BUILDING A BELIEVABLE
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DIFFERENT WAYS TO DEVELOP THE SAME STORY ( CONT ’ D )
The fat old man sat behind the reception desk . He leered at me as he ran his tongue around the outer edge of his lower lip , rubbing his fat manicured hands together . “ We ' re going to be very good friends , my dear ,” he said , his voice charged with passion . A bit of saliva dribbled from the corner of his
PRESS “ CONTROL ” THEN CLICK “ BUY ” TO PURCHASE ANY BOOK mouth . I approached the desk , wearing the red merry widow and the red tutu . In my hand , I carried a ballet bag dripping with blood .
As effective as dreams are , there is a caveat . Sequences should be used sparingly unless they are an ongoing element in the character ’ s life . In this case she can have several nightmares , because no matter how hard she tries to conquer them , the nightmares continue to haunt her as part of the form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder she battles . In some ways they dictate events in her life . By revealing her inner fears and desires to the reader via nightmares , it ’ s like allowing them to peek into her soul .
THE OPTION OF USING DELAY TACTICS TO KEEP THE READER WANTING MORE
Delay tactics are great for heightening tension . There are proven techniques in both cases although it ’ s a little trickier for a story told solely in first person than one with multiple POVs . Multiple POVs allow the author to end a chapter with a cliffhanger , then switch to another character in the next . The other character fills in some of the blanks that keep the tension alive . Even when you only have one POV , ending a chapter on a cliffhanger still works to delay the solution . The trick is to constantly pose questions : Will it ? Won ’ t it ? One option for holding the tension is not starting the next chapter with the solution . If you choose this technique , be very careful not to upset the reader when they don ’ t get the answer . Consider using your character ’ s recollection of something that happened in the past , or might happen as a result of his or her decision . That memory or thought then shows why a decision or action is so difficult . Perhaps it foreshadows a significant event or will result in disaster . In doing so , you ’ ve kept the reader turning the pages , given a little more depth to why the solution or dilemma is so significant , but haven ’ t handed resolution to them on a silver platter .
OPT TO USE IMAGINATION
If you are writing in first person , using the character ’ s imagination actually acts like another character , and that passage can be written in third person . Allow the pro-tagonist ’ s imagination to tell part of the story or introduce something that they can ’ t see . An effective technique is to first use a narration , like : Clouds ruptured in the sky like burst balloons . Sheets of torrential rain pounded Martin Truesdale ’ s windshield . He fought for control of the wheel .
WINTER 2017
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