Plot Archives - Stacy Lyn Jensen

Stormveil Castle

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Right now, I am around a level 40. I wanted to discuss a couple of things that happened between the Castle Morne experience and Stormveil Castle, but I feel like Stormveil ends up coloring everything else. I’ll try to go through everything.

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Before discussing Stormveil Castle

Irina’s Quest

First of all, I still get annoyed every time I think about going all the way through the Castle Morne quest, talking to Irina, delivering the letter to her father, and then she dies anyway? What kind of game is this, what kind of world is this, what is going on?

What is the Story of Elden Ring

Actually, to bring up another point. What is the Lands-Between? Is it Limbo? Are all the player characters dead, but have yet to be judged? Is that why religion plays such a large role in the game? The “lands between” is just such an interesting name. The fact that we are playing as a “tarnished.” What does tarnished mean, how did we get to be tarnished, what tarnished us? I know that all the big bosses are demi-gods. But why were they dead, and why do they now need to be killed?

What is the Lands-Between

Also, what are we doing for the world of the lands between? I’m hoping that these questions will be answered in gameplay. That the story will lay itself out for me to understand. Because right now, I feel like I could make up my own backstory for my character, how they came to be in this limbo, how they died why the lands between is in the state it’s in, and my own story would be just as valid as anyone else’s. However, I’ve heard that the story for the game is in the item descriptions?

So I may check out all the items I have and see what they have to say, what can I piece together. It is kind of intriguing to me to be placed in a game where the only bit of story that’s actually told is the very beginning. And I find it even more fascinating that a world-famous writer collaborated on this game, and there doesn’t really seem to be a scrap of actual story that I can find, so far. I wonder how may GRRM fans picked up the game, expecting political intrigue and to be told a story of a family or anything similar to his work, and then were disappointed when the game made them work for the story.

Stormveil Castle

Okay, I’m going to stop discussing my strange ruminations now. Onto Stormveil Castle.

I surprised myself by being able to beat Margit in one go. I didn’t expect to beat him on the first try and was shocked when it happened.

So when I went into Stormveil Castle, I thought that I was good. I figured I was going to be able to meet every challenge in the Castle, and it would be no problem.

Issues in Stormveil Castle

My first major issue was knight that is inside a door that gets shut behind you when you go in. It took me several tries to beat him. Then, after him, I missed a site of grace, so when I inevitably died, I was back at the outside of the castle again.

Then, the birds. The birds with the exploding barrels. I died to them so many times that my son started making fun of the sound of my character when she’s dying. But I kept on pushing. When I finally made it to the courtyard, I was able to sneak up the stairs and I didn’t have a huge problem with an area that was I really worried about going to.

The next thing that I didn’t realize I needed to be concerned about is the pots. I didn’t know how tough the big pots are when they start spinning. I didn’t die to any of them, but they were harder than I thought they would be to kill.

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Another section I went to was the under-part of the castle. I was able to kill the rats just fine, but there was this weird like serpent dragon thing that I died to like three times before I just ran past, and I was able to touch the bloodstain to move Rogier’s questline forward and just leave the area.

I did also kill a giant like a bunch. He was a lot easier to kill than I expected so I did it a bunch.

Beating Godrick the Grafted in Stormveil Castle

When I got to Godrick the Grafted, I did use the warrior princess lady for help, along with my own summon. I was able to beat him after three tries. The first try I got pretty close, the second one he killed me right away, and then the third one I beat him.

At this point, I haven’t played in a couple of days. But the thing is, I looked up where I’m supposed to take Godrick’s great rune, and I have to go back through Stormviel Castle, and I’m just dreading some of those areas. I’ll probably try it out this weekend.

Final Thoughts

I feel like I’m getting better at some things, but I do want to learn more faith magics. One other thing is that I need to find an outfit that will allow me to stand out in battle, because I will get confused as to who I am when I’m fighting.

