Post by Amber Skye Forbes on Apr 2, 2014 15:30:03 GMT
The original is here.
Tension is probably the most vital tool a writer needs in his/her repertoire of skills. Tension determines where the story proceeds and what the ultimate fate of the protagonist is. You do not want your tension to slip, especially in the middle of the book, where most writers have difficulties (also known as Sagging Middle Syndrome).
*No spoilers from When Stars Die
Change means tension. Your character must transform throughout the novel. How must your character transform? To put simply, through threats.
Amelia is constantly pounded with events that tear her down. She becomes so beaten that near the end of the book, she is stumbling out of an alley, completely intoxicated because too much has happened to her: she isn’t very wordly. When she sobers, she discovers something even worse.
Calm before the Storm. If things have been easy for the protagonist for a little bit, you need to throw something unpredictable at your character that threatens your character’s sense of calm.
Plot twist! I love plot twists. They are those moments in a book that make you go, ‘Oh my gosh…I didn’t see that coming, not at all!’ (Think of all your favorite books that do this.) The unexpected keeps readers glued to the page. Naturally adding a twist increases tension, but it takes skill to make certain this twist is unpredictable. Plot twists can be subtle, too: Sometimes the answers of a book are revealed right in the beginning. The twist comes in learning what happened that lead up to those particular answers; thus, tension must stem from the character, drawing on the feelings that character felt in that moment.
Dialogue. Dialogue can naturally add tension, although you don’t want it to be too drawn out. Here is a passage of dialogue from When Stars Die that supplies some tension:
Context: Right at the beginning of the book, you know Amelia has feelings for Oliver; however, because she is a sister, and he is a priest, their relationship is naturally forbidden due to their vows of celibacy. Notice I don’t have the characters come out and say what they want.
Oliver makes a grab for my hand, but I pull it in the coat. “No, Oliver. We shouldn’t. They’ll be coming out soon, you know. They’ll cross the nave to get to the dormitories and their rooms.”
His face falls. “But that won’t be for a bit.”
My cheeks flush. “Oliver, we can’t.”
"I understand, but truly, why?"
"You know the rules, Olly. You know how things are supposed to be between us. It’s worse for nuns, especially. You’ll be given a slap on the hand, but I’ll be exiled." I close my eyes, soaking in the reality of the implications we toss between each other. "Nothing but this can ever exist between us, Oliver."
His eyes fall to the scuffed floor. “Not even in secret?”
"Not even in secret. So whatever we feel about each other, we just have to ignore."
Revelations. These are almost like twists, but thet come in the form of learning things about a character. The character is a stranger in the beginning. All characters are. So something revealed about a character’s past, for example, can add automatic tension. The most interesting characters often have secrets. Amelia herself doesn’t have many secrets, but Oliver certainly does.
Ultimate tip: Make something develop (plot or character) in every chapter, but don’t make your novel completely breathless. The calm before the storm I mentioned earlier? You need to have some of those sprinkled throughout your story before slapping your character(s) in the face again.
If you have any questions stemming from this article, feel free to message me. My next post will be about coming up with story titles and thoughts on chapter titles.
Tension is probably the most vital tool a writer needs in his/her repertoire of skills. Tension determines where the story proceeds and what the ultimate fate of the protagonist is. You do not want your tension to slip, especially in the middle of the book, where most writers have difficulties (also known as Sagging Middle Syndrome).
*No spoilers from When Stars Die
Change means tension. Your character must transform throughout the novel. How must your character transform? To put simply, through threats.
Amelia is constantly pounded with events that tear her down. She becomes so beaten that near the end of the book, she is stumbling out of an alley, completely intoxicated because too much has happened to her: she isn’t very wordly. When she sobers, she discovers something even worse.
Calm before the Storm. If things have been easy for the protagonist for a little bit, you need to throw something unpredictable at your character that threatens your character’s sense of calm.
Plot twist! I love plot twists. They are those moments in a book that make you go, ‘Oh my gosh…I didn’t see that coming, not at all!’ (Think of all your favorite books that do this.) The unexpected keeps readers glued to the page. Naturally adding a twist increases tension, but it takes skill to make certain this twist is unpredictable. Plot twists can be subtle, too: Sometimes the answers of a book are revealed right in the beginning. The twist comes in learning what happened that lead up to those particular answers; thus, tension must stem from the character, drawing on the feelings that character felt in that moment.
Dialogue. Dialogue can naturally add tension, although you don’t want it to be too drawn out. Here is a passage of dialogue from When Stars Die that supplies some tension:
Context: Right at the beginning of the book, you know Amelia has feelings for Oliver; however, because she is a sister, and he is a priest, their relationship is naturally forbidden due to their vows of celibacy. Notice I don’t have the characters come out and say what they want.
Oliver makes a grab for my hand, but I pull it in the coat. “No, Oliver. We shouldn’t. They’ll be coming out soon, you know. They’ll cross the nave to get to the dormitories and their rooms.”
His face falls. “But that won’t be for a bit.”
My cheeks flush. “Oliver, we can’t.”
"I understand, but truly, why?"
"You know the rules, Olly. You know how things are supposed to be between us. It’s worse for nuns, especially. You’ll be given a slap on the hand, but I’ll be exiled." I close my eyes, soaking in the reality of the implications we toss between each other. "Nothing but this can ever exist between us, Oliver."
His eyes fall to the scuffed floor. “Not even in secret?”
"Not even in secret. So whatever we feel about each other, we just have to ignore."
Revelations. These are almost like twists, but thet come in the form of learning things about a character. The character is a stranger in the beginning. All characters are. So something revealed about a character’s past, for example, can add automatic tension. The most interesting characters often have secrets. Amelia herself doesn’t have many secrets, but Oliver certainly does.
Ultimate tip: Make something develop (plot or character) in every chapter, but don’t make your novel completely breathless. The calm before the storm I mentioned earlier? You need to have some of those sprinkled throughout your story before slapping your character(s) in the face again.
If you have any questions stemming from this article, feel free to message me. My next post will be about coming up with story titles and thoughts on chapter titles.