Releasing Tension Archives

There was this book I read recently that made me all kinds of frustrated. My inner growl came out. I found myself skimming through the last third of the story, rolling my eyes, muttering things like, “Come on, already!”

Which got me thinking.

As writers, we talk a lot about the importance of tension. Heck, Donald Maass says we better have it on every single page. So the question begs to be asked.

What’s the difference between tension and frustration?

Is there one?

When I think of frustrating books, two titles come to mind. Both are best-sellers.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

New Moon (the second book in the Twilight series)

These books frustrated me for the same reason. Which involved the disappearance of a beloved character for a much-too-big chunk of the story.

Yet they are incredibly popular novels and much-loved by readers. Including me. So is frustration a mute point? Should we go for it?

I don’t know….

Frustration has to be one of the most annoying emotions. And I’m not sure annoyance is something we should ever aspire to do to our readers.

Tension. Good.

Frustration. Not so good.

The first brings readers to the edge of their seats. The second makes them want to light the book on fire.

So how do we embrace the first and avoid the second?

Avoid drawing things out for an eternity.

Yes, we want to prolong tension. But not to the point of frustration. Sometimes, best practice involves giving the reader what they want, then hooking them with something else.

Keep popular characters in the story.

Don’t make a beloved character disappear for too long. Unless absolutely necessary. But even then, you risk the wrath of your reader.

Sprinkle in moments of gratification.

Sure, maybe you can’t have your hero and heroine get together until the end, but that doesn’t mean you can’t throw in some chemistry-laden tender moments between the two. There needs to be a positive correlation between frustrating moments and gratifying ones. The more frustrating a novel may be, the more gratifying moments we better include.

Make the ending uber satisfying.

And I do mean uber. Like ultra uber. Especially, especially, especially if our stories lend themselves to frustration. The more frustrating a novel, the more satisfying the ending better be. Because even if we frustrate our readers, they will forgive us anything in the world if we satisfy the heck out of them at the end. Just like I forgave Stephanie Meyer the minute Bella hurled through the crowded square of Volterra and catapulted herself into Edward’s stone-cold arms.

The book I brought up in the beginning? The ending wasn’t as satisfying as it needed to be to soothe my frustrated nerves. So it left a bad taste in my mouth. Despite the good writing and character development.

When I think of a team of writers who have figured out this whole tension/frustration dichotomy, my mind automatically jumps to Vampire Diaries. They are experts in magnifying the tension without causing frustration. Which is why I love the show so very much. I even wrote a post about it: Tips from Television.

Let’s Talk: What do you say about frustration? Is it okay to frustrate readers? Is there a book that frustrated the heck out of you, but you still love it to pieces?

*Photo by Ellie Goff

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As a person reads a story, tension should build. And build. And build. Until the reader has no fingernails left. What do we do with all this tension at the end? We release it. That’s the main purpose of the ending. To release tension. If you don’t, you’ll end up with frustrated readers.

How do we release tension?
While there are many ways, I’m going to discuss Dwight Swain’s method. Keep in mind, this is just one way.

One Way to End a Novel (Four Steps):

1. Place your character in a situation where he must choose between two specific, concrete courses of action.

Option A: material gain. This is the easy way. Practical considerations back this choice 100%. By choosing option A, your character will gain what he’s worked so hard for throughout the novel. Seems like the obvious choice. What’s the catch? There is a moral/emotional price to be paid by choosing option A, and the price is HIGH.

Option B: principle/morality. This is the hard way. If character chooses option B, the consequences are disastrous. He will lose everything he’s worked to accomplish by choosing Option B.

What your character chooses will determine if he’s worthy of reward. For maximum tension, create a choice that really nails your character to the cross. Think through-the-roof high stakes and consequences for choosing option B.

A very simplistic, lame example:
Joe has been saving his money for the past five years to buy this awesome boat. After facing all sorts of obstacles, he finally has the money he needs. But guess what? He just found out his girlfriend’s dad needs back surgery, and insurance won’t cover the cost.

Option A: buy the boat
Option B: use the money to pay for the surgery (no boat)

2. Force your character to make a choice.

Here are two possible ways to do this: urgency and gimmick (I will cover gimmick next Monday). This is where we force Joe into a corner. He HAS to choose between buying the boat or using the money to help his girlfriend’s dad.

3. Translate that choice into an irrevocable climactic act.

Make your character act on his choice. Make him do something. Make this something important and irreversible. Once he acts, there’s no going back. Joe might think about doing the noble thing, but thoughts don’t amount to much if he doesn’t ACT on them.

Important note: If character chooses option B, this often translates into his black moment, when all seems lost and your reader’s worry comes to a head. If you made the stakes high enough and the character proved himself worthy, the reader will be rooting like heck that this character gets his reward. For example, if Joe gives his money to his girlfriend, all hope of him getting his dream boat are lost. Black moment. And reader will root for him to get the boat, since he proved himself worthy of reward.

4. Give him his just reward.

If your character chose the easy way, punish him. He doesn’t get his reward.

If your character chose the hard way, reward him. Give him his heart’s desire (the boat).

How can you do this?

Use a reversal:
The reversal must include three ingredients for it to work:

– It must be desired. The reader must want your character to win.
– It must be unanticipated. If the reader can see it coming, the reversal loses its power.
– It must be logical. Don’t throw something into the mix that makes no sense and has no connection with the story. Your readers will roll their eyes and think, “Give me a break.”

The reversal for Joe’s story might be a number of things. If he proves himself worthy and gives his money to his girlfriend, maybe Joe inherits his grandfather’s boat, which is what made him fall in love with boating in the first place. If he proves himself unworthy and chooses personal gain, maybe he finds himself caught up in some sort of scam and doesn’t get the boat. I don’t know. Whatever fits with your story. I told you, this example is lame.

Escalating tension throughout the book + release of tension at the end of the book = deep, satisfied sigh from your reader.

Question to Ponder: What is one of the most satisfying endings you’ve seen or read? What made it so satisfying?removetweetmeme

Category: Releasing Tension

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Writing the Perfect Ending