Castle Morne in Elden Ring

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I am currently sitting around level 34 or so. After I spoke with Kenneth Haight, I decided to go ahead and check out this Fort he needed to be cleared out. I struggled with that a bit, but I was able to get Fort Haight cleared, and I got half of a disc thing.

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Making my way to Castle Morne in Elden Ring

I then decided to travel down the Weeping Peninsula. I wasn’t ready to take on Stormveil Castle yet.

I enjoyed the area. First, I fought a demi-human in some ruins and got her staff. Then, I went up a tower or two. After that, I was able to finish out a catacomb and fight the boss. This area helped me feel like I was getting the game, I was doing better, I was handling the enemies. Feeling like things were going well.

Meeting Irina near Castle Morne in Elden Ring

As I got closer to Castle Morne, I met a girl with a blindfold on, her name was Irina. She asked me if I’d deliver a letter to her father. I agreed. I hoped that her father would come to her quickly.

When I first entered the Castle, I came across a gigantic pile of burned bodies, with a bunch of feathered demi-humans dancing on their corpses. The demi-humans were not difficult to fight, thanks to the wolf summons that I’ve been using. I was able to kill them after a few tries.

Inside Castle Morne in Elden Ring

After I went up a ladder, things got more difficult. There were some of the demi-humans flying, and I wasn’t sure how to do a jump attack. I just had to make due. I was able to fight my way through. Once, at the top, I found Irina’s father. But, then I remembered that I needed to fight the boss before delivering the letter.

I was very nervous about the boss, because I’d heard that they are the “first real boss” but then other people say it’s not the first real boss. So I wasn’t sure exactly what the difficulty level was going to be. I did summon, and it took two tries, but I got it done. I was very proud of myself. But then, when I went to go back through Castle Morne in Elden Ring to give the note to Irina’s dad, I died like four or five more times, so I guess it all worked out.

Fighting the Boss of Castle Morne

The boss for the area moved strangely, and I think that the best way to go is to be aggressive. I’m finding that that is the way to win fights, to be aggressive, don’t hang back, get in there and swing. I’m sure it’s not going to work with everything, and I’m still figuring out how to get away, but it’s working better than hanging back.

What’s Next

Right now, I need to work on figuring out if blocking is even for me, or if I just need to get better at rolling, and I need to get better at knowing when to use my Ash of War, my heavy attack, my light attack, or my spells.

So that was my adventure working my way through Castle Morne in Elden Ring, I’ll update to discuss Stormveil Castle, but it may be more than one post because it’s a big area, and I’m worried about getting through it in one piece.

NPC’s and a Dragon in Elden Ring

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I’m definitely still in the beginning of Elden Ring. I’m currently at level 34, still using a samurai character. The last few times I’ve played, I’ve essentially gone around, killed some skeletons and talked to a bunch of NPC’s and I killed a dragon.

NPC’s

I talked to a guy named Kenneth Haight (he wants me to go to some unspecified fort and take it back for him), a girl that gave me Jellyfish ashes, and a pot, and Blaidd (he wants me to let him know if I see a guy somewhere, I forgot his name though). I also went to the Roundtable place and talked with several people there.

Normally, I am a player of linear one-person type games. I prefer horror games. I like to be able to play “intensely” for a few days, or several weekends in a row or whatever, and then be done with the game. But, Elden Ring, and all the NPC’s that are in the game, and just the vastness of the world makes it so that the idea of being done after a couple of weeks even is impossible.

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Because I do play a different kind of game, normally, I think that this game may be one that I pick up and put down. One that I play while I’m in between other games, that kind of thing.

One thing, I know this has to be on the wiki or something, but how do I know what to do for each NPC? Like, I talk to a person, and then later I have something for them, but how and when do I know when I’ll have the thing. Does the game ever let me know, does it make the object for the NPC a different color or indicate somehow who or where that item should go?

