Yes, I'm writing two posts today because this one doesn't have any links but it might start a nice discussion.
I read an essay last night called "Stepping Into the Shadows" by Charles L. Grant. He was writing about dark fantasy and how to create tension. It's a very cool example.
"Consider a thunderstorm. Watching the sky darken, watching the clouds move in, listening to the thunder working over the horizon, seeing the lightning flare over the tops of far trees--all this creates tension. The air changes, the wind changes, the light changes. You can feel a storm. You know it's coming your way. And there isn't a damn thing you can do about it.
That's tension, and that's what you want to inflict the reader with. That's what you have to create if you want the reader to feel that chill.
If all hell breaks loose right away, from the opening paragraph, from the opening scene, what's left? Not much, because sooner or later the reader gets used to it; and once that happens, the storm loses all its power."
This goes against everything we're being told about writing stories. That first rule that says you have to jump straight into the action, that you can't let the reader take a breath, that you have to keep pounding away to keep the reader involved. And yet, what Mr. Grant says makes perfect sense, and not just for horror or fantasy, but for everything you write. Every story needs tension, but wouldn't building that tension gradually be better for the story than just jumping from one tense scene to the next?
6 comments:
I used to always start my stories this way, or try. These days I tend to go more for the action start, but I love stories that begin with atmosphere
Talking here as a retired marketer, what "rules" a writer observes depends on the target audience and what it takes to grab and hold their attention. For some it needs to be action; others can be enticed by atmosphere.
I liked the opening of Patti Abbott's story over at Education of a Pulp Writer yesterday. "Helen eventually settled on the 31st of July as the date of her death."
So do I, Charles, and I miss those kinds of stories.
That's a great opening, Ron! And Patti always manages to open with a statement that grabs your attention rather than begin with an action-packed scene. Something like that goes into the storm building category.
I wrestle with this all the time. My impulse is to find my way into and hope the readers will be willing to do the same.
I tend to do that, too, Patti, then I usually delete it and start with the action.
When I think about your stories, I wonder if when we know the writer's work that we're more accepting of the slower/softer starts because we know the payoff at the end will be well worth the journey?
Personally, I like to gradually move into the action, be it as a writer or as a reader.
If it starts action packed and continues all the way through, it will lose me as a reader, and probably as a writer as well.
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