Conflict & Tension

Alfred Hitchcock said, "A good story is life with the dull parts taken out."

I agree that no scene in a good novel should be "dull", per se...but I have a hard time with what I've been reading lately in advice to writers about adding tension or conflict to every scene.

I've also read that readers need a break in the action or tension to relax for a moment...to breathe. Otherwise you are beating them to death with tension & conflict...and that hurts.

I think the good advice lies somewhere in between. The key is the levels of conflict or tension added to each scene. Some scenes will simply be builders of tension, rising to a heavier conflict in another scene. Others will have huge conflict that throws your characters into a situation, or into the main climax of the story.

The conflict or tension in a particular scene may be physical or emotional...but it will always advance the plot in some way, whether small or large.

A good story needs an ebb & flow of tension & conflict, the same as life gives us...but the dull parts are definitely best left out.

One thing I have been so impressed with since I started writing is the amount of advice that's available to new writers...sometimes for free. But it's also been frustrating that with the abundance of advice out there, a lot of the ideas seem to contradict each other. =P

I'm a newbie still learning as I go, but I've found it most helpful if I use my own sensibilities and understanding of my story to figure out how to use every piece of advice to my benefit. =)

paxamo,

Prologue

from Solitary Sky:

Dirty, claw-like fingers broke through the shadows and grabbed my throat, lifting me off the ground. My legs flailed frantically as I dug my nails into warm, clammy flesh, trying desperately to free my neck from his inhuman grip.
Wild, black eyes watched in amusement at my futile attempt to put up a fight.
I screamed inside, struggling to push out the sound…but it stayed trapped in my throat while I gasped for air.
My resistance soon crumbled, giving way to exhaustion. Curtains of darkness draped across my consciousness and I felt myself slipping into the black.
My fear faded as I grew weaker, surrendering to an inescapable death. I closed my eyes and lifted a trembling hand up to my chest, clutching the cold, hard metal between my fingers.

...where are you?

The Sound of Silence

Wow, it's been a long time since I wrote the last post.
I'm not proud of it. I had great intentions of being at least a semi-prolific blog poster when I started this blog...but who was I kidding?

It's not just my blog posts that suffered over the holidays. I didn't make much progress on editing my novel, either. I don't know what was wrong with me...if I was too busy stressing about money or contemplating the fact that I'm about to turn 40...or if I had a major bout with the infamous writer's block.
Oh, I was also sick for about a week or so. That didn't have a huge impact on my writing neglect, but it felt right to mention it.

I think I'm getting back normal, though...as you probably already figured out by the fact that I'm even writing this post. I am inching closer to finishing my 25th chapter...the last before I do a few more run-throughs and polish everything up...check the grammar & spelling...check the flow...make sure everything makes sense when it needs to. I have four beta readers who will get the finished copy...2 at the lower end of my target audience range, and 2 at the higher end (my age). ;o)
While they're reading, I'll be taking notes and letting my hard-ass editor of a husband do his thing, but I'll also be readying my query letter and sending it out.

I'm about to be really busy, which sucks (npi) because Vampire Diaries & American Idol are back on...but I do have my priorities.
And a DVR.

I may post excerpts from Solitary Sky at some point...but I'm still not sure if it's cool to do that as an unpublished author hoping to get the excerpted work published.
If you're reading this and have any words of advice on that, please feel free to share in the comments. =)


paxamo,

NoNaNoWriMo

Sometime in October, I started noticing the buzz building for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). People tweeted and blogged excitedly about their plans to write a 50,000 word novel in the span of 30 days.
Just the thought of trying to do that stresses me out...especially when I'm trying so hard to get the final edit done on my first novel so I can start sending queries! I spent 3 months conceiving my story and fleshing out my characters. Then I literally locked myself in a closet for months and wrote my first draft. OK, I didn't spend all day and night in the closet, and it was a big closet...like a little room. And it was the quietest place in the house where I was the least likely to be disturbed! ;o)

But seriously, how do people do this? And if I don't feel I can do it does that mean I'm not cut out to be a writer? I know of at least one other writer who's not participating, so I know I'm not completely alone....but we are 2 tiny islands in a sea of writers who are furiously tapping away at their keyboard while chugging various forms of caffeine and blogging or tweeting their word counts daily (or nightly) all through the month of November.

Maybe I lack self confidence...maybe I could do it if I tried. Actually, I think I could...just not right now. I am in awe of those who have the guts to just jump in and do it. Some of the ones I know are brand new writers like me...and I'm in double-rainbow awe of them! ;o)

I will continue to grow as a writer and one day it will be me with the caffeine high tapping furiously at my keyboard and posting my nightly word count here...until then, for those about to NaNoWriMo, I salute you! ;o)


paxamo,

OCED (obssessive-compulsive editing disorder)

This is something I can definitely relate to...especially now when I feel like I'm all over the place with my revisions...reviewing chapter 4 with my crit partner, revising chapter 23, adding scenes in chapter 18 and random other places throughout the book!

The only thing that keeps me going through the craziness and ever-increasing sleep deficeit is the fact that when everything is said and done, I'll have a book that I'm proud of...one I would want to read even if I hadn't written it...and a huge accomplishment made. =)

paxamo,