Crafting Tension in Stories

Putting your characters into situations where they are faced with difficult decisions is a great way to add tension to your work. Remember, tension doesn’t mean mystery. It means setting up a question in the reader’s mind (Will he? Will she? Will they?) and then drawing out as far as possible the answer to that question. That’s what keeps readers turning pages.

Write Over the Hump

You are a Tarot Card reader. A young woman comes in for a reading. You read a very perilous future in her cards. What do you tell her? Can you be honest with her? If so, how does she react? Your 10 minutes start now.

How did your character handle this situation?

About Susan Tuttle

Susan Tuttle is a professional freelance editor, writing instructor and multi-award winning author of 21 books—6 nonfiction on writing (Write It Right), 6 suspense novels and 7 collections of award-winning short stories. She also has stories in both volumes of "Deadlines", the new anthology from the Central Coast Chapter of Sisters in Crime (SinC), Tales from a Rocky Coast, and the SLO NightWriter anthology. Under the pen name Susan Grace O'Neill, she is the author of the Journey With Jesus series: Lord, Let Me Grow (Parables) vol. 1, and Lord, Let Me Walk (Lent). She is currently working on volume #2 of her Skylark P.I. series (a PI with paranormal abilities), as well as 2 YA fantasy series. And she teaches fiction writing in both the morning and afternoon every Wednesday. Email her if you're interested in joining her class. And follow her on Twitter and FaceBook.