Warring emotions

Hi everyone,

Today I added micro-tension to page 44.

It was a scene with very little micro-tension but there was a tiny hint so I polished that until it wasn’t just a hint.

Conflict between two emotions: patience and curiosity—that’s the best way I can describe it. My main character is very curious but here wishes she weren’t. She wishes she could wait to know. It surprisingly took quite a few words—90. So I’m going to have to find ways to delete 90 words from my manuscript as I really don’t have the words. But it definitely reads better and more interesting.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: page 44

On this page, Katniss is eating her first big meal after the reaping. The micro-tension comes from a reminder of how the last two tributes (who are dead), ate their meal. A reminder of the fate in store for Katniss.

The micro-tension comes from the idea of: plenty of food v’s a scarcity of days. Also from the micro-tension that they have difficulty keeping the food down. That they aren’t even able to enjoy this one benefit. Because really there are no benefits. The food will do them no good dead. Another great page.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn: page 44: Spoiler

For the first half of this page, the micro-tension comes from the conflict between fake memories v’s real memories.

For the second half of the page, the micro-tension comes from anticipation—Bree asks eleven questions in a row. It shouldn’t work but it does-but still, I’d say it’s a risky move. But it works. The reader wants answers, too.

Okay, that’s it from me for tonight.

See you tomorrow,

Happy writing,

Joanne.

Micro-tension pages revised: 6

* If you want to learn more about micro-tension see Donald Maas’s, The Breakout Novelist: How to Craft Novels That Stand Out and Sell. Chapter 17.

He’s also given webinars on it which can be bought from the Free Expressions website I linked on my courses recommendations page. Here’s the link directly to the webinar recordings. https://www.free-expressions.com/webinar-recordings