WRITING TENSION IN STORY

Writing and Learning

Tension. We all feel it.

Sometimes it comes in the form of tight neck muscles. Maybe we feel the clench in our stomachs as bile swishes around and acid reflux takes center stage. Tension comes in the form of migraines, lower back aches, and if left untreated, maybe tension turns to heart attacks or strokes.

Okay, those examples might be a bit extreme; but stick with me, I’m making a point here.

Tense physical responses are the effect, caused by an emotional confrontation.

That gut ache. That neck ache. That headache. That’s what we want our readers to feel. 

“A great story is life, with the dull parts taken out.” – Alfred Hitchcock

Writing Tension

Tension is an emotion that boils up within us as we read or watch a conflict unfold. [And to reiterate, conflict is the clash between two opposing characters. It’s the cause. And tension is the effect.] Tension is a feeling of anxiety because the audience knows that the killer is behind the door, except the character doesn’t know this until, well, oops, a knife is stuck in her face—or—she makes a super cool ninja move and escapes.

A reader feels tension because the writer established the intricate emotional details of the character by showing who they are, what they want, and then places an opposing character in the story to try to stop the main character from reaching those desires. Tension is putting so much conflicting emotion in a character that readers can’t help but to either cheer or boo them.

Tension is the feeling the reader gets when the highest stakes are on the line. It raises emotions in your readers. It builds anxiety and suspense because the reader doesn’t know what’s going to happen next. And the only way to know what happens next is by—you got it—they turn the page and keep reading about the internal struggle the main character is experiencing and an opposing point of view simply adds to the anxiety.

Picture this example

Sally is sitting around the dinner table over a holiday with her family and extensions of, when out of nowhere, Uncle Ted decides to let everyone know how he feels about abortion. Before Sally takes the next bite of mashed potatoes, Aunt Lucy yanks the carving knife from the turkey and whips the tip in Uncle Ted’s direction.

The atmosphere of a warm reunion changes to a cold stiffness. Emotions steam out into the room like a tea kettle boiling water. The muscles in Sally’s neck move from a slight cringe and slowly makes its way to a full-on cramp. Then, the head ache. Then the leg twitch. Then the absolute need for Sally to excuse herself to the bathroom. Just a few breaths and maybe when Sally gets back, the dining room will be joyous and happy again. Probably not. But the biggest question to ask is, why did Sally have to get up from the table at that moment? We’ll answer this question in a moment.

The tension in Sally’s story is the emotional feeling caused by a situation. The emotions are anxiety and stress as the reader considers the plethora of outcomes.

• Will Aunt Lucy stab Uncle Ted?
• Will Cousin Timmy dive across the table to stop the stabbing?
• Will Gramma Dee raise her arthritic finger and in one giant swoop, the room falls into a hush?
• Is the turkey poisoned and everyone dies anyway?

The answer is none of these.

The argument between Uncle Ted and Aunt Lucy is a conflict, which again, is a struggle between opposing forces.

Tension is actually the fact that Sally has been mentally battling the new found fact that she’s pregnant and is considering terminating the early pregnancy.

Yikes! Talk about tension.

How to build tension in your story

While conflict is the struggle between opposing forces (which is the case between Uncle Ted and Aunt Lucy), tension takes on a different and more subtle role, yet a powerful one at that.

 There are few basic ways to accomplish this:

1. Backstory

Since Sally is the main character, she should have set the tone for the novel on page one. It’s in the early stages that readers get to understand who Sally is, what she wants, and what she most desires. By having a clear understanding of who Sally is, anything that goes against what Sally wants, adds to the tension.

2. Setting the Stage Early

Sally meets a cutey that she could potentially spend the rest of her life with, but her backstory [bad breakups] hinders her potential relationship. The reader knows about the meet-cute around six weeks ago. The reader knows it was a one-night stand. The reader knows those two are meant to be together. But there hasn’t been any mention of a baby—that is until Uncle Ted said something and all the emotions the writer gave us in previous scenes are coming to fruition and an ah-ha moment happens. When Sally rushes out of the room, this gives the reader an indication that Sally might be pregnant.

Or…

In order to make the dinner table scene authentic, the author could have explained Sally’s circumstance in earlier scenes. She met a boy. Likes the boy. Slept with the boy. She misses her period and starts having stomach flu-like issues on some mornings. As a result, Sally has been struggling with the idea of having a child. The responsibility. The money. The loss of independence. Basically, the reader should go into the family dinner knowing Sally’s feelings and Uncle Ted’s remarks only add to the internal turmoil Sally is experiencing, and in turn, the readers turmoil.

3) Dialog

Let’s say the reader isn’t aware that Sally is pregnant, but does know about the one-night stand from previous chapters. Uncle Ted’s perfect timing of using one word, one word that makes everyone cringe—abortion—is a powerful, yet delicate word. So, how could the reader learn of this twist in the plot, which in turn causes tension?

The scene could be written in the form of dialog. Picture it. Sally’s brow beads with sweat due to Uncle Ted’s comments. She flees to the bathroom and her sister follows. Through dialog, Sally explains that Friday night a little over a month ago, the cutie she met, and the lingering effects that night had on her. She pours her soul to her sister. And that soul pouring creates tension in readers because they feel what you give them.

Feeling is the point of novels; it’s the basis of tension. Feelings and perspective help readers empathize with the characters. Readers put on their shoes and dance around, or mope around, depending on how you want you readers to feel.

So, the next time you receive a critique that states, add more tension, what the critique partner is suggesting, is to build the feelings and anxiety of the character in every scene. Other characters don’t have to know the internal thoughts of the main character, but they sure should be ready to respond in overly dramatic ways—because, that’s tension.

-RADolence