Tension Styles in Fiction

Tension isn’t always discussed as an element of fiction, but it’s always appreciated when done well. It’s a broad subject that applies to all genres. Tension, when balanced and created effectively, can make any story pop, if only for just a moment. Sometimes one moment is all you need.

But I’ve noticed lately that there are distinctive styles to tension- various approaches. And once you’ve begun a project- be it a novel or a script or even an image, that style needs to remain consistent. Every story needs conflict to make it interesting, but it doesn’t stop there. There are scenes, sometimes wordless scenes, that build and destroy tension and in half a second, can make or break a story. This is the difference between awkward and perfect, predictable and surprising. If you adopt a certain technique for incorporating tension and then you don’t follow your own formula, you might think you’re being unpredictable when in reality, you’re creating awkwardness with inconsistencies.

Last Sunday, the season 2 finale of AMC’s The Walking Dead aired. It was epic. I could write at least a dozen articles on why, but that’s for another venue, another time. One scene, however, sparked this revelation about tension, and it was this one:

(Tiny spoiler alert)

A main character goes into a Freud-like state when his farm is overrun by a zombie horde. He’s shooting at them, one by one, with a serene and unshakable focus. Chaos has erupted around him, but he is in the zombie-killing zone. It’s dark, but in the shadows behind him, we see a lone zombie approach slowly. Of course the character doesn’t see this hidden threat; he’s not looking behind him and why would he? His barn is on fire. His family is fleeing for their lives. It doesn’t look good, but he sees all of it played out before him. Or so he thinks. Seconds pass. The light from the fire illuminates the zombie in flashes. The character stops to reload his shotgun, and the zombie closes in. At this point, I’m thinking, This probably isn’t be the way he dies; something must save him. I’m accustomed to TWD’s style, and it’s not this. It’s all about shock value. True to that style, at the pivotal moment the zombie is blown away. The character turns around, revealing a pretty awesome blood splatter on the back of his head but no wound. Only the zombie is down, and in her place stands the man who shot her, saving this character from the inevitable death and resurrection in Robert Kirkman‘s incredible apocalyptic world.

credit: screeninvasion.com

The scene could have gone a few different ways, and I caught myself thinking about the effect it would have had if it were done differently. His death would have been monumental regardless; he’s a key character. In a way, a monumental death might deserve a twist, but in this case, because TWD is full of twists, the real twist would have been not having a twist. And yet, despite understanding the style and expecting a twist, a total lack of one would have left something to be desired. If the character had just died by being bitten by this random zombie, it would have been that predictable kind of shock, which would have veered off from viewers’ expectations. The point is that although I knew the unlikeness of this character being taken down at that moment, I still had no idea how he would be saved.

Based on this example, it’s obvious that tension can be worked into a style without changing it. If the formula is working, staying consistent to it allows readers and audiences to develop expectations. Allowing people to familiarize themselves with a style and rewarding them for it creates fans. That reward shouldn’t be predictability but tension and shock that plays into the style. Breaking the style won’t always make sense, and if it’s done too often, people are more likely to lose interest.

If your writing tends to lead the reader by the hand up until that critical moment and then lets it play out, allowing your character to be suddenly saved in the last moment will cause readers to think, “Oh, come on, really?” The reaction depends on what you’ve done up until that point.

I think, for the most part, writers aren’t prone to switching styles by themselves. We all think in a certain style, so we already have a writing style before we attempt to develop a successful one. The risk of breaking styles and allowing inconsistencies is higher when we collaborate: author partnerships, collaborative serial fiction writers, writing groups and teams involved in larger productions, such as television and film adaptation.

Back in November, I wrote a guest post about tension in serial fiction for Anthony Lee Collins. Mostly, I talk about the role of tension in writing serial fiction, specifically in regard to emotobooks, but this concept applies to all kinds of serial goodness: screenwriting and production, web fiction, flash fiction, microfiction, even serial art.

5 Things Every Aspiring Author Should NOT Be Afraid of: Guest Post by Author Kerri Maniscalco

Today I have a present for you all: the awesome Kerri from the blog, Write. Eat. Repeat., has shared with me some really relevant, helpful, inspiring, motivating, honest advice for aspiring authors. Kerri is also an amazingly wonderful person to stalk… um, get to know.., so be sure to check out her fantastic blog and follow her on Twitter, etc.

 

5 Things Every Aspiring Author Should NOT Be Afraid of.

 

1.) Don’t be afraid to shelf your work for a bit.