Dragon

The other thing I’ve done recently is kill a dragon in Caelid. It was a dragon that was just sitting there, and it didn’t take anything from me but time. Now, I have a bunch of dragon hearts and stuff, but I don’t know where the dragon church is.

So right now in the game, I feel like I need to find the dragon church, and then the fort that the guy wants me to help him with. I know that Blaidd also will help or need help with something, but I don’t know what, exactly. I also would really like to get something that will allow me to use magic.

Elden Ring: The Beginning

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I’m a late to the game. As with most things, I’m late to begin playing Elden Ring. I just started the game last weekend, and after I started, I read about a journaling technique that is used to help you learn. So I thought it would be fun to journal my way through. To see if it helps me learn the game. So here I go, journaling my Elden Ring experience.

Journal for Elden Ring

Basic Info

I’m using a Samurai. I’m currently at level 17, and I don’t dare go near anything that looks like a boss of any kind. So far, I’ve talked with Varre (sp?) at the very beginning, and I found Blaidd today. I spoke to a guy who was a bush. I also have my horse, Torrent, my Ashes of War, and my summon. Furthermore, I was able to locate the temple that allows me to get the glorious physick today, as well.

Today’s experience playing Elden Ring

I died a bunch today from falling. I actually ended up leaving a bunch of runes behind because I kept falling in the same spot, and I got sick of getting the runes and then falling again. Generally, though, I am starting to feel a little bit better about fighting. But I don’t dare face anything that is on a horse, or has a name.

I also, when I was going under some ruins, heard someone that needed help. But, I looked and looked, and I couldn’t find them, so I will be going back to that area to see if I can find them. I don’t remember what they said their name was.

I also found the map for West Limgrave, and I got some kind of axe something. Not sure exactly what that is for yet. I was able to upgrade my weapon as well using a smithing stone.

Future Goals for Elden Ring

I am trying to make it to Caelid so that I can beat up the white dragon that is sleeping so that I can get a bunch of runes and level up. I also want to make it to a spot that has a big ball that if it falls off a cliff, I get a bunch of runes for as well.

For now, what I would like to be working on, while I’m trying to get to Caelid is to get better at aiming at enemies, because I always forget to do that in the heat of battle. Also, rolling, I need to get better at rolling out of the way or blocking.

Final Thoughts

The other thing, is how do I decide if I want to upgrade Faith or Intelligence? Or Arcane? Or all of them? Do I just find a spell or a weapon that needs one, and then go from there? So many questions. Elden Ring is very big, and I have a lot of questions that I can only answer by going through the process of playing.

Genres: What are they, why is it Important to Know?

This post is the first in a series where we discuss each genre in depth, so that you can have an understanding about each genre and the expectations for each. But, before we do that, let’s think about why this information is important? Genres, what are they, and why is it important to know your genre and the expectations that the audience has when you write in it?

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Starting with an example. Let’s say you want to write a horror novel, but you decide to subvert those expectations, and make it from the point of view of the killer. Totally fine, seems like a great idea. But, if you don’t understand that the genre has expectations to start the atmosphere of dread early on in the story, that you are supposed to be giving your audience that delicious rush of anxiety and adrenaline as they worry if their favorite character is safe; you may fall into the mistake of creating a happy atmosphere instead of one that stokes the dread in the story. Your killer may be excited about what they are doing, but that isn’t the right tone for a horror novel.

Let’s start with a list of the different genres and a brief summary of what each one is:

Genres: What are They

Before we dive into the genres, I am going to say that my list is generalized, and I will put as much information into each specific post for each genre, but this is a brief overview of the general genres.

Children’s Fiction
Literary Fiction
Historical
Young Adult
Religious
Western
Thriller
Action-Adventure
Comedy
Crime and Mystery
Fantasy
Sci-Fi
Romance
Horror

There are a lot of sub-genres for each genre. What I will do is go into each genre specifically. I will do an overview of what the genre expectations are for each genre. The general things to know are word count expectations, and then normal plot devices. For example, in a mystery, the readers expect that a person will die within the first chapters of the book, and then that protagonist will be tasked with finding the killer, and they will somehow able to do it when others can’t. A book is not a mystery if there are not several suspects running around with means/opportunity and motive.

