Delayed Gratification ... Gotta Love It

We have a WINNER!

Day four of our 12 Days of Christmas contest is: Nancy January! E-mail me, Nancy, at novelmatters@gmailcom with your snail mail address and I'll get Raising Rain to you.

Five Golden Rings

I'll send Every Good & Perfect Gift and A Heavenly Christmas in Hometown to the person who can find an author's last name in today's clue: Five Golden Rings and name a title by that author -- OR -- submit a book title with one of the words from the clue along with the author's name. Submit your entry using the "Contact" button above. See complete details for our 12 Days of Christmas Book Giveaway Contest on our November 23 post. The winner will be announced Thursday afternoon, December 3.

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I can't tell you how many times I've said, "Just one more chapter," while reading a really good book, only to get to the end of that chapter, often in the wee hours of the morning, and finding I have to keep reading. Jessica Page Morrell describes such a novel as "unputdownable" (Between the Lines, pg. 37). For an author to write unputdownable fiction she must know how to create tension, and in fiction tension is vital. Like the proper drag on a fishing line, it keeps the reader hooked.

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Continuing with the theme of tension that we've been discussing the past few days, Sol Stein defines tension as "delicious moments of anxious uncertainty" (Stein on Writing, pg. 307). "Delicious moments of anxious uncertainty." What a fabulous definition of literary tension! To create such anxious uncertainty, there must be sharp opposition to your protagonist achieving his or her desires. Determine what would most thwart her objective, then give your antagonist the ability to do exactly that. And make sure there's an equal sense of urgency on both sides (Stein on Writing, pg. 83).

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James Scott Bell says, "[keep] in mind that worrying the reader is the primary goal of the middle of the book" (Plot & Structure, pg. 84). That's not an easy task when most of us are wired to solve everyone's problems, not prolong them, and the sooner the better. But as novelists that's exactly what we must do. Prolong, delay, frustrate. What a perfect -- and safe -- opportunity for our dark side to have its way. So how do you worry the reader sufficiently through that middle portion of the novel? By "(1) stretching the tension and (2) raising the stakes" (P&S, pg. 85). In order to stretch the tension there must first be a valid source of tension. Unless you're writing suspense, mystery, etc., it doesn't have to be physical danger. Opposing goals work just as well. Once you settle on a source of tension, Bell says you must "slow down. ... As you write the scene, alternate between action, thoughts, dialogue, and description" (P&S, pg. 86) so that tension is created, not only chapter by chapter, but line by line. Plot & Structure is one of my favorite books on writing. I highly recommend you read and reread it as you construct your novels.

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In another of my favorite writing manuals, Elizabeth George says you create tension by "creating scenes in which you lay down -- but do not answer! -- dramatic questions. You do this by making sure that if you do answer a dramatic question in a scene as the novel progresses, you've already laid down another" (Write Away, pg. 43) Overlap sources of tension as you weave your story and spread it around indiscriminately among your characters. This not only achieves the goal of stretching the tension, but it creates depth to your story as well, and really gives the reader something to dive into.

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For sure, it takes more than unanswered questions to keep a reader turning the page. There must be characters we care about, a plot line that engages, and dynamic dialogue. But one of the key factors is knowing how and for how long to delay gratification. Resist the urge to "fix" everything for a character who's in trouble. Continually frustrate your characters' objectives. Don't tie up each chapter ending in a perfect little bow. As much as possible, keep the line taut. Don't give the reader a place to say, "Ah, at last, a place where I can close the book for a while." No, no, no. Don't give them space even to catch their breath, not till the final scene. In so doing you provide a good read for your audience, but even more, you create for them a memorable reading experience.

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What have you read lately that kept you on the line? How did the author achieve that and keep you turning the pages?

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Between the Lines, Plot & Structure and Write Away can be found on our Resources page.

Motivating Tension

We have a WINNER:

Day three of our 12 Days of Christmas contest, chosen randomly by Studly Steve Grove is: Karen Schravemade! E-mail me, Karen at novelmatters@gmailcom with your snail mail address and I'll get those books to you in time for Christmas!

