Creating strong emotional tension is needed for conflict to be as effective as it can. As mentioned in a previous blog article on Tension and Conflict, conflict is the action and tension is the emotional response to that action.
An author can enhance tension by creating effective pacing techniques. This has to do with a balance of fast moving scenes to ones that are more contemplative. Each type of scene has a purpose, but along with purpose, the technique enhances tension.
As you know, a novel is a series of chapters often divided into scenes. But scenes also can be thought of in two ways—scenes and sequels. Dwight Swain covers this technique in his book Techniques of the Selling Writer.
SCENE:
Scenes are a moment in time that can last a few minutes to a few hours. The scene is more active than sequel and therefore it means getting into the “meat” of the action as soon as possible. Swain says that each action scene is made up of a goal, a conflict and disaster. Logically each scene will not have the black moment kind of disaster, but a scene should end with something going wrong or a situation that leaves the reader and often the character with questions.
As you approach writing a scene, ask yourself these questions.
• What is the purpose of this scene.
• What is important that the character and/or readers should learn?
• What should this scene accomplish?
This means that a scene is more than getting to know each other or rehashing events of the past. Something new and important must happen in each scene. Use these questions to help write quality scenes.
Scenes provide action, insight, unanswered questions, and foreshadowing of coming events or situations. Each scene is pointed toward achieving a goal through the eyes and emotions of one character. This means one point of view (POV).
A scene provides conflict. Again, this is not an argument but opposing ideas or beliefs, or conflicting goals. The conflict should move the story forward in someway. Think of a staircase with the prize at the top. Each step upward draws the character closer to the prize, in this case his or her goal. Each step then has a purpose. And remember that sometimes the opposition comes from within one character. Moving in one direction opposes another need or goal that the character finds important. Falling in love means opening up about past problems. Resolving an issue with a sibling means another sibling will be angry. These are situations that happen in real life.
Swain also adds a disaster element to each scene. In my opinion, the author can use ether a disaster or a dilemma. The character is in a quandary when he faces two choices and must decide which way to go or which one to act upon. If he makes the wrong choice, he might face a disaster.
SEQUEL:
A sequel is another moment in time. It is often shorter than an action scene and usually will be shown from the POV of a different character. More than action, this scene focuses on reaction. It is more introspective, a time of reflection and contemplation. The character will weigh what has happened in a previous scene and relay his feelings about the decisions made or the problems encountered. Yes, other characters may be part of this scene and some of the reflection delivered as dialogue, but the dialogue tends to be more problem-solving than active.
Sequels do not always follow the an action scene. Your story may need actions scenes back to back, but times will come when the reader needs to look into the heart and mind of another character or you may realize the pacing is being rushed and you want to slow down the action. This is when a sequel scene serves a double purpose.
In a suspense, the sequel can be a time to review clues or develop a new plan. In a romance, it is a time to make decisions about how to approach the romance or it can be a quieter time to heighten the romance. In any genre, the sequel can be a time to weigh choices and to propose a plan or a new direction. In Christian fiction, it can be a time to work on a spiritual issue.
While the structure of a scene, according to Swain is goal, conflict and disaster, the structure for a sequel is: reaction, dilemma, and decision.
As you work with pacing, decide which type of scene—action scene or sequel will work best for your plot. All good writers know that solid action is over-kill, so use sequels as a time to pull back and breathe, then charge forward. As yourself, what will keep the readers wanting more? What will keep them on the edge of their seats wondering what will happen next? This creates tension, and that’s exactly what you want in fiction. Without tension, your story lacks emotion. So both conflict and tension are important.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Tension and Conflict Part 5 - Methods to Create Tension
Earlier I described the difference between conflict and tension. Conflict is the action of two opposing forces. It is the butting of heads between ideas, needs, desires and wants, or it can be a single individual wanting two opposing things. What makes conflict important is the tension it creates. Tension is the emotional response to the conflict. Without it, the conflict would not have much impact on the reader.
Many methods can be used to create tension, and I will cover some of them here, but I’m sure you can add others to your list.
1. Introspection:
Introspection is the head and heart of the character, a combination of their thoughts along with the emotional encroachment on the person’s sense of security or confidence. When a character delves internally into a conflict, he reveals something unknown to the reader or even a new awareness for him. He is encouraged to dig deeper into the problem, and it leave readers with questions about how this situation can be resolved.
Introspection dramatizes the conflicting feelings and clashing ideas within the character or between two characters and it creates dilemmas for both parties. Often backstory is used here to introduce past problems and bring them to the present. When incidents or beliefs from a person’s past affects how he or she responds to life today, it creates this kind of internal tension. These are often secrets that the character doesn’t want others to know, but fighting for their idea or goal can result in revealing this secret. Think of people running for political office. They knew their past follies will be displayed to the world.