Essentially, when looking to publish in any genre, you need to know not only the logistics of what will be acceptable, but you need to know what your readers will enjoy and pick up. There was the brief overview of genres: what are they? Please let me know if you have questions, if you would like to see something else, all of that good stuff. Thanks!

Plot:Character Arc

Recently, I realized while writing my current WIP, one of my main characters had an issue with their arc. After discussing it with a friend, I thought it may be a good subject to write about. Not only the issue at hand, but also how do we make character arcs that are compelling? Read on for more information about character arc, how to write it, why it’s important, and what kind of impact it has on the plot.

Character Arc

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What is it?

The character arc is the inner journey that the main character or characters go through over the course of the story. Usually, there is some important trait that the character(s) need to develop in order for the plot to resolve itself. For example: in A Christmas Carol the main character goes from being an old miser, who wants only to keep all of his money, to being a generous person. His inner journey is that arc. It walks hand-in-glove with the plot, all the elements that are happening on the outside.

How do you make one?

How do you make your character arc? Essentially, the first thing is to envision what you want the character to be at the end of the story. Do you want them to learn a lesson about being a better fighter? Do you want them to learn that it’s not good to be a bully? Whatever the story is that you are telling, you need to think about what you want the character to learn, and then you work from there. If you want your character to be harder than they were at the beginning, then make sure that they are soft when the story begins. If you want them to learn about kindness, then they need to be unkind.

How does this work into Plot?

It is, and it isn’t the plot, if that makes sense. The plot is the thing that the story lives on. The skeleton, or the roadmap, or whatever you want to call it. The character arc is the meat that goes on the bones, kind of, or the way that the story becomes believable, or maybe the way that the reader is able to suspend their disbelief long enough for the story to take place. The character arc is written into many plot points. There are moments where the character is able to learn a new skill. Or do something they failed at before. Those moments not only require that the character is at the right location at the right time, but that they have gone through enough mental growth that the moments are possible.

I don’t think I have one, do I need one?

Probably. Most stories involve some kind of personal growth. Even if that growth is learning a new skill (like going from being a down-on-their-luck paper pusher to being a CIA agent, or something). It is still mental and physical change, of some kind. Learning a skill will take not only practice, but also confidence building, and probably encouragement from someone the character admires. However, I will put a caveat here: there are some stories that don’t have a character arc, really long series’ like Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels. In these, the character doesn’t change much over the course of a single novel; simply because the reader expects that they will be getting into the same kind of antics during the course of the next one. Because of that expectation, we cannot have the character change and get their life together every single novel, just to have it fall apart again.

Character Arc Conclusion

At the end of the day, when you make a character arc, the trick is to think about where you want your main character(s) to end up. Then, think about what kind of story you are telling. Where can those two things meet? If you want to write a horror story, and you want to end up with a character who has learned that it doesn’t pay to be a bully; maybe you start out with your characters as camp counselors, and your main character is making the younger kids feel bad. Maybe there is one in particular they are picking on. Then, the horror starts, and the main character has to take care of the kids and make sure they are okay, and the main character’s arc is getting the kid that he made fun of to trust him, so that he will survive the ordeal.

Even though I am what you would call a pantser or a discovery writer. These things, if you want them to come out right, they do take planning. You either plan before, or you change everything during a rewriter when you figure out it didn’t work.

Plot Archetypes

Now that I’ve gone over the different plot structures here, here, here and here; I want to talk about types of plots. They say that there are only seven plots out there. That those seven plot archetypes can encapsulate all literature, and every story ever written.

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The seven plot archetypes are:

Overcoming the Monster
Rags to Riches
The Quest
Voyage and Return
Comedy
Tragedy
Rebirth

Let’s go ahead and look at each of the archetypes in detail and what kind of story you would tell while using it.

