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Conflict and tension are important concepts to help drive a story. Whether it’s showing a physical fight between characters or internal struggles within a character, obstacles make readers turn the page.
One way to create conflict and tension is to determine whether events take place on or off the page.
Psychological suspense, for example, can come from ending a chapter with an expectation of what a character will do, then starting the next chapter the following day. This forces readers to wait to find out what happened “off the page.”
Did they leave the note on the person’s door?
Did they confront the person they thought was following them?
Did they buy the big dog for protection? (Or the handgun?)
By forcing the reader to wait for the answer to that question, tension builds as the reader’s need to know increases over time.
Showing every event as it happens can create tension too, sweeping the reader up in the events in real time.
Step by step, we creep through the house with the person investigating a crime.
Moment by moment, we feel the tension ratchet up as the dialogue goes back and forth, leading toward a character finally saying, “I love you.”
Action by action, as a character scales the mountain, runs the race, or faces their biggest fear, the tension pulls the reader even further into a story.
Balance, however, can be tricky. Waiting too long to answer the question “did they …” can frustrate readers. But showing every single step of an event can include more information than a reader needs.
Balancing those aspects can be an effective way to pull readers through a story because they are compelled to find out what happens next.
Image ID: Elena, a white woman with a dark blonde pixie cut is wearing a black jacket and looking into the camera. She is smiling with her chin resting on her fist.
Elena Hartwell Taylor is the Senior Editor & Director of Programming at Allegory Editing. In addition to working as a developmental editor and writing coach, Elena is a published author. Her most recent novel, All We Buried, appears under the name Elena Taylor. The Eddie Shoes Mystery Series appears under Elena Hartwell. Prior to writing novels, Elena worked extensively in the theater as a playwright, director, educator, and designer. She has taught writing and theatre courses at the college/university level for more than twenty years. She holds a PhD in dramatic theory and criticism, a Masters of Education with an emphasis in teaching theatre, and a BA in Mass Media Communications. For more information about Elena, you can visit her website and read her blog about authors, new books, and the writing process. You can contact her at elena@allegoryediting.com.