Use scenes to heighten the tension.
Treat your characters badly; then treat them worse. Just when the reader thinks
things cannot get worse for the character, surprise the reader with more
problems, bigger problems.
Example:
“Let’s go,” Annie said.
“Where,” Lucy answered.
“Anywhere to dodge the bullets,”
Annie said.
This dialog is rapid-fire, pardon
the pun, with short phrases and no narrative, which works well in scenes that
are fast. Trimming the sentence of all but essential words speeds the action.
Other scenes benefit by incorporating
narrative along with dialog.
“Move over,” Annie said. A smile
covered her face as she reached out and placed a gentle hand on Lucy’s shoulder.
“No,” Lucy answered as she jerked
away. She crossed her arms over her chest, a sure sign that a stubborn spell
gripped the six-year-old.
The narrative illustrates the attitudes of
each character by showing their actions and reactions as it slows the action.
Move the story forward with dialog that
introduces new information or reveals something new about the character. The
marriage of narrative and dialog takes the plot forward as characters develop, little by little.
Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:
Spellbound is a fantasy magazine for children ages 8-12.
Published
quarterly, each issue contains fantasy stories, poetry, art and more all
centered around a featured creature. Issues come in a DRM-free ePub
format. The e-zine can be read on Nooks, Kindles, iPads, Kobos and many
other ereaders, as well as laptops, desktops, tablets and smartphones.
Spellbound is dedicated to putting together a publication that
emphasizes diversity and inclusiveness. We actively seek stories, poetry
and artwork that reflect a wide range of cultures, and characters. We believe
that stories are important and can change the world and we hope to have a
positive impact on young readers.
Submission
guidelines: http://eggplantproductions.com/spellbound-magazine/
Another very useful post. Thanks, Nancy.
ReplyDeleteUsing dialog and narrative effectively adds tension and suspense, as well as speeding and slowing the action. Glad you found the post useful. Happy writing.
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