Fiveable
Fiveable

✍️Screenwriting II

✍️screenwriting ii review

10.2 Building and Releasing Tension

4 min read•Last Updated on August 9, 2024

Building and releasing tension are vital skills for screenwriters. These techniques create gripping narratives that keep audiences hooked. By mastering the art of tension, writers can craft stories that resonate emotionally and leave lasting impacts.

From rising action to cathartic resolution, understanding tension's ebb and flow is crucial. This knowledge allows screenwriters to manipulate audience emotions, creating unforgettable viewing experiences. Let's explore the tools for building suspense and delivering satisfying payoffs.

Building Tension

Creating Dramatic Tension through Rising Action

Top images from around the web for Creating Dramatic Tension through Rising Action

  • planning - To visually and logically plan out stories - Writers Stack Exchange View original

    Is this image relevant?

  • Types of Reading Material | Basic Reading and Writing View original

    Is this image relevant?

  • planning - To visually and logically plan out stories - Writers Stack Exchange View original

    Is this image relevant?

1 of 3

Top images from around the web for Creating Dramatic Tension through Rising Action

  • planning - To visually and logically plan out stories - Writers Stack Exchange View original

    Is this image relevant?

  • Types of Reading Material | Basic Reading and Writing View original

    Is this image relevant?

  • planning - To visually and logically plan out stories - Writers Stack Exchange View original

    Is this image relevant?

1 of 3
  • Dramatic tension forms backbone of compelling storytelling
  • Rising action propels narrative forward by increasing stakes and conflict
  • Conflict escalation intensifies challenges characters face
  • Emotional stakes deepen audience investment in characters' journeys
  • Writers employ various techniques to ratchet up tension gradually
  • Pacing crucial for maintaining audience engagement without overwhelming
  • Character development intertwines with rising action to amplify impact

Conflict Types and Escalation Strategies

  • Internal conflicts explore characters' psychological struggles and moral dilemmas
  • External conflicts pit characters against outside forces or antagonists
  • Person vs. nature conflicts highlight human struggle against environmental challenges
  • Person vs. society conflicts examine individual's clash with societal norms or expectations
  • Escalation strategies include introducing new obstacles, revealing hidden motivations
  • Time pressure often used to heighten urgency and tension
  • Raising stakes by threatening characters' core values or loved ones

Emotional Investment and Character Development

  • Emotional stakes increase as audience forms deeper connections with characters
  • Character flaws and vulnerabilities make protagonists more relatable and compelling
  • Backstory revelations deepen understanding of characters' motivations
  • Interpersonal relationships evolve under pressure, creating additional tension
  • Moral quandaries force characters to make difficult choices, engaging audience emotionally
  • Subplots interweave to create multi-layered tension throughout narrative
  • Character growth arcs parallel rising action, intensifying emotional impact

Suspense Techniques

Creating and Maintaining Suspense

  • Suspense generates anticipation and uncertainty about future events
  • Information control crucial for managing audience expectations and curiosity
  • Delayed gratification builds tension by withholding key information
  • Pacing alternates between moments of high tension and brief respites
  • Multiple storylines create interwoven threads of suspense
  • Red herrings misdirect audience attention and create false expectations
  • Ticking clock scenarios impose time limits to heighten urgency

Foreshadowing and Dramatic Irony

  • Foreshadowing plants subtle hints about future events or revelations
  • Symbolic imagery often used to convey foreshadowing (stormy skies before conflict)
  • Dialogue can contain double meanings that become clear later in the story
  • Dramatic irony occurs when audience knows more than characters
  • Creates tension through audience's anticipation of characters' reactions
  • Can be used for comedic effect or to heighten suspense in thrillers
  • Dramatic irony often employed in Shakespeare's plays (Romeo and Juliet's miscommunication)

Cliffhangers and Plot Twists

  • Cliffhangers leave narrative at critical moment of suspense
  • Often used at chapter or episode endings to encourage continued engagement
  • Plot twists subvert audience expectations and create sudden shifts in narrative
  • Unreliable narrators can lead to major plot twists when true nature revealed
  • Foreshadowing balances plot twists to make them feel earned rather than arbitrary
  • Cliffhangers require careful resolution to avoid audience frustration
  • Plot twists most effective when they recontextualize previous events in new light

Releasing Tension

Catharsis and Resolution Techniques

  • Catharsis provides emotional release for characters and audience
  • Climactic scenes often serve as focal point for tension release
  • Resolution of central conflicts brings narrative closure
  • Character arcs reach completion, demonstrating growth or change
  • Loose ends tied up to provide satisfying conclusion
  • Denouement allows for reflection on events and their consequences
  • Tone shifts to signal transition from high tension to resolution

Balancing Tension Release with Narrative Satisfaction

  • Gradual release of tension prevents abrupt tonal shifts
  • Some unresolved elements can be left to maintain audience engagement
  • Subplots may have different resolution timelines than main plot
  • Bittersweet endings balance emotional release with realistic outcomes
  • Epilogues provide glimpse into characters' futures post-conflict
  • Thematic resonance in resolution reinforces overall narrative message
  • Pacing of tension release crucial for maintaining emotional impact

Post-Climax Character Development

  • Characters process and reflect on their experiences
  • Relationships evolve in aftermath of main conflict resolution
  • New equilibrium established, setting stage for potential future conflicts
  • Character growth demonstrated through changed behaviors or perspectives
  • Unresolved internal conflicts may persist, hinting at ongoing character journeys
  • Supporting characters' fates addressed to provide narrative completeness
  • Tension release reveals true nature of characters under pressure

