Writing Advice from the Bookshelf: Donald Maass on Tension on Every Page
Excerpt from “Low Tension Part III: Tension on Every Page” in Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook: Hands-On Help for Making Your Novel Stand Out and Succeed by Donald Maass:
How interesting is it to hear two people passing the time of day? Usually, not very. Why is it, then, that so much dialogue in manuscripts is of the how-are-you-would-you-like-a-cup-of-coffee variety? Mere talk does not keep us glued to the page. Disagreement does. Friction in dialogue arrests our attention. It begs the unspoken question: Will these people be able to resolve their differences? We slow down and read the next line to find out.
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Works Cited:
Maass, Donald. Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook: Hands-On Help for Making Your Novel Stand Out and Succeed. Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books, 2004. 148. Print.