Sometimes through introspection, the characters face competing desires. They want two opposing things: success but they want privacy. A common conflict that creates great tension is when a character’s wants actually is opposed to what he needs. He wants success but what he really wants is happiness, and the success will not provide it.
Introspection can also reveal how a character’s perspective is not necessarily the truth, as illustrated in this dialogue from one of my unpublished novels.
Heroine: “I keep reminding myself it’s not the same, is it? Things change. We’re different now.”
Hero: “Are we?” He studied her face, hoping she’d back down on her comment. He’d stayed pretty much the same, always wishing he’d find another girl like her. Someone he could talk with and be open with. Be himself. With others, he felt as if he should try to impress them.
2. Ticking clock:
Tension is always created by adding a ticking clock to the plot line, such as a time restraint or deadline. The problem must be resolved in a certain amount of time. Stories that deal with marriages of conveniences are usually based on this premise. The hero or heroine must marry within a certain time period before they can inherit the family wealth. This works well in a suspense. The bomb will detonate at midnight. It must be found. The kidnaped child will die without it’s medication. The good guys must find the treasure before the bad guys. This technique creates exciting tension.
3. Dialogue:
Novels are dependent on dialogue, but dialogue can be used in a variety of ways to create tension other than arguments. What creates tension for the reader is to hold back information by leaving things unanswered or interrupted or by creating doubt when the character says something that doesn’t quite fit or adds an issue that hasn’t been initiated. Other elements of dialogue that creates tension are silence, subtext, and avoidance.
• Silence - Silence is when the character doesn’t respond or when a conversation falters and no one speaks. The reader knows that the characters are dealing with what’s been said, and it helps create tension. Here’s an example from my novel And Baby Makes Five.
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Chad making gentle circles on Nate’s back, the child’s contented look evident.
"I fed him a short time ago so he shouldn’t be hungry,” she said.
“He wants attention. We all need that some times.”
His words sounded melancholy as her pulse tripped. Everyone needed to be loved and caressed. She’d been without that kind of relationship since she’d married Miguel. His love had become rough and his drunken words, vile.
Silence settled over them until Chad turned toward her. “Do you understand what I’m saying?"
In this lack of response, the reader is drawn to their own questions. They last two pieces of dialogue spoken by Chad demonstrates his personal need for attention and his need to hear her response.
• Subtext - Subtext is difficult to create but it’s an excellent form of subtle tension. Subtext is the implicit or underlying meaning behind the words.
Women 1: Do you like my dress?
Women 2: The color’s great.
Obviously reference to the color doesn’t answer the question, but it says a lot. A man flirts with a woman as they look at a lovely handcrafted table and chairs
She: Gorgeous. Those legs Look at the lines.
He: I have been.
• Avoidance – Avoidance can is witnessed when a conversation seems to go in two different direction as one character is evasive or non-committal, or when one character answers a question with question. This is an excellent example from: Lisa Samson’s Tiger Lillie in a conversation the home owned by the first speaker’s mother. You can feel the tension as you read it.
“I asked Rawlins if I could work for the ad agency, Mom.”
“I already know his answer. Do you think you could paint some murals here for us? It will be a while before we move in—until your father retires, which might be years from now.”
"Rawlins said the ad world is too competitive. He doesn’t want me to become jaded.”
“I was thinking maybe a garden scene in the kitchen.”
“Maybe I could sell my paintings.”
“Or do trompe l’oeil. Here would be a good place to start.”
“I really want to go to college.”
Mom looked around. “Of course, the master bath has lots of potential, too.”
4. Character’s Perception:
In real life, we each see things differently. Our perception brings with it memories from our past and undertones from our experiences and beliefs. Tension is created not by what’s been said but what the words mean to the character. For example, if we’ve had a happy childhood and a good life, the word “home” brings a warm and happy feeling. If home was a horror for us, then that word will trigger other ideas. Give the character some perception challenges and use this technique to create an intriguing kind of tension.
5. Pacing:
Pacing has been covered in other articles, but it is a great tension technique. Remember while the plot is the journey of the characters in your novel, pacing is the speed at which you deliver the action. It’s like a roller coaster ride with moments of calm but always with the anticipation that the next challenging hill is coming until the roller coaster pulls back into the station and you climb out. Journey’s end. By moving a scene to another character or situation while you leave another scene hanging works very well to create tension. You can read other articles on pacing to learn how to create the fast and calm scenes. One style is using scene and sequel which I’ll cover in my next blog.
Many methods can be used to create tension, and I will cover some of them here, but I’m sure you can add others to your list.
1. Introspection:
Introspection is the head and heart of the character, a combination of their thoughts along with the emotional encroachment on the person’s sense of security or confidence. When a character delves internally into a conflict, he reveals something unknown to the reader or even a new awareness for him. He is encouraged to dig deeper into the problem, and it leave readers with questions about how this situation can be resolved.
