Tension in fiction

I do a lot of teaching based on creating tension in fiction. Here’s some thoughts:

1 Put the reader in the situation. What does it feel like to be there?

2 Use the things at your disposal - the senses, is it cold, is it creepy, is your character affected by this: is a brave character suddenly scared, is a cool character panicky?

3 Create a sense of immediacy. Focus on people and their feelings in order to make the reader feel as if he or she is there.

4 Create word pictures. Use imagery to write visually.

5  Keep it simple - do not overdo it, not too flowery, nothing that will slow things down

6 Use dialogue to set the pace. Good dialogue carries dramatic impact, advances the story and develops character

7 Tension builds so write in spikes - tension, relax, tension relax. As your story comes to an end, build the tension to a crescendo.

John Dean

A question of tenses

Occasionally, in my teaching I come across a rarity, namely telling the story through a second person viewpoint.

We are all familiar with first person (I have had a really good day) and third person (she had had a really good day) but many writers will be unaware about second person. When first asked about it by a student some years ago, I had to go and look it up to get the technical definition just right.

In short, in second person point of view, the narrator tells the story using ‘you‘ as in ‘You pick up the phone because you feel scared‘. Footballers, those great bastions of language, tend to use it quite a lot (‘In games like this, you go out on the field and leap like a salmon sandwich and nod the ball into the old onion bag.’) If that’s not a mixed metaphor.

So which one to choose? Well, often the first-person narrative is used as a way to directly convey deeply internal, otherwise unspoken, thoughts. It allows story to directly revolve round one person and can allow the character to be further developed through his/her own style in telling the story. That style is often chatty and informal, always deeply personal.

There are drawbacks: in third person you can tell the reader what is round the corner to create tension; you can’t do that in first person because the character simply does not know. That is third person’s biggest advantage; the way it allows the narrator to be all-seeing. And yes, it can also be used to delve deep into the character’s mind but many writers feel happier doing that with first person.

So where does second person fit in? Well, it is rarely used but it can be very effective in that it directly challenges the reader to step into the story by use of the word’ you’. If they feel so challenged then that will make the story so much more real.

 

John Dean

Winding up the tension

I am teaching about creating tension on my latest courses. Building apprehension in the minds of your readers is one of the most effective keys to involve them in your story. If you don’t drive the story forward by making readers worry about your main character, they won’t have a reason to keep reading.

How do you do it then? Well, readers experience apprehension when a character they care about is in danger. This doesn’t have to be a major situation in which the character fights off dragons. It could be a big family decision, a crisis at work, an emotional quandary.

We need to escalate the tension in our stories and we do that by promising the reader that something is going to happen then building up the story until it does. But make sure it does; a promise without fulfillment is a big let-down for the reader.

Make every word count, put in only details that are necessary, leave out anything that slows the narrative. Make sure you describe the setting of your story’s climax before you reach that section of the story. Let the reader know where they are early on then cut back on description later because it will slow the pace.

As you build toward the climax, isolate your main character. Make the reader fear for him/her and experiment with shorter sentences and avoid flowery language to keep the pace moving.

John Dean

Creating intrigue and tension

Good short stories and novels are often by writers that have a keen understanding of the need to intrigue the reader by creating tension.

Intrigue works in various ways and it is an important tool if your reader is going to stick with your work.

One way of creating intrigue is something in your early lines, something that makes you sit up and want to read more. It is called The Question and it lifts the start of a story into something special. Catching the reader’s attention is crucial and a good early question does the job beautifully.

But there is another, more subtle way, and done right it can be very effective. But, for the writer, it comes with a gamble.

The idea is that, in the middle of ‘straightforward’ narrative, you drop in something, sometimes just a line, sometimes just a word, but something that nags away at the reader. Maybe they missed it first time around then go back to check.

It is like having a conversation with a friend who suddenly says: “Of course, there’s that other thing that has been worrying me.” At first hearing you might miss it but within seconds you are going back to the line and saying “Thing, what thing?”

 

John Dean

Getting the tension right

I read a lot of short stories and key with those that work is the author’s ability to create and retain tension.
So how do you do that? Here’s some thoughts:

1 Put the reader in the situation. What does it feel like to be there?

2 Use the things at your disposal - the senses, is it cold, is it creepy, is your character affected by this: is a brave character suddenly scared, is a cool character panicky?

3 Create a sense of immediacy. Focus on people and their feelings in order to make the reader feel as if he or she is there.

4 Create word pictures. Use imagery to write visually.

5 Keep it simple - do not overdo it, not too flowery, nothing that will slow things down

6 Use dialogue to set the pace. Good dialogue carries dramatic impact, advances the story and develops character

7 Tension builds so write in spikes - tension, relax, tension relax. As your story comes to an end, build the tension to a crescendo.
John Dean