Organization: Arizona State University
Date: Tuesday, 29 Sep 1992 07:47:21 MST
From: Jon L. Campbell <KVJLC@ASUACAD.BITNET>
Newsgroups: misc.writing
Subject:    Tension, fear, dread, apprehension,,,,


My earlier posting of King's writing was an attempt to show how a well
know writer, successful, and complaisant can diviant from the norm and
still get their writing published.

In his response to my posting, Fred mentions the element of tension to
build suspence and drive the story forward with the 'what is going to
happen next' theorm.  Horror writing thrives on tension.  Some of the most
essential elements of good horror is tension, fear, dread, apprehension,
etc.  Those adjectives that describe the human emotion in its darkest and
most secretative moments are the backbone for good horror.  Developing
scenes that build tension are important to reach a climax.  Without
tension, the reader is not motivated to continue reading most of the
time.  There will always be exceptions to this rule.  This is not to say
that a horror story couldn't develop without tension.  Of course it is
possible, but this is probably also a rare occurrance in fiction.

King, in his latest novel Needful Things, does not develop tension well
enough to be considered horror.  He seems to string the reader along on
a thin thread that something will eventually happen, somewhere, somehow,
and someway.  But, is the hope of a series of tragic events or fear of
the unknown future happenings sufficient to develop a valid story based
on the premise of horror?  I'm not so sure King accomplishes his goal
of building tension in this novel.  To begin with, my understanding of
the 'hook' in a story is to give the reader something in the very begining
of a story and a little more as the story develops.

An example of a 'hook' is where in chapter one, something happens, someone
is murdered for example and the police detective assigned to investigate
the murder discovers something.  Something that could change his life and
that of his family forever.  Cut -- next chapter, new scene, the protagonist
is now trying to solve the murder and protect his family from the potential
terror that awaits.  What is the tension level in chapter one.  Well, I
would surmise to guess that it could be fairly high.  Provided that whatever
the detective found at the murder scene was personal enough for the reader
to 'care' what happens next.  The murder is the minor central scene in the
first chapter, it sets the stage for the introduction of the main idea of
the chapter.  Which is what the ploice discovered and how it effects the
detective personnally.

Developing this story can take several paths.  But it is essential that
all subsequent chapters support the development of the plot and add to
the eventual climax and closure.  Without clearly identifiable elements
of tension or fear, the idea of mayham is wasted.  There is no point in
reading any further if the reader is not wondering what the police found
and how it affects the protagonist.  What possible harm could come to the
detective if he proceeds with the investigation?  What does the murder have
to do with what was found and how does this help to develop the story?

There are a lot of possible combinations to take the story, but each path
must begin building the tension to the eventual climax in the story.

Sorry to say, King has lost some of his flair for tension.  His most recent
novel lacks the necessary elements to fully develop a crafty horror novel.
I believe that reading five or ten chapters is a little excessive for anyone
before the tension starts to build.

More to follow as I read more of his book.


Jon -  I once thought that fear was important to be scared until I
       started having children.