04 August 2018
For this post I am turning over the reins to David Owens, an eagle-eyed editor, friend, and all-round good guy. Take it away, Dave...
Tension
When
someone asks me, “what makes a good story?” I answer, “tension.”
Why is
tension so important to story development? Tension is the “binder,” the element
that glues the reader to the story. Tension
is energy. No amount of excellent writing can overcome the lack of tension in a
story.
What is
tension? Tension can be many things. Perhaps a character worries about losing a
loved one, or perhaps tension is the threat of a hidden mine on a battlefield.
In another story the character might be forced to overcome insurmountable
difficulties. Tension must exist consistently and continuously in a story.
Tension is
the writer’s promise and the reader’s reward.
Tension in
narrative and dialogue holds readers attention.
When a writer masterfully integrates tension into a story, the tension
moves the narrative forward, but tension in dialogue is the trick most fiction writers
use. Compelling conflict is the solution.
Readers love conflict, any kind of conflict, and may abandon a story the moment
conflict vanishes (when it becomes a boring story). The level of conflict is
unimportant, except in action scenes where conflict rages through the use of
short language bursts in the narrative, and snappy dialogue. The writer’s job
is to creatively integrate moments of tension throughout the work. Anything
else comes across bland and unsatisfying.
Ask
yourself the question, “Why do I read?” Well, why DO you read? Is it because the writer describes beautiful scenes,
or is it because you search for an answer? Now ask yourself what is the
question a story must answer. Now you’ve found it! Yes, tension must be the
reader’s constant companion in a story. Tension grips readers and holds them
until the end of the story. Readers search for an answer to the question: “What
happens to the main character?”
Examine
your favorite story. If the story contained sufficient tension, you finished reading
and discovered you lost track of time. You became so immersed in the story time
became unimportant. You found yourself on another world, in another time, in an
exotic setting, but behind those settings, tension’s unrelenting power
controlled you. Control tension by the use of active verbs, strong adjectives,
and leave out the weak adverbs. Avoid common, and simple verbs. Show don’t
Tell.
Examples:
John was
running from the bad guy. ß passive verbs, telling
John ran from the bad guy. ß weak verb, telling
John raced
from the scene. ß stronger verb, telling
Active/Showing:
The villain’s footsteps thundered across the quiet parking lot.
John glanced over his shoulder…
To further increase tension the writer may revise: John glances over his
shoulder, smashes (strong verb) into a parked car, and then plunges
(strong verb) onto the wet pavement
(Difficult
to run on wet pavement. No?) I Capitalized stronger verbs used to create
tension.
- In
the example the VILLAIN introduces the thought, focuses the reader away from
John for a moment. (Tension/Danger).
- THUNDERED (Tension/Alarm) is the WAY
footsteps sounded to John. The word QUIET magnifies the sound and increases
tension.
- John’s
fear increases, and he GLANCES (Tension/Urgency) to verify the villain’s
distance from him. (Tension/Fear).
Flaccid
language is not the solution to the management of voice. Neither are petty
verbs. Strong (active) verbs are the writer’s weapons to expose voice and increase
tension. Most writers today, especially
the self-published ones, tend to read one genre, and then copy the style of
other weak writers. The examples I showed above did not contain any “ING”
verbs, and not once did the word “Had” appear. “Had” is like a flashing
billboard notice – “Warning. Passive voice ahead!”
Passive
voice may be identified easily. Some of the word indicators are: Had, Was, and
Were. ING verbs weaken any scene and dilute conflict. An unfinished draft about
the “Dangers of Passive Voice” sits on my desktop, and perhaps I may be honored
to post it in this blog at a future date.
Use the
thesaurus to find better verbs, better words, and integrate those words into
your story.
Copyists
do not often find success. To avoid “Copyism,”
read outside your preferred genre.
Success
comes from bright, original stories, with intense characters and powerful
writing, not from the passive, uncontrolled language of amateurs. Copy not
another writer. Be yourself and let your language cause you to soar above
mediocrity. Be not satisfied with simplicity, but write engaging tales that
flow from your keyboard with energy and passion.
Write well,
Dave
***
David A. Owens is a writer and editor from Murfreesboro, TN. He has published Science Fiction, Horror, General fiction, and non-fiction. Questions or comments may be addressed to him by email: editor@netsite21.com
Picture for today is from Calvin and Hobbes. Might be some tension there. Wonder what they are talking about? Or should I say yelling about?
May your days be good and long upon this earth. Unless you go to Mars. And then I hope you rot because I'd be a little jelly.