Introspection dramatizes the conflicting feelings and clashing ideas within the character or between two characters and it creates dilemmas for both parties. Often backstory is used here to introduce past problems and bring them to the present. When incidents or beliefs from a person’s past affects how he or she responds to life today, it creates this kind of internal tension. These are often secrets that the character doesn’t want others to know, but fighting for their idea or goal can result in revealing this secret. Think of people running for political office. They knew their past follies will be displayed to the world.
Sometimes through introspection, the characters face competing desires. They want two opposing things: success but they want privacy. A common conflict that creates great tension is when a character’s wants actually is opposed to what he needs. He wants success but what he really wants is happiness, and the success will not provide it.
Introspection can also reveal how a character’s perspective is not necessarily the truth, as illustrated in this dialogue from one of my unpublished novels.
Heroine: “I keep reminding myself it’s not the same, is it? Things change. We’re different now.”
Hero: “Are we?” He studied her face, hoping she’d back down on her comment. He’d stayed pretty much the same, always wishing he’d find another girl like her. Someone he could talk with and be open with. Be himself. With others, he felt as if he should try to impress them.
2. Ticking clock:
Tension is always created by adding a ticking clock to the plot line, such as a time restraint or deadline. The problem must be resolved in a certain amount of time. Stories that deal with marriages of conveniences are usually based on this premise. The hero or heroine must marry within a certain time period before they can inherit the family wealth. This works well in a suspense. The bomb will detonate at midnight. It must be found. The kidnaped child will die without it’s medication. The good guys must find the treasure before the bad guys. This technique creates exciting tension.
3. Dialogue:
Novels are dependent on dialogue, but dialogue can be used in a variety of ways to create tension other than arguments. What creates tension for the reader is to hold back information by leaving things unanswered or interrupted or by creating doubt when the character says something that doesn’t quite fit or adds an issue that hasn’t been initiated. Other elements of dialogue that creates tension are silence, subtext, and avoidance.
• Silence - Silence is when the character doesn’t respond or when a conversation falters and no one speaks. The reader knows that the characters are dealing with what’s been said, and it helps create tension. Here’s an example from my novel And Baby Makes Five.
Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Chad making gentle circles on Nate’s back, the child’s contented look evident.
"I fed him a short time ago so he shouldn’t be hungry,” she said.
“He wants attention. We all need that some times.”
His words sounded melancholy as her pulse tripped. Everyone needed to be loved and caressed. She’d been without that kind of relationship since she’d married Miguel. His love had become rough and his drunken words, vile.
Silence settled over them until Chad turned toward her. “Do you understand what I’m saying?"
In this lack of response, the reader is drawn to their own questions. They last two pieces of dialogue spoken by Chad demonstrates his personal need for attention and his need to hear her response.
• Subtext - Subtext is difficult to create but it’s an excellent form of subtle tension. Subtext is the implicit or underlying meaning behind the words.
Women 1: Do you like my dress?
Women 2: The color’s great.
Obviously reference to the color doesn’t answer the question, but it says a lot. A man flirts with a woman as they look at a lovely handcrafted table and chairs
She: Gorgeous. Those legs Look at the lines.
He: I have been.
• Avoidance – Avoidance can is witnessed when a conversation seems to go in two different direction as one character is evasive or non-committal, or when one character answers a question with question. This is an excellent example from: Lisa Samson’s Tiger Lillie in a conversation the home owned by the first speaker’s mother. You can feel the tension as you read it.
“I asked Rawlins if I could work for the ad agency, Mom.”
“I already know his answer. Do you think you could paint some murals here for us? It will be a while before we move in—until your father retires, which might be years from now.”
"Rawlins said the ad world is too competitive. He doesn’t want me to become jaded.”
“I was thinking maybe a garden scene in the kitchen.”
“Maybe I could sell my paintings.”
“Or do trompe l’oeil. Here would be a good place to start.”
“I really want to go to college.”
Mom looked around. “Of course, the master bath has lots of potential, too.”
4. Character’s Perception:
In real life, we each see things differently. Our perception brings with it memories from our past and undertones from our experiences and beliefs. Tension is created not by what’s been said but what the words mean to the character. For example, if we’ve had a happy childhood and a good life, the word “home” brings a warm and happy feeling. If home was a horror for us, then that word will trigger other ideas. Give the character some perception challenges and use this technique to create an intriguing kind of tension.
5. Pacing:
Pacing has been covered in other articles, but it is a great tension technique. Remember while the plot is the journey of the characters in your novel, pacing is the speed at which you deliver the action. It’s like a roller coaster ride with moments of calm but always with the anticipation that the next challenging hill is coming until the roller coaster pulls back into the station and you climb out. Journey’s end. By moving a scene to another character or situation while you leave another scene hanging works very well to create tension. You can read other articles on pacing to learn how to create the fast and calm scenes. One style is using scene and sequel which I’ll cover in my next blog.
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