Plot Archetypes

Overcoming the Monster

This one would be used when you have a character who has an issue that needs to be resolved internally. Maybe they are an addict, and the story is about their journey to sobriety. Another, more literal interpretation could be a fantasy story where someone is captured by some kind of monster, and they have to either befriend or defeat the monster in some way. The Princess Bride definitely has this plot type.

Rags to Riches

Easy enough to figure out this story. A poor person finds success. I would say that we see this one more commonly, where someone in the first exposition has everything; then they lose it, and they have to gain it again from nothing. Cinderella would be an example, although in more modern re-tellings Cinderella does get to gain her good fortune back, in the old fairy tales, she just waited for rescue in a more passive role.

The Quest

Our characters have to do something. There are usually pretty high stakes in these types of tales, it’s important to get the baby to the person because the world may end. The most modern example of this I can think of is Disney’s Onward. Which is, of course, a movie. A book that has a quest plot is really any fantasy book you pick up. The Way of Kings has some questing, Words of Radiance as well. Any story where the characters need to find something, and the stakes are high would qualify.

Voyage and Return

This is The Hero’s Journey. The characters go on a journey, and then they return home. The journey could be far reaching, it could take them into a whole other dimension–like in The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe, or across the universe like in: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. The most popular example of this archetype is, I think, The Lord of the Rings.

Comedy and Tragedy

As they say, comedy ends with a wedding and tragedy, a funeral. When I think of these two types, I think of Shakespeare. There are so many examples of both in his works. The comedies normally revolved around a mistaken identity, while the tragedies dealt with all kinds of heavy subjects. A lot can be learned by studying the bard’s works.

Rebirth

The character is born anew. The Hunger Games books do this, do a degree. The Katniss we meet at the beginning of book one, and the Katniss that we end the last book with, are very different people. Although, whether that is due to her own inner thought processes, or simple PTSD is left up to the reader/audience to decide.

The Plot Archetypes are a mix and match bag of tricks for the writer to use. Use a Quest and a Comedy, or a Rebirth and a Tragedy. It’s important to know what kind of story that you are writing. One part of knowing that, is to understand what kinds of stories are out there. The only way to understand what exists in the world is to study it. I know it sounds boring, but it is important to know what you are doing.

Thank you for reading my post about plot archetypes, please let me know if you would like to see more of this kind of thing, or if you would like to know something else.

Warbreaker Book Review

If you are a reader of contemporary fantasy, you’ve heard of the author Brandon Sanderson. Whether you’re a fan of his work, is a different story. I have recently finished one of his standalone novels, Warbreaker, and I would like to discuss it. Here is my Warbreaker book review.

Warbreaker Book Review

Worldbuilding

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The highlight of Sanderson’s work is always the worldbuilding. If you are a lover of fantasy, this is always a major component of the work. The audience of fantasy has certain expectations that they will step into a new world, alien from our own, and that want to be completely immersed in it. Sanderson does this better than almost any other author I’ve read. He always takes religion, commerce, trade, etc. and he weaves them into the story so that the reader understands the tapestry that the characters are build upon.

If we think of our story as if it’s a rug; then, Sanderson uses all of the browns and tans to weave the background into a rich landscape–with some greens and blues really making the entire thing a rich piece. And then, he takes the main characters and makes them bright colors (relevant due to the story I’m reviewing) that we want to see, but the whole picture is fascinating too. Essentially, what I am saying, is that Sanderson is successful at world building because he not only makes us care about the characters, he also makes us fascinated in the world.

Characters

Sanderson’s books are not character studies. They are books where there is action. Think Epic battles, in some of them there are literally world altering events and battles where everything changes. These are not books where you can figure out how to imitate the quiet psychological horror a woman feels when she realizes that she’s being stalked, or something. However, that is not to say that the characters are not interesting.

