It has been pointed out that tension is what makes a reader want to continue reading. There needs to be a compelling problem which demands a solution. But what can be done to create this atmosphere? Obviously, the main driving problem of a story (like the destruction of the One Ring) can create some tension, but there are usually smaller events which cause tension. What are some ways to create tension that make the reader want to continue? ~~~ I was thinking character tension. By alluding to a character's past, you may be able to create more curiosity. Revealing a smaller problem about a character to keep the story going. I remember how dark and scary the scenes of Minas Tirith and the insanity of Denethor was in LotR, and that was exhiliarating. However, the portions following Frodo and Sam were so dark and glum that I often stopped reading. But still; wanting to see the resolution kept me going. Even though I hated those parts of the books, it kept me involved and kept me going. The first 100 pages of New Moon (ack, pop-culture!) were nothing but whining and angst, but I read through it all.
Tension is rooted in conflict, be it the clashing of two personalities, or a trivial inner conflict. My peronal advice is to not overdo it. In my reading experience, the best forms of tension arise from what is not said as opposed to what is said. But at the end of the day, it's your story, and you should generate the tension in a way that best fits your story and its accompanying characters.
There are easy ways, like adding a ticking clock to the story, to create tension, but really that's not a great tactic. Other ways might include trying to induce a sense of claustraphobia by limiting your setting to just one room and watcing characters sorta go insane (as in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?), other ways simply include small character conflicts, or revealing something that will happen to the character and working towards it, so that the reader knows where they are headed and want to see how the character will get there and therefore how they will react to the situation (which is the same principle but far more effective than the ticking clock method).
Tension arises from the dynamics of plot. The elements of plot a the actor, the goal, the motivation, and the opposition. Changes to any of these can alter the tension. Note that this applies to either the central plot or to any subplot in the story. You usually don't change the actor, but it can be done. If one character is able to easily attain the goal, put him or her out of action, and force a different character to take on the challenge. You can change the goal. maybe the goal itself is time-dependent, so you can play with the time scale to increase the tension. Alternately, adjusting the nature of the goal can make it a bigger challenge while other aspects remain about the same. Now we get to the two forces that create most of the tension. The motivation drives the actor toward the goal, the opposition drives the actor away from the goal. That conflict is the main source of tension, so if you increase both of them, you increase te tension while keeping the rate of progress about the same. The motivation is what drives a character to reach the goal. Putting more at stake if the goal is not achieved increases the motivation. If a character is vying for a promotion because she has always wanted to lead the team, that's a decent motivation. But if she needs that promotion because she can't make ends meet to feed her family, her motivation is that much greater. Add into it that her mortgage is past due and the bank is preparing to foreclose next month, and you have one hell of a motivation. Maybe the motivation is strong enough, and you character is slowly but steadily approaching the goal. Strengthen the opposition, or add a new one. Your character is well on his way up the mountain to where the Doomsday device is counting down. He has overcome everything you have thrown at him so far, and the reader is now confident in his abilities. So you add a new complication -- a ledge gives way, and he slips into a crevasse. His arm is broken, and he can no longer use it for climbing. Or one of his companions betrays him, has been an enemy agent all along. That adds a new subplot aligned to oppose your character reaching the goal. In general, that's how you increase tension. If you want the increased tension to come from within, just remember that if your opposition is a subplot, and the actor is the same as the current plot, you have an internal conflict. For your executive competting for the promotion, it may be that she realizes that making the promotion will place her in a position that will force her to work longer hours, and where she is more likely to be completely without a job if she isn't up to the demands. So her own doubts begin to prey upon her. I hope this helps.
Here are some quotes from the Master of Suspense. Drama is life with the dull bits cut out. -- Alfred Hitchcock. In films murders are always very clean. [In writing] I show how difficult it is and what a messy thing it is to kill a man. -- Alfred Hitchcock. There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it -- Alfred Hitchcock. Reveal less than what is necessary, giving the reader tidbits of info in small bite-size chunks so mouthwatering, it forces them to turn the pages. Only then should you go for the scorcher, the blazing action scenes, after you made your readers care for your characters.