We're ringing in the 12 Days of Christmas on Novel Matters. (for full contest rules, click the link)

"On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Three French Hens!"

I'll send signed copies of Talking to the Dead, Your Best You: Discovering and Developing the Strengths God Gave You, AND a signed copy of the anthology Hot Apple Cider where my short story The Stuckville Cafe appears, to the person who can find an author's last name in the phrase: THREE FRENCH HENS and name a title by that author OR submit a book title with one of the words from the phrase and the author. Submit your entry using the "Contact" button above. See complete details for the contest on the November 23rd post. Good Luck! The winner will be announced on Friday, November 27th.

A handy quick tip reference for creating tension in fiction is to have characters with clearly defined - and opposing motivations interact with one another.

I've seen lots of definitions of what writers think is character motivation. But I'm not satisfied with most of them. Probably because, as a student of psychology, I'm not satisfied with the current theories of motivation out there (but we won't get into that here - whew!) I think it's helpful to look a bit deeper at the concept of motivation and how it can be applied to character creation.

1. Motivations are not goals. A goal can serve as motivation, but it cannot be the single thing that drives a character to behave. This amounts to your character singularly serving a lone goal. This isn't realistic, and it isn't interesting reading. Instead, a goal needs to be understood as a character's ideal outcome - and not necessarily the outcome of the story. It should be complex, and should have clearly worked out acceptable compromises.

2. Motivation cannot be judged by behavior alone. One thing I've learned in my years working with families at risk: you cannot know what a person is trying to accomplish just by watching what they do. As an introduction to Chaos Theory, an instructor drew horizontal line on a chalk board. A volunteer held one end of a string and the instructor held the other. The instructor asked the volunteer to ensure the string remained parallel to the chalk line on the board - no matter what. The instructor proceeded to move his end of the string, up, down, side to side. The volunteer worked to keep the string parallel to the chalk line. The movement of the string forced her into all sorts of positions, climbing up on chairs, kneeling on the floor. The instructor then called in a second volunteer who was in the hall, and didn't know what was happening inside. The second volunteer was asked to explain what the first volunteer was trying to do. After observing for awhile, and several incorrect guesses, the second volunteer conceded - he had no idea what the first volunteer was trying to accomplish, and couldn't tell by watching the behavior. It adds interest for the reader if a character behaves in ways that do not, at first, seem to tie into the stated goal.

3. Motivation is not passive. It can be shaped and refined over time. It is always in movement. Excellent character arch includes the characters ability to redefine his or her goal based on what has happened in the plot (plot should mess with motivation - it's another way to create tension).

4. Motivation works differently for different people. There is the story of two brothers, raised by an alcoholic and abusive father. One brother becomes a lout, a playboy drinker who can't keep a job. When asked how he arrived at his current state, he replies, "With a father like I had, how else could I have turned out?" The other brother becomes a business man, marries, raises a family, abstains from excesses. When asked how he came to be such a success he replies, "With a father like I had, how else could I have turned out?" Try to avoid drawing straight lines from a difficult past as motivation behind a characters bad habits. It isn't always so cut and dried.

5. Motivation is a deeply felt need tied to basic instincts - motivation is emotional. Touch the motivation button in a character and you should see fire works of emotion (emotion - not melodrama). It is a character's hot button and when he comes up against an opposing motivation he will take it personally.

I hope this is helpful to you when you begin to plot a book, or when you pick a book up to read. Looking for those building tensions between opposing motivation can add to the enjoyment of the book. It is said that fiction is tension. Do you agree? What have you noticed about tension and motivation in some of your favorite reads?

TENSION in Dialogue

"On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

TWO TURTLE DOVES!"

I'll send the complete 3-book Garden Gate series, signed as you like, to the person who can find an author's last name in the phrase: TWO TURTLE DOVES and name a title by that author OR submit a book title with one of the words from the phrase and the author. Submit your entry using the "Contact" button above. See complete details for the contest on the November 23rd post. Good Luck! The winner will be announced on Friday, November 27th. You'll have the books by Christmas!