Having read several of his books, I do feel like he has some archetypes that he likes to go back to, for his characters. Which is totally fine, he is a really fast writer and the characters he likes to draw on more than one time, they tend to be background characters. Personally, I don’t feel like Sanderson is the author to emulate if you are a writer who is looking to write a book that takes place in one location and is mostly in a person’s head.

Plotting

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Sanderson has a lot of ideas about plot that are more complicated than I’ve discussed. Although I have discussed that basic plot structure, which doesn’t really vary all that much–I mean really, we begin, see our main character living their life, something happens, the hero doesn’t want to change, then they have to change, a bunch of trial and error happens, and then the big action scene happens where they finally are triumphant, and then the story ends. There are a bunch of different things that happen in the middle, depending on what kind of plot you are following.

Sanderson has a LOT of thoughts about plot. He has a tendency to notice a “heist” plot, and then want to mix it with a “romance” plot or an “overthrow the government” plot. I find it interesting that he labels everything like that. I suppose that they are all plots, but I think of the plot as the structure, and then the story itself is the meat. But, it can all be the plot.

Review

As far as the actual review of the story. Warbreaker is an interesting concept, and it is well-written. The plot of the story has more romance elements than other stories of his that I’ve read. This story is one about a girl who is unexpectedly ripped from her home, and has to adapt to a new culture. It’s also about sisters, and kind of about zombies, in a very small way.

For an aspiring writer, if you are looking to write in the fantasy space, all of Sanderson’s writing is important to study. Not as important as like Anne McCaffrey or J.R.R. Tolkien, maybe, but still important. Also, he is an author that engages with his fan-base, and he also puts a bunch of writing advice out. Sanderson, as a person, is admirable. He seems to be a genuine person who wants to give others a hand up. Also, Warbreaker is available for free on his website for download.

I also want to mention, that you can view differing versions of the book on his website, so like you can view his process and how it got to be the polished end product.

The Hero’s Journey

The Hero’s Journey is the first plot type that I looked at when it first occurred to me that there was such a thing. I think it may have been the first one that appeared when I began a search. I feel like this plot type ends up in so many places, because it is so easy to recognize. Once I read about it, I immediately thought of Lord of the Rings. Joseph Campbell wrote a book called The Hero with a Thousand Faces. This book goes through all the stages of this plot type. Without further ado, here are the seventeen stages:

The Hero’s Journey: Stages

1. The Call to Adventure

As we’ve seen with Plotting: Freytag’s Pyramid, Plotting: The Three-Act-Structure, and Save the Cat Story Structure plots have a tendency to begin with a “day in the life,” The Hero’s Journey is no exception. Our hero starts out living their normal life, and then something happens, changes, or someone invites them to do something that starts them on their journey.

2. Refusal of the Call

This is also a typical moment. The hero doesn’t want to go on an adventure. They want to keep on living their life, but there are reasons that they cannot say no, or other forces that keep them from saying no.

3. Supernatural Aid

The hero receives some kind of otherworldly help in the beginning of their journey.

4. The Crossing of the First Threshold

This is where they take their first steps into the new world. They really begin their journey at this point.

5. Belly of the Whale

This stage represents the final separation of the hero from their known world and self. The hero is showing their willingness to fully immerse themselves in the unknown and change themselves for the better. The hero may have a minor setback at this stage, or some other struggle where they lose something.

6. The Road of Trials

The hero experiences a series of trials, usually in threes; before he is able to move forward in their journey. These are fluid and ambiguous. They will lose some and have to keep moving forward and gaining confidence in order to move successfully through the story.

7. Meeting with the Goddess

The hero meets someone who provides them with something that will help them later on.

8. Woman as the Temptress

Despite the poor name for this stage; essentially it’s about something that the hero wants, but shouldn’t have. It’s really about the differences between what should be and what is.

