If the main character's not in jeopardy - physical, psychological, emotional, whatever - then you don't have any tension, and you don't have a story.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Tension is the cornerstone of any good story.
Well, if you're writing a thriller, you have to have your character in mortal jeopardy on page 1 or it's not a thriller.
As a writer, I challenge myself not to tell the same story - to tackle different characters with different issues.
Sometimes, you don't realize that something is actually a sidetrack for the story, or it takes the tension out of a scene.
In the theater there is often a tension, almost a contradiction, between the way real people would think and behave, and a kind of imposed dramaticness.
Stories in which the player doesn't inhabit the main character are difficult for games to handle.
I try to write stories that are thrilling and full of mystery and funny all at the same time, stories that raise moral questions but come up with very few moral answers, stories that emotionally touch readers through the characters.
Sometimes you have to go places with characters and emotions within yourself you don't want to do, but you have a duty to the story and as a storyteller to do it.
What writer wants to make compromises with story? Story is the only reason you're in it.
You have to go out of your way as a suspense novelist to find situations where the protagonists are somewhat helpless and in real danger.
No opposing quotes found.