Christmas.

Love. Light. Hope. TENSION!

Kohls and Kmart want me to go Christmas shopping at 4 AM. This isn't going to happen. No way. No how.

I will try my hardest (during civilized shopping hours) to find low-cost, eco-friendly, functional, surprising, life-affirming, unique gifts for 30 people. Sure, I could give gift cards, but I feel like I'm cheating, like I'm not willing to tremble the synapses to find the just-right gift. I know some of you will think I'm obsessive-compulsive. Please don't scold me. I'll only feel worse.

And that brings us to tension in dialogue. You must have it. I'm not talking about angry, arguing voices. I'm talking about two characters with conflicting motivations and needs conversing, purposefully.

Tension is what holds a reader in a story. They're wondering what will happen next for the characters they've come to love. Tension in fiction happens best in dialogue. I've selected three examples for your consideration. In each example the characters want something in conflict with what the other character wants.

In this first example from The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas, Queenie and her husband, Grover, are talking about a family who is camping on their land as they journey westward to California during the Depression.

“I hope you shooed them right off. You know how I hate tramps.”

“They’re not tramps, Queenie.”

The way he said it made me look at him. “Well, gypsies, then. It’s almost the same thing.”

“No, they’re not gypsies, either. Not these folks. They’re just people, hill people, down-and-out. They’re pretty near as broke as anybody I ever saw.”

“You told them to move on, didn’t you?”

“No,” he said, rubbing the little port-wine spot on his chin.

“We can’t have people like that camping on our land.”

“What do you mean, ‘people like that’?” Grover asked. He moved his hand away from mine and picked up a hermit and bit it in half, spilling crumbs on the table. “They’re people like Ruby and Floyd. People like you and me.”

Queenie wants the travelers to move on. She's uncomfortable with their presence, maybe she's frightened. Grover, on the other hand, sees these folks as people having a difficult time, like some of the people he knows. Dallas demonstrates the tension in the probing questions of Queenie and the resoluteness of Grover. Also, she uses dialogue tags masterfully--rubbing of the chin, the moving away of a hand--to show tension. Delicious! (BTW, hermits are a baked good.)

This next example is from Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Camel is a circus worker and Jacob is a fresh-faced kid joining up.

Camel squints up at me. “What did you say your name was?”

“Jacob Jankowski.”

“You got red hair.”

“So I’ve heard.”

“Where you from?”

I pause. Am I from Norwich or Ithaca? Is where you’re from the place you’re leaving or where you have roots?

“Nowhere,” I say.

Camel’s face hardens. He weaves slightly on bowed legs, casting an uneven light from the swinging lantern. “You done something, boy? You on the lam?”

Camel wants to know something about this kid he'll be sharing a boxcar with. Jacob doesn't want to be known. Gruen uses short, choppy sentences and questions meant to rouse and some that aren't answered at all to create story-driving, reader-hooking tension. I love it.

In the category of books I wish I'd written is The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig, a story about loyalty, tradition, and family--all in a one-roomed schoolhouse in Montana. In this example of tension in dialogue, Doig builds tension by having the characters interrupt one another. Listening is the toughest thing to do when you want to be the boss of everything.

Eddie Turley was one thing Carnelia and I could agree on. We both knew what an incurable pain in the neck Eddie could be when he wanted to. Panic starting to show in us, she and I faced each other with the breeze-blown rope between us. We had to invent together or else.

“I think we first of all have to put that through there and then—”

“No, dummy, that’s backwards, we to need to—”

“You’re not the boss of everything. Let me—”

“Will you just not be so grabby and–watch out!”

It was not clear who had been in main possession of the flag and who hadn’t. But there it lay, dumped in the dirt between us.

I didn't experience one lick of trouble finding dialogue with tension, some more subtle than others. That's because good writers always keep their character's motivations--wants and needs--in mind when they write dialogue.