9. Atonement with the Father/Abyss

The point of the story that everything has been moving toward. This is a confrontation with an entity that holds the power of both life and death within it. The hero has to trust in the figure that they will be able to confront whatever it is they need to confront, and come out on the other end better/unscathed, etc. The thing given by the other figure earlier in the story will be helpful at this point. The two figures should be mirror images of one another.

10. Apotheosis

The hero reaches a greater understanding. They have learned the lesson that they needed to learn.

11. The Ultimate Boon

The goal of the quest was achieved. Whatever the hero set out to do, was done.

13. The Refusal of the Return

Having found success in the other world, the hero does not want to return to the ordinary world.

14. The Magic Flight

The hero may have to run with the boon, if they have angered the gods, or have made them jealous by winning it.

15. Rescue from Without

Just as they needed aids and helpers to begin their journey, the hero may need help getting back to the ordinary world. This is particularly true if they were wounded or weakened.

16. The Crossing of the Return Threshold

This one seems a bit overly complicated. The hero, not only needs to return to regular life. But, they also need to retain the wisdom they gained on their journey. And they need to share that wisdom with the people around them. That’s a little hard to fit into the last chapters of your novel.

17. Master of Two Worlds

In the end, the hero will be a master of both their inner and outer worlds. They will be happy in both.

So, those are the stages of The Hero’s Journey. Joseph Campbell’s book on the subject was published in 1949, so you will forgive a lot of outdated phrasing. However, you can easily see how any adventure story can fit into the stages. Campbell studies a lot of myths from a lot of different cultures to come up with the ways in which we tell stories across cultures.

This information is always good to know as a teller of tales, because, no matter what kind of stories you want to weave; you are adding to the tapestry of your own culture. You are putting your own mark in your way, making your own folklore if you will. Adding your own voice to the many that have come before you. And it matters. Allow your voice to be heard, remember that the way you see the world is important, your views are important. Your way telling of Beauty and the Beast or that incident that happened a couple of years ago that’s now family legend; it’s yours, and it’s important. I suppose that’s a post for another day though.

Tension and Conflict in Writing: What is the difference?

Tension and conflict are the heart of a story. Both are important tools to use, it is necessary to a successful story that the tension raises throughout the tale. The tension needs to pull the reader/audience along, it keeps them turning pages. While the conflict of the story, does the same thing, but in a different way. We will talk about these two important pieces of story. Tension and conflict in writing.

Tension and Conflict in Writing

Tension

Tension is the feeling that something bad is going to happen. That feeling of something around the corner. This is used in a lot of different ways, we up the tension between characters, sometimes it’s two people who don’t get along that well; sometimes it’s sexual tension. Other times, the tension is a feeling of things about to fall apart. The plan, so carefully constructed, isn’t going to work at all. Maybe, if your story is of the thriller or horror variety, the tension is the killer/monster getting closer, while the protagonist remains in the dark.

The tension in the story should draw tighter and tighter, before releasing, and then it should do it again. You should have several moments in the story where tension is released, and then it builds back up, before crescendoing during the climax, and finally breaking once and for all during the resolution

Conflict

Conflict, while easier to understand, can also be easy to misunderstand. Conflict is not always an argument or a fight. It can simply be a moment where the character has two things that clash with each other. Maybe they have two goals; but if they reach one, the other is hindered. That itself would create conflict in the story.

Conflict can also be direct, the protagonist and the antagonist, a fight or even a war, depending on the story. But, think about everyday life. There are lots of things that are in conflict with each other all the time. You have little arguments with your spouse/child/brother/sister/mother/father/the weird lady at the service counter. You have issues in traffic, or you have conflicting opinions in your own mind. All of these things feed into the story. Every step of the way, you should have tension that raises, and conflicts that need to be resolved.

Every story needs to have both tension and conflict in writing. Hopefully this article gave a little clarification on what that means, and how to apply to your own writing. Thank you for reading, let me know if you would like more of the same types of posts, or different ones.