Building Suspense and Creating Tension Part 4
HUMAN LONGING – THE MOST POWERFUL EMOTION
To “long for” something – to feel a strong desire for an object or person. To ache for, hunger or lust for, to pine or yearn for someone or something just out of reach. There’s no deeper or more powerful emotion in literature, or in life, for that matter. Consider the following two passages.
1) Since Felicia’s new coworker, Chris, came on the job, she’d only thought of him once or twice in passing. Sure, he was cute. But she was too busy with her painting to give much thought to romance. Likewise, since meeting Felicia two weeks earlier, Chris had by now forgotten Felicia’s name. If anyone had asked him, he probably would’ve said her name was Chelsea or Lisa. He too had other things on his mind. Calculus finals were coming up.
or,
2) Since Felicia’s new coworker, Chris, came on the job, she couldn’t stop thinking about him. God almighty, she thought. Those eyes. Chris was the first thing on her mind when she woke up in the morning, and the last thing she thought of going to sleep. “I feel like I got struck by lightning or something,” she told her best friend, Robin. Chris was no less smitten. As hard as he tried to focus on his calculus finals, Felicia’s beautiful face kept intruding into his thoughts. “I’ll be lucky to even PASS the exam,” he told his best friend, Pat. “My Dad’s gonna kill me if I fail that test!”
I don’t know about you, but if I had a choice, I’d much rather keep turning the pages on the second passage. Just writing those sentences stirred something inside me, and made me want to stick around and see where Felicia and Chris were headed. What reader couldn’t identify with a longing like that?
Unfulfilled longing presents readers with a tantalizing and naturally compelling narrative that pulls them into a story, in hopes that in the end, your character’s longing will be fulfilled. What is it about a character with a passionate, but unfulfilled longing? What makes such a person one of the most sympathetic characters in literature?
The answer is – everyone longs for something. Everyone yearns in their hearts for someone or something. It’s simply the way human beings are designed. We’re all wired to feel an emptiness inside, a hole that needs filling.
So which of the following would be the best way for you as a writer to keep the reader interested in Felicia and Chris?
Three weeks later, Felicia and Chris have gone on their first date. After a wonderful evening, Chris walks Felicia to the door of her apartment.
1) They kissed for a moment before Chris took Felicia’s hand. “Um…I was wondering, could I spend the night?”
Felicia shrugged. “Um, yeah, sure. Why not.”
or,
2) Chris was so nervous his hands were shaking. When he took Felicia’s hand and held it to his chest, she felt his heart racing. Looking deep into Felicia’s eyes, Chris started to speak. But instead, he kissed her hand, and without a word, walked down the stairs and back to his car. Felicia stood there, breathless, and watched until his car was out of sight.
In the first passage, we get what? Consummation. And consummation is the last thing the reader wants. At least not in the beginning. What keeps the reader’s interest, is the yearning, the pining for the object of their desire. Whatever the character longs for, be it romance, fame, fortune, or adventure, the name of the game here is WITHHOLDING.
Readers DO want consummation in the long run. But you must make them wait. What makes readers persist in turning the pages is the hope and belief that your protagonist will overcome all of those deliciously horrible obstacles you place in their way, and ultimately obtain their heart’s desire and live happily ever after.
But before they satisfy that longing, they must first encounter conflict and overcome trials and adversity.
