A to Z Challenge: T is for Tension

Welcome to Day 20 of the A to Z Challenge

T is for Tension:  mental or emotional strain; intense, suppressed suspense, anxiety, or excitement.  (Dictionary.com)

I've posted about this topic before.  If there is one hard and fast rule for writing a novel, it’s this:

Tension all the time, on every single page! 

After all, tension is what keeps the reader reading.  If it drags or slows down, the reader skims.  If it’s high, the reader slows down and reads every word.  It’s this moment-to-moment micro-tension that keeps the reader wondering what will happen next.  And this micro-tension comes from conflicting emotions.

A novel needs conflict in its dialogue, yet it’s not the information in the dialogue itself that creates tension, but rather the doubt about those facts and the apprehension of the character delivering it.  It should be emotional rather than cerebral.  The reader doesn’t want to know if the discussion will settle the argument, but whether they will make peace.  So dumping info via dialogue only works if it’s soaking in tension, if it’s a tug-of-war.  Zone in on the emotional friction instead of relying on the circumstances.  Allow emotions, especially contrasting emotions, to give force to the action. 

Same goes for exposition; use the conflicting passions of the characters to keep the reader reading to see if the conflict will be resolved.  A character wrestling with his own mind can generate dramatic tension, too, if you include contradictions, crises, opposing impulses, and clashing doctrine.     

Each scene in a novel should have its own mini arc: a beginning, rise, and a climax or reversal.  Afterwards, the hero may contemplate what just occurred before he moves on, but this inner dialogue or exposition should be used only to deepen the crisis and increase the tension, not to reiterate what the reader already knows.  Backstory is a common low-tension pitfall.  It’s acceptable to add it in as long as it’s not the goal.  Use the past to devise tension in the current conflict as it will make the reader curious and want to keep reading to find out what will happen.

Tension is not present in a setting or predicament.  Description does not create tension.  It comes from within those observing it, from the people inside the setting and circumstances.  One place is as ordinary as any other until you populate it with people and their problems.  And when you present the problem before the place, the setting may become a metaphor. 

I used this device in my novel.  The ever-shifting San Francisco fog became a metaphor for trouble.  Whenever something bad was about to happen, you can bet the fog would be swirling around in the background, creating a cue that the tension was building and about to explode. 

Is the tension in your story immediate, credible, personal, unavoidable, and most of all, urgent?  What tricks do you use to keep the reader reading?