tense scenes

[JamesSavik]

The scene I'm writing now is so tense I'm wanting to chain smoke, get up and pace around and chew my nails all at once.

I hope it's a good sign that it's a winning scene.

Not a bad sign that I'm in need a the laughing academy.

Now that you mention it, just might be a little of both.

Ever write a scene so tense that it jangled your nerves?

[colinian]

Yes, I wrote a tense scene. It was a torture scene being described by one teenage girl to another. It bothered me enough that I asked several of my friends to read it and each of them they said they were bothered by it. That convinced me that it should be included in my short story The Dying Game. I got some email messages and posts on CW about the story, most saying it was scary but they liked it.

Colin

[Gee Whillickers]

I always have found that my own emotional reaction to what I'm writing is the best indicator of whether or not it will have the impact I want. If I'm not scared/amused/tense/confused/hurt/aroused/excited/etc by what I'm writing, then the reader won't be either when reading it. If I am, then they are more likely to be.

[Chris James]

I find it completely enjoyable to write a scene that ramps up the excitement in a story, something that keeps the readers guessing. Oftentimes I don't plan the shocking moments, they just appeal to me if they fit well in the plot.

Trying to understand what the readers will feel is important. Gee is right, if we feel it so with they. Not that I lose sleep over some of those moments, but they do make me smile. I have always maintained that what we do is entertain...ourselves and others...so send in the clowns and just hope his name isn't Pennywise.

[FreeThinker]

I recently wrote an abuse scene that disturbed me, as well as my editor. it will not see the light of day. It is hard for me to write suspenseful scenes or create despicable characters. i can't write a tragic ending for a story. I try to write these things, but they just don't come off right. I have trouble writing about injustice. I want to end it right then and there, and its hard for me to drag it out for several chapters, waiting for the wrong to be righted.

[JamesSavik]

For me suspense is the fun. If I can get the reader rolling- charging through the novel and forgetting the clock- that's a win.

I remember when I found the Brian & Pete Saga by Dewey. I just didn't CARE what time it was. I started reading one afternoon and I was still reading the next morning at sun up. I guess it's called hooking the reader. If you can do that, they'll be back for more.

When I get a note from a reader that they read ALL of the Shadow of the Dragon/Twilight (I changed the name because the dreadful soap-opera vampires) in one sitting, I feel like that's awesome.

I'm not the guy to write literature or romance. That's not really in me but I think I can thrill ya.

[EleCivil]

Ever write a scene so tense that it jangled your nerves?

Scene? Hell, a whole story. Fistfights with Flashlights was written and submitted all in one go, with no editing or even a read-through. To this day, I've never gone back to read it. Just got a little too real for me, you know? Jangled the snot out of me.

Right after writing Laika, I started writing a direct sequel. I got a few chapters in the can, but it was really, really dark. Though I thought it fit the characters involved, and it wasn't drama-for-the-sake-of-drama, I didn't want to keep writing it. I'm not saying I can't get dark - FwF was pure insanity, Laika had themes of isolation, alienation, and conversations about suicide, and even L&L, by far my most light-hearted story, had mentions of substance abuse and self-loathing - but this one was just too difficult to write.