Anticipation
Hi everyone,
I revised page 146 today for micro-tension.* My secondary character is acting out. On the whole my MC is accepting of it so I added in another thought to give her a mini war. Stay or go. Accept or walk away. Rather than what it is now: accept only.
The Hunger games by Suzanne Collins: Page 146: Spoiler alert
On this page, Katniss is waiting to go into the arena. She is backstage with Cinna her dresser. The micro-tension comes from the anticipation and dread that oozes off the page.
How does the micro-tension work?
She doesn’t say ‘I’m afraid’. Or ‘this is awful’ or ‘unfair’. She accepts what is about to happen. She doesn’t fight it because there is no fighting it.
The tension stems not from an emotion stated explicitly but from a thought:
“I could be dead. Flat out dead in a half an hour. Not even.”
After which she acts nervous. She presses on her skin until she gives herself a bruise.
She reaches out her hand to be held without asking for it explicitly.
She sits, silently and waits, her hand held.
The micro-tension comes from waiting with the stated ‘could be dead in half an hour’ thought at the beginning of the page, from the silence and the lack of talking about it. Just waiting.
We as the reader wait with her in this terrible moment and anticipate the call. That’s micro-tension.
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn: Page 146:
A character is not acting like himself. Which gives rise to why questions and what it means for Bree. The micro-tension comes from the character’s disbelief over this discordant behaviour. It’s something unusual so the reader turns the page. It would be stronger if she was feeling something like: fear of him yet and wanting to help him because there is something wrong with him. But as is, she is just shocked and confused. Which works, too.
That’s all from me tonight,
Happy writing,
Joanne.
Micro-tension pages revised: 4
* 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
