Question

Use the story description to answer the question.
A story opens on a coronation event for a young queen.
The queen-to-be seems calm, confident, and ready to step
into her new role. A series of scenes follows her
conversations while she dresses and gives last minute
orders. As she steps into the hall and walks toward her
place on the ceremony stage, the story jumps to a series of
scenes that show a montage of her youth. The memories
show how wild and unruly she was, trying anything she
could to get out of her royal life. Back in the present, she
finally reaches her place on the stage and looks up at the
head of the royal nursery who played a big role in the
flashback scenes. Both characters smile for a long
moment, and the coronation begins.
Which change could the author make to the story to slow pacing
and add tension?
the author could add an additional scene in which the head of the royal nursery exacts revenge for years of the queen’s poor behavior by selling secrets to her enemies.
the author could add an additional scene in which the head of the royal nursery exacts revenge for years of the queen’s poor behavior by selling secrets to her enemies.

the author could add additional characters who played significant roles in the queen’s life and encouraged her to accept her place as a future leader.
the author could add a parallel plot in which the head of the royal nursery always seemed to prefer the queen’s well-behaved brother while the siblings were growing up.
the author could add a parallel plot in which the head of the royal nursery always seemed to prefer the queen’s well-behaved brother while the siblings were growing up.

the author could add additional flashback scenes from the perspective of the head of the royal nursery to show how deeply concerned she was for the queen.

Answer 1

Add additional flashback scenes from the head-of-the-nursery’s perspective to show how deeply concerned she was for the queen.

Why: More scenes focused on another character’s inner thoughts and memories will deliberately slow the pace (lingering on backstory and doubt) and raise tension by exposing worry, conflicting loyalties, and the possibility that things might not go as smoothly as the coronation suggests.

Why not the others (briefly): a revenge/espionage scene injects immediate crisis and speeds toward action rather than slowing the pace; adding supportive characters reduces conflict and can ease tension; a parallel plot about preferring the brother could add tension but is less direct and less effective at creating the contemplative slowdown that more flashbacks produce.