{"id":583,"date":"2018-02-05T20:29:14","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T01:29:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/dremadeoraich\/?p=583"},"modified":"2018-02-05T20:29:14","modified_gmt":"2018-02-06T01:29:14","slug":"up-the-tension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2018\/02\/05\/up-the-tension\/","title":{"rendered":"Up the Tension"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve read it over and over, heard it in workshops and plenary sessions. A good story isn\u2019t about any one character or group of characters. Instead, it\u2019s about those characters doing<\/em> things. Striving, reaching, hurting or being hurt, trying and failing and trying again, coming, going, living, learning. It\u2019s about the events that happen to<\/em> the characters\u2014the foundation, the buildup, the action, and the consequences\u2014followed by the next event and so on. These threads weave together to create tension in the book which keeps the reader on the edge of her seat (hopefully) all the way to the d\u00e9nouement. The trick, as I understand it, is to write every scene in such a way that it furthers or at least maintains this tension.<\/p>\n

The challenge, for me anyway, is learning to write structural scenes\u2014ones that don\u2019t have high-energy but are necessary to set up later action scenes\u2014in such a way that they too convey some element of dramatic tension. The Kill Zone<\/a>, Terrible Minds<\/a>, and other blogs talk about the necessity for this, while recognizing that the reader also needs periodic breaks to catch her breath.<\/p>\n

Right now, I\u2019m a little more than halfway through the first draft of my novel\u2019s sequel, and struggling with a few structural scenes that set up the last quarter of this book and the entire premise of the third book in the trilogy. It\u2019s crucial that they deliver the necessary information; telling\/showing it in such a way as to make the reader care<\/em> is what takes so much time. These scenes are always (for me) harder to write than the more action-packed ones, but some days the words just WILL NOT come. I write, erase, write, erase, and write until my wrists ache, then I put on my braces and write some more. Usually I\u2019m shooting for a target word count but even if I make that number for the day, it won\u2019t matter unless the words count. If I have to erase them the next day and start over, what have I gained?<\/p>\n

I\u2019m whining, but it\u2019s okay. I think that\u2019s part of a writer\u2019s process. Have you seen the meme about the phases writers go through on any draft? In summary, they go something like this:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. This is the best thing I\u2019ve ever written.<\/li>\n
  2. This has a few problems.<\/li>\n
  3. This is the worst thing I\u2019ve ever written.<\/li>\n
  4. I\u2019ll never get published.<\/li>\n
  5. This might be okay.<\/li>\n
  6. This is the best thing I\u2019ve ever written.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    For a hilarious visual concept, see the interpretation by Captain Jack Sparrow<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    At any rate, today was a Level 3 day. I\u2019m sure tomorrow (or the day after) will spring back to Level 1 or forward to Level 6 but for a first draft, I suppose I\u2019m right (write) on target.<\/p>\n

    See you next week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I\u2019ve read it over and over, heard it in workshops and plenary sessions. A good story isn\u2019t about any one character or group of characters. Instead, it\u2019s about those characters doing things. Striving, reaching, hurting or being hurt, trying and failing and trying again, coming, going, living, learning. It\u2019s about the events that happen to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-posts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8n0kX-9p","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4335,"url":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/31\/dragon-apostle\/","url_meta":{"origin":583,"position":0},"title":"Dragon Apostle","author":"DremaDeoraich","date":"May 31, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Book 2 of The Projectionists Series By Tobias Youngblood \u00a9 2024, Riposte Press LLC ASIN: B0D42BSW2P Kindle Version Dragon Apostle is the second book in Youngblood\u2019s Projectionists Series, and follows close on the heels of book one, Grave Covenant. 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