 

Sounds like a ‘Duh, really?!’ moment, but it’s true. Sometimes it’s easy to whip-out a 80-90K word count manuscript, edit while you go, and call it a day because OHMYGAWD IT’S SO BRILLS I CAN’T STAND IT, THIS IS THE BEST BOOK EVERRR, I NEED TO QUERY IT RIGHT NOW! AGENTS ARE GOING TO FIGHT TO THE LITERARY DEATH FOR IT. Ahem, sorry, I got carried away. For most of us, finishing our work is only the beginning. Really take the time to flesh out passive language. You’ll be amazed by how much you miss the first, second, and fiftieth time around. With my last book, I carefully tucked it away for a couple of EXCRUCIATING weeks and was appalled amazed by how many “I begin to’s and I continue to’s” were still rearing their nasty little heads. Be brave and shelf that baby for seven-fourteen days (at least). You can do it.

 

2.) Don’t be afraid to have other people read your work.

 

Really. It’s going to happen eventually. Especially if you’re serious about getting published. Having friends and family read over your work is a good start, BUT…make sure they are also reading widely in your genre (and beyond) and aren’t afraid to give you honest-to-goodness feedback. One of the best things I’ve ever done for myself was have others critique my manuscript and query letter. That said, it was also one of the scariest things I’ve done, but my work is SO MUCH BETTER for it. Again, be brave. If you want to dip your toe in the ‘sharing pool’ try sites like QueryTracker.net or AbsoluteWrite.com. Both offer forums where you can share your work and get some really, REALLY amazing insight as to what is/is not working with your query or first five pages.

 

3.) Don’t be afraid of social media.

 

Now don’t get me wrong, when I first started using twitter I was nervous/scared/intimidated. I didn’t know ANYONE. None of my friends were using it and how awkward is it following strangers? I used to think things like: Will that author/writer/blogger/random-awesome-person think I’m totally creepy for following/responding to them? Will anyone follow me back? What do I have to say that’s tweet worthy anyway? One day I finally asked myself, What do I have to lose? NOTHING. Somehow I developed a decent following and I didn’t do anything special. I talked about reading, writing, music, publishing, I retweeted articles I liked. Posted some silly pictures for fun. Shared quotes that inspired me. Pretty soon people were tweeting back. Conversations were started. Friendships made. The best advice for tackling social media is be honest, be yourself, and share what you like. You’ll find other people just like you. The world will become a little smaller and a little less scary.

 

4.) Don’t be afraid to fail.

 

One of my favorite quotes is: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” — Winston Churchill. So your first attempt at traditional publishing/getting an agent/having a ka-jillion blog followers didn’t quite work out the way you wanted it to. Psst, I’ll let you in on a secret: That’s OKAY. My first book didn’t work out. Neither did my second. Or third. Would I call them failures? Heck NO! They were valuable learning experiences. Each one a stepping stone. Having your work rejected isn’t the most pleasant feeling in the world, but it’s really not the worst either. What is failure anyway? Nothing you do is a failure as long as you keep learning, keep growing and keep moving forward. The only failure there is, is giving up. So learn. Make mistakes. Make GINORMOUS ones. Make silly ones. Make OHMYGAWD I can’t believe I just did/sent/wrote that mistakes. Then laugh/shake/dust it off and get back out there. You’re going to inspire someone else, not by failing, but by fearlessly charging ahead IN SPITE of bumps in the road.

 

5.) Don’t be afraid of your success or other people’s success.

 

Everyone is going to have a different ‘road to publishing’ story. It’s really important to not get caught up in comparing your success to other people’s success and vice versa. If you’ve found representation after two weeks, sold your book in ten days, got a three or four book deal, don’t be afraid of sharing your journey. On the flip-side, if you’re still in the query trenches — do not take other people’s success as an attack on your writing skill. Everyone is different and there are SO MANY factors that go on behind the scenes you’ll drive yourself INSANE if you compare yourself to everyone else out there. You might take five years to land an agent, or a book deal. That’s okay! We’re all in this publishing game to share stories, so never be afraid to share yours. If you find representation quickly, you’ll give others hope that it can happen for them too. And, if you’ve written four, five, or even ten books and THEN receive an offer of representation, well, how can a journey like that NOT be inspiring to others?!

 

Kerri Maniscalco is a twenty-something native New Yorker who pens young adult novels. When she’s not writing she can be found at her favorite NYC haunts supporting friends and local musicians, roaming city streets (or parks) armed with her favorite journal, or in her kitchen where she’s a crazy foodie at heart.

 

Follow her on twitter and her blog for more random musings.