Ready for another fun crit round?
This week, we're going to focus on tension. We all know that tension is what propels a story forward, makes us want to keep reading. It's like a sneeze that builds up and won't come out unless we stare at a light bulb. (No, seriously; it works. Have you tried it?) The sneeze feels so much better after all that build-up.
That was a weird analogy, but give me grace; it's Monday.
So I want you to submit a 250-word excerpt from anywhere in your novel. And I want to feel the TENSION building.
Note: Do not choose a scene that includes the resolution of the tension. Keep us dangling. I want some palpable tension that forces me to beg for more of the story!
Tension doesn't always equal fear, of course. It can be friction between two characters, a situation that's coming to a head, anxiety, a race against time, complications added to an already complicated development, and yes, sheer terror. So pick a scene where you really want your readers to feel the tension, and submit via the following guidelines:
Send a 250-word excerpt to facelesswords(at)gmail.com in the following format:
TITLE:
GENRE:
One to two sentences to give us a lead-in to the scene.
The 250 words, minus weird fonts (italics are okay).
I will accept submissions until Wednesday, October 29, at 9:00 am EDT. I will post them all later that day so we can jump right in with the crits.
Please post your questions here!
Miss Snark's First Victim
Yay! I'm excited!
ReplyDelete*runs off to manuscript to search for great TENSION scene*
Tension??? *goes and looks*
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't need to be finished or ready to query, right?
That's right -- when we have our in-house crits, the manuscripts do not have to be finished. :)
ReplyDelete:) Yay! I have a scene from a new book that's sopposed to be tense but I'm not sure is doing the job :o) I think that will be my victim this round.
ReplyDeleteOMG! I so stare at light bulbs, the sun....whatever is bright if I need to sneeze!
ReplyDelete:) Terri
Well, if you've read Donald Maas' book, "Writing the Breakthrough Novel," you'd understand that tension is supposed to be "on every page."
ReplyDeleteBut this should be fun!
Terri -- I was waiting for SOMEONE to say it! :)
ReplyDeleteAnon -- Yep, I've read it. I've deemed it one of the "less helpful" books for writers out there; it's pretty esoteric if you're looking for nuts and bolts. But if what he said about tension is true, then it should be fairly easy for everyone to pick a page to submit. :D
Can we enter more than one tense scene from the same manuscript?
ReplyDeleteCheck back with me tomorrow around the same time. If submissions aren't overly heavy, I'll open it to a second submission from anyone who has one.
ReplyDeleteCool! *debates* I'll ruffle through what I have and see what I can find. ;)
ReplyDelete~Merc
Woo! Tension! This should be good. *is off to see what she can rustle up*
ReplyDeleteUm, what time does it end London time? :D
ReplyDeleteYuna! You've been around this long and you STILL don't have that figured out? ;D
ReplyDeleteyay!
ReplyDeleteHi! I'm new to your (excellent) blog and while I hate to be the annoying newbie asking the annoying questions . . .
ReplyDeleteMy scene is 272 words. Would you prefer I cut out twenty-two words or should I just submit as is? Thanks!
Hi Kris!
ReplyDeletePeople who ask questions are not annoying. People who do stupid things because they DIDN'T ask questions are annoying! :D
I don't mind when subs go a little over in the interest of keeping the final sentence intact (say, 254 words or so). But 272 is kinda pushing it. See if you can cut a sentence off the top or bottom to get closer to the 250 limit.
Sounds good - thanks. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is so much fun. Thank you, Authoress
ReplyDelete