with time-tracking software or webcams, while governments use facial recognition and predictive policing. Mercenary and zero-click spyware can target journalists, politicians, and activists.
Under Big Brother surveillance, characters will:
- Stay unnervingly calm
- Keep their expressions neutral
- Pretend everything is fine
- Speak in euphemisms, coded phrases, or stay silent to avoid drawing attention
Systemic surveillance is especially insidious because it foments intense social and political pressure. It exposes private information, silences criticism, and intimidates protesters. Or worse, it creates a testing ground for future control down the line.
Behavioral shifts
No one can stay on guard forever. Eventually, exhaustion sets in, mistakes happen, and even the most careful characters begin to crack. They forget to lock a door, reveal too much in a conversation, or lash out at someone they trust.
But constant surveillance doesn’t just make characters afraid — it changes the way they think and move through the world. Characters who can’t be whole may hide parts of themselves, perform different identities, and never fully relax around others.
For writers, those behavior changes are where the real action happens. A constant threat may drive your plot, but how your characters react keeps your readers hooked.