Key Terms to Review (18)

Foreshadowing: Foreshadowing is a literary technique used to provide hints or clues about future events in a story. It builds anticipation and prepares the audience for what is to come, enhancing the emotional and narrative impact of the plot.
Inciting Incident: The inciting incident is a pivotal moment in a screenplay that sets the main story in motion by introducing a conflict or challenge faced by the protagonist. This event disrupts the balance of the character's world, compelling them to take action and propelling the narrative forward into the rising action.
Antagonist: An antagonist is a character or force that opposes the protagonist, creating conflict and driving the story forward. This opposition is crucial in shaping the narrative's tension, character development, and overall theme, as it challenges the protagonist's goals and desires, often leading to growth or transformation.
Suspense: Suspense is a narrative device used to create a feeling of anticipation and tension in the audience, keeping them engaged and eager to know what happens next. It is essential for maintaining interest in a story, as it often involves uncertain outcomes, character dilemmas, and escalating stakes, which can connect to multiple storylines, pacing in dialogue, tension building and releasing, internal and external conflicts, and pacing transitions.
Tempo: Tempo refers to the speed and rhythm of the narrative flow in a screenplay, influencing how quickly or slowly a story unfolds. This pacing affects the viewer's emotional engagement, the urgency of plot developments, and the overall atmosphere, making it crucial for maintaining audience interest and delivering impactful moments.
Three-Act Structure: The three-act structure is a narrative framework commonly used in screenwriting that divides a story into three distinct sections: setup, confrontation, and resolution. This format helps to create a clear progression of events and character development, ensuring the audience remains engaged while guiding the story towards a satisfying conclusion.
Red herring: A red herring is a narrative device used to mislead or distract the audience from the true issue or conclusion in a story. It serves to create suspense and intrigue, especially in genres that rely on mystery, action, and thrillers, by leading characters and viewers away from important clues or the actual resolution of the plot.
Misdirection: Misdirection is a storytelling technique used to distract the audience’s attention away from critical elements, leading them to form incorrect assumptions or conclusions. This clever manipulation helps create suspense and surprise, especially in genres like action and thriller, where keeping viewers on edge is crucial. By planting red herrings or focusing on misleading details, writers can enhance tension and make plot twists more impactful.
Cliffhanger: A cliffhanger is a narrative device that leaves the audience in suspense, often at the end of a scene or episode, by presenting an unresolved situation or imminent danger. This technique is commonly used to keep viewers engaged and eager for what happens next, making it especially effective in action and thriller genres where tension is paramount.
Catharsis: Catharsis is the emotional release that occurs in the audience as they engage with a dramatic narrative, allowing them to purge their emotions and achieve a sense of renewal. This process is significant in storytelling, as it connects to the audience's feelings, evokes empathy, and deepens the impact of the story's emotional transitions. The ability to experience catharsis can strengthen character development and enhance the overall tension within a narrative.
External Conflict: External conflict refers to the struggle between a character and an outside force, which can be another character, society, nature, or a physical obstacle. This type of conflict is crucial in driving the plot and shaping the narrative, as it often forces characters to confront challenges that test their values and beliefs.
Internal Conflict: Internal conflict refers to the psychological struggle within a character, often involving conflicting desires, beliefs, or emotions. This type of conflict plays a critical role in shaping the character's journey and can drive plot developments, character arcs, and thematic depth.
Rhythm: Rhythm in screenwriting refers to the pacing and flow of a story, affecting how the audience experiences tension, emotion, and action. It is essential for maintaining engagement and ensuring that moments of intensity and quiet are balanced effectively, influencing not just individual scenes but also the overall structure of the screenplay.
Life-or-death situation: A life-or-death situation refers to a critical moment in storytelling where a character's survival is at stake, creating intense stakes that drive the narrative forward. These situations often evoke strong emotional responses from both characters and audiences, as the tension builds around the potential consequences of failure or success. The urgency and peril involved serve to amplify the drama and keep viewers engaged.
High stakes: High stakes refer to the significant consequences that arise from the characters' actions and decisions in a story, making the outcomes critically important for both the characters and the audience. This concept is crucial for building and releasing tension, as it amplifies the emotional investment of the viewers, keeping them engaged and on the edge of their seats. High stakes are not just about physical dangers; they can also involve emotional or social repercussions that impact the characters' lives profoundly.
Anticipation: Anticipation refers to the emotional and psychological state of expecting or predicting an event, creating a sense of tension that can keep an audience engaged. It plays a crucial role in storytelling by building suspense, allowing viewers to emotionally invest in characters and their journeys. This heightened expectation can lead to powerful emotional releases when the anticipated moment occurs, effectively engaging audiences throughout a narrative.
Anxiety: Anxiety is a psychological state characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure. It often arises in response to a perceived threat or uncertainty and can play a significant role in building tension within a narrative. Writers can use anxiety to create anticipation and suspense, engaging the audience as they relate to characters' internal struggles.
Tragic hero: A tragic hero is a character in literature, typically of noble birth, who experiences a downfall due to a personal flaw or mistake. This character often evokes pity and fear in the audience as they confront their fate, highlighting themes of human suffering and moral dilemmas. The tragic hero's journey is often marked by a struggle against internal and external conflicts that build tension leading to their ultimate demise.