Suspense is not the same thing as tension, though. Tension is a dynamic that applies to all stories, even comedy. It is founded upon conflict. The intensity of the conflict is directly related to the degree of tension. Suspense is a particular emotional state based on uncertainty and peril.
There was a famous playwright, I forgot his name, who said that if you needed to add excitement to a scene, you just bring in a guy with a gun. Of course, he didn't mean that you needed to literally bring a guy with a gun in to raise the tension - all you need to do is add in some obstacle, some kind of danger, something that hinders, and that will help increase tension.
Maybe we need a little bit of both. Perhaps tension can transform into suspense, and suspense is the overhead offshoots of the root that is called tension. They're like cousins; not the same, but completely related.
The only playwright/gun quote I know was by Chekhov, and that wasn't quite what he said... He said (as best I remember it) that if there's a gun hanging on the wall in the first act, it should be fired by the end of the second. Which I guess you could interpret as being about suspense...I guess....
Not really. It's more about not introducing irrelelevant details. But I don't entirely agree with what he said in its clearest context. There is a place for misdirection and red herrings. In that case, the gun on the wall need not have been fired, but its presence still serves a purpose.
I think you're confusing two quotes, the famous Chekov's gun one, and another one, which went something like "Bring a man in with a gun", which basically just says a good way to add tension is just to put in more obstacles or danger. I apparently can't remember who said it, though.
You're thinking of Raymond Chandler. Famous crime writer. Quotation is: “When in doubt, have a man come through the door with a gun in his hand.”
Thanks guys, this has been really helpful and very constructive. I usually try and have one "bump" in each chapter. The day (or night) is going on as normal and then a wrench gets thrown into the gears. Either the characters get some bad news, or some unwelcome friends show up, or something. I'm still in the build-up part of my story, so it's nothing severe yet. The true problem will be revealed in the next couple of chapters - kind of like when Frodo finally takes the burden of the Ring at the Counsel of Elrond. ~~~ I remember reading a pair of books, Wraith and Spectre (can't remember the author's name) and there was sooo many subplots going on at once, it was nerve wracking waiting for the resolution to everything - and only a few of the problems were resolved. It was very messy and left me not wanting to read a third in the series (if there ever is one) so I certainly know what "Don't overdo it" means!
Tension is a product of conflict. Plain and simple. Where you have conflict, be it internal or external of your MC, then there is tension. You don't create tension, you create conflict, tension is the by-product of that conflict. "The tension in the room was thick enough to cut." This is a common term used by people, but why is there tension in the room? Because there is unresolved conflicts between characters in a situation, or people in real life. There are many, many different types of tension, usually arising from unsaid things and assumptions that people make. It can be sexual tension between two characters who have been flirting, but the situation causes the conflict, like they are a boss and an employee, thus you have tension. A good example for me of this is Mulder and Scully, their sexual tension throughout the entire series was part of what made the show good. There is conflict of interest tension, such as a business deal about to be done by two people with ulterior motives. Good vs Evil always creates tension and can range from straight out like Star Wars, to a hidden dilemma of morals and ethics. I look at my sources of conflict to see what kind of tension I am creating and I decide if it is enough to create that feeling for the reader. I don't intentionally create tension for the sake of it, it has to be relevant to the conflict at hand.
The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing is a fine collection of articles related to the craft. One of them (Find Your Novel's Missing Links) is written by Elizabeth Lyon. It deals specifically with building up to the big scene. Most of it is available here: http://books.google.com/books?id=D-2o_uP3gpMC&pg=PA40&lpg=PA40&dq=finding+your+novel's+missing+links+elizabeth+lyon&source=bl&ots=HHqxouIRjL&sig=rRM_wRjqHf_fpUNnenxz5L31DLI&hl=en&ei=nrJCSsreGJLalAfaydz6CA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1 One part not shown in the preview is a section about creating a contrasting scene. Simply put, be sure to include "the calm before the storm".
