Writing Tidbits #10

Creating Tension

Since, in the majority of books, the hero(ine) of the book does win in the end against all odds, how can the author make the reader worry the hero(ine) might not succeed?

The most common tactic is to have the hero try to solve the problem and fail, then try something else to solve the problem and fail, and finally try a last solution and succeed.

Here are some other examples of how to do it. (While I'm generally using fantasy set-ups as examples, the underlying principles can be used in other genre.)

1) Hero Todd loses a sword match against his friend Nate. Later, Nate fights against Villain Harod. Harod defeats/kills Nate. Todd vows to kill Harod in revenge, but he wonders how he can since Nate (who was a better fighter) failed.

As in, have A lose against B in getting the girl, solving the mystery, winning the fight. Have B lose against C in the same sort of activity. Finally, pit A against C, let A have a few doubts about his ability to win, and the reader will feel uncertain, too. The solution may be that A uses a different method to fight than B did (as in, using his brains instead of a sword or listening to the girl's dreams instead of buying expensive gifts).

2) This is based on a book I recently read. Each of the main characters are given a cryptic, personalized prophesy of what to avoid doing (like "don't kill a crow"). If they do this action, they will die within a few hours. One by one, these characters accidently do the very thing they were warned against--usually because they didn't realize the danger until the action was already taken--and each dies. Our hero is then given his death-prophecy. Will he recognize the danger in time to avoid his fate?

Here we have several people failing at the same task our hero is given. He may succeed at anything he puts his hand to, but this side danger might easily kill him before his main objective is complete.

3) Our hero can succeed alone against any odds, but he has to protect someone he cares about and/or is important to his ultimate success. This character is usually a child, though in the past it was often 'the helpless female.' The tension comes with the question "can the hero keep this other character alive?"

4) Again, our hero can protect himself just fine, but he needs the help of several other characters to ultimately win the day. (The characters may bring specialized knowledge or skills or they may be leaders of troops that are needed or whatever.) We don't doubt the hero can win his fight, but his bad temper alienates the others he needs or someone is trying (and maybe succeeding) in killing these other characters or they aren't convinced that there is a danger or that the hero's scheme is the right one. Now you have tension.