And if your response contains something quotable, you might very well get credit for providing a Reader Opinion.so let me know if you’d rather stay anonymous! Somebody who answers, with either the book title/s or a description of what contributed to the tension in a beloved story, will win free registration to my August class that goes into more detail on such contributions. What stories are those? Our prize-drawing question It’s only a few that stand out as particularly engrossing. But you sure don’t remember every single book in which a character had to decide between, for instance, Fairness and Kindness. Millions of characters have faced such compelling choices. And what’ll happen if the character has to choose between Love or Prosperity, Justice or Comfort, Saving Their Child or Saving Their Continent? Sure, readers also like wondering which of a character’s most valued people, or beliefs, or practices will matter the most. That’s also the kind that’ll work best for your readers, because they’re the ones who’ll appreciate your style of writing.your storytelling voice. The reason this matters is because it provides a hint regarding what kind of tension works best for you. Which books have done that more than once? If you’re not on the edge of your seat over Jimmy’s choice of a red or yellow lollipop, that’s okay! Whatever writer uses YOUR favorite kind of tension is one who’ll have you turning pages long past midnight. Those are what we’ll talk about next month in “ Building Tension,” but you’ve already seen how some of your favorite authors do that. That’s where we get into techniques (beyond the classic “ticking clock”) for building it.sustaining it.increasing it.occasionally relieving it for a moment or two.and then bringing it back even stronger. Or of freedom, family, friendship, a favored outcome for a quest.or any such threats endangering not the main character, but those they love or their entire society. Regardless of the audience or setting or characters or struggle at hand, the stakes are always high.for the characters, and thus for us readers.Īnd you’ll notice that while in some cases a life-and-death struggle is literally about avoiding the loss of life, it can just as well be a struggle to avoid the loss of social approval. Those are just a few sources of tension that build throughout these bestselling reads. Some of the above story questions include. Just grabbing random titles off the past decade of Publishers Weekly lists, you can see the kind of story questions that keep readers intrigued in books like: There are all kinds of situations that provide fertile ground for building tension. A malicious wizard is disguised as Santa’s head elf. A shy librarian has to seduce a raucous World Series pitcher during the seventh-inning stretch. A Wall Street trader is plunged into a war zone. Maybe there’s some dissonance between the setting and the story line. What’ll happen when the truth is revealed? There’s a terrorist planning to bomb the factory. The supposed butler is actually the duke’s illegitimate son. Maybe the reader suspects something, or knows something, that the character doesn’t. The long-awaited day could be sunny or stormy. A friend might or might not have betrayed their trust. There are unsubstantiated rumors of danger. Or maybe your character isn’t sure what lies ahead. Or Pat doesn’t know whether to rescue Hobson or Sophie. Or Jemmy can’t decide between the red or the yellow lollipop. Say, Allegra is torn between marrying Carrick or becoming a nurse. Even if we feel confident that the main Story Question will be resolved in the final chapter, what about all the other questions on the way to that final chapter? The only way it can happen is if the writer has used some great techniques to keep us wondering what’ll happen next.
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