Hi guys, I'm writing a short story atm and there's going to be a scene where the antagonist has the protagonist cornered with a gun. I've come across a few scenes like this in novels (most notably The Last Ten Seconds) and I was wondering how would I build up the tension? Also, what would generic (hand?)guns be like in the twenty first century? I was thinking of having the mc describe the gun to build up the tension. Any help is greatly appreciated
To maintain the tension, keep the scene changing. The gunman is growing increasingly irrational, for example, possibly due to drugs or insanity. Or someone nearby has a medical emergency, possibly precipitated by the stress of the situation. Or a bystander is working up the nerve to do something stupid. Description won't build tension. Description distances the reader from the action, and typically reduces tension. If the gun's effects have been previously established and are devastating, that can amp up the initial tension, but it won't augment it within the scene.
Not that different. There have been a string of innovative failures. For example, there have been attempts at 'safe guns.' That is, they don't fire unless the owner graps the grip. The idea was to arm police officers with firearms of this nature in case their weapons were snatched. In something like 20% of the examples, the gun wouldn't even fire for the cop that owned it. There was a gun called a "Gyro Jet." The bullet was actually a little rocket. It even appeared in a James Bond movie. I think the idea lasted a year, the ammunition was expensive. If there are any major changes it would be in refining existing designs. For example, manufacturers might cease using lead in constructing bullets. Some target ranges use a bullet completely enveloped in nylon or kevlar to hold down toxic fumes. Or they use sintered bullets, or shotgun loads using steel or other alloys, like bismuth. Serious ammunition might 'lathe turned,' like some premiun Barnes bullets for heavy game. There are even plastic bullets being tried in 'rail guns.' I think the idea that will surface is the concept of caseless ammunition. That is, the entire cartridge's case burns upon firing. It's just there to hold the gunpowder, and if it is consumed it might aid in ignition or be one less thing used to track a soldier--or his identity. (Some soldiers are issued 'clean' equipment like nondescript knives, French made dive tanks or civilian boots.) Caseless ammunition provides other features. It's lighter to carry, or the soldier can carry more rounds for the same weight. It's waterproof. There was a rifle actually pitched to the military where the case was square, and the chamber fed by a rotarty bolt. The cyclic rate was incredible. More to the point, caseless ammunition already exists, just not in common consumption. You can google it for any fact you need.
I understand what you're getting at here, and I agree with what you say fully, but for example if I described how the gunman was feeling, how he was moving, how he looked, would that help or hinder tension? @The Tourist I don't know much about guns, however the caseless ammunition seems a good idea - too good in fact. Why wasn't it always caseless?
I don't think there's any one way to build up the tension. Go with what feels best for the story. So many different scenarios can work that without any context to your story, you can get 1000 answers that could probably all work. Maybe the gunman is nuts, or maybe he's too calm. Maybe it's the protagonist that is losing it or maybe he is scarily calm. Sometimes you can be really low-key in building tension. So many different options. Maybe you should just write it out and see if it works. If it doesn't, rework it until it does.
There has been a "caseless" idea since the idea of a 'cartridge' was invented. Some cartridges were actually hollowed out lead bullets filled with gunpowder and sealed with a primer or fulminate of mercury. I believe they were manufactured under the name "Volcanic." A muzzle loading rifle is caseless. The breech is the 'case.' The simple problem was how do you use an open breech, and then seal it upon ignition. Brass is malleable, it expands to seal, and it can be reloaded. In fact, modern reloading dies are similar to those from the 1870s. You could argue that caseless ammunition does have a case. It's either hollow, holds the propellant and consumes itself, or it is the propellant itself with the bullet inserted in the front. BTW, that Volcanic principle is still around. There is a uber-fast firing system that uses stacks of bullets and can fire hundreds of thousands of rounds in seconds. I'll try and find the link. Edit: Go to the website metalstorm.com
