It’s There in Black and White – and Grey?

We are complex beings and our behaviour frequently lands us in complicated situations, something you should try and reflect in your fiction writing. Things are rarely cut and dried in the real world, so it is a good idea to tie some intriguingly complicated knots in...

An Alphabet of Better Writing # T

T is for…TensionTension is the sense of drama and suspense which makes your story interesting.  It has elements of excitement and compression and its function is to sustain your reader’s curiosity. Your story must have some innate drama to make it...

The Yin and Yang of Creative Writing

Much of the power of fiction derives from the tension between what is present and what is missing (the Yin and Yang of creative writing?)  Often, it is a sense of yearning or curiosity to explore this gap which drives a plot forward, so this is a factor which is...

Summer Shorts – Tension

Here are a number of suggestions for ways in which you can notch up the tension in the story you are telling:Plot twistsCliffhangersRed herringsChange the toneChange the paceChange the point of viewChange the locationFinish a paragraphFinish a chapterIntroduce some...

The Suspense Is Killing Me….

As a writer, you want keep your reader in a state of extreme tension, at least for some of your story, although it is not a bad idea to let them have time off for good behaviour occasionally.  Since I’m in mythical mode at the moment (see my previous post...