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Suspense OR compelling characters (pick one)

AliceL

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Was doing some thinking and got wondering what some of you guys' opinions are on a story with either masterful suspense OR compelling characters, and which of the two you think is more important in telling a good story.

Naturally both are important and you wouldn't want to skimp on either, but purely hypothetically speaking if you could only choose one, which would it be and why?

For me personally, I feel like relatable and lovable characters are the most important thing. I've heard a couple people on here say how you can make a gripping page-turner with nothing but good suspense, and I can see that, but without anything else there's no reader connection. Whereas you can have a story with almost no tension but if the characters are interesting and complex it can make even mundane actions enjoyable. I'm also a sucker for character driven stories so I could have some bias here, haha.

Let me know what you all think!
 

The Urban Spaceman

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Compelling characters can create suspense, but no amount of suspense is going to create compelling characters. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Unbeliever was quite suspenseful, but damned if I didn't want to stab Thomas Covenant to death after the first handful of chapters.

Sadly he's fictional, so no stabbing took place. But I do like to imagine.

That said, I could probably create a fairly suspenseful story with a bunch of anthropomorphised household items, if we're talking something the length of flash-fiction. So I suppose it depends very much on the writer and the audience. Not everybody wants to know why the dish ran away with the spoon, even if it is a lurid tale of envy and betrayal.
 

Brightdreamer

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Why would I have to pick one?

Characters must be compelling enough to keep the reader turning pages. Suspense, as in horror-movie-actress-approaching-the-nasty-Keep-Out-door-while-the-soundtrack-blares-ominously suspense, is optional, and cannot be sustained for the length of a novel at the same level a compelling character needs to be sustained... though some interest/"suspense" is required to keep readers turning pages, too, even if it's just wondering what happens next.
 

JoB42

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Dan Brown or Herman Hesse... Dan Brown or Herman Hesse?

I don't know. It's just so hard to pick.
 

DarienW

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Not everybody wants to know why the dish ran away with the spoon, even if it is a lurid tale of envy and betrayal.

:ROFL:

I generally prefer character driven stories, but some details are less compelling than others. I'd be down with the lurid tale though!
 

blackcat777

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Compelling characters can create suspense, but no amount of suspense is going to create compelling characters.

If a character is compelling, chances are they're packed with internal conflict... which in itself should create suspense. The suspense just might be more psychological than external.
 

AliceL

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If a character is compelling, chances are they're packed with internal conflict... which in itself should create suspense. The suspense just might be more psychological than external.

Ah! You've put into words what was swirling around in my head that I couldn't quite put my finger on! This helps me rethink my original question in a way that may be more clear and that is:

Do you prefer internal psychological conflict (character driven) or external physical conflict (action driven) in your own writing and what you read? For me I like both but feel that a story with strong internal conflict but lacking external physical conflict is more interesting than a story with strong external conflict and flashy action but weak internal conflict/character psychology.


Faux-dichotomy. What exactly is the purpose of this question?

caw

As for the purpose of the question: as clarified above in what I'm trying to ask exactly, I'm interested in seeing what some of the forums' opinions are on internal vs external conflict and which people find more interesting/important in general. In short I'm just curious about people's preferences haha.
 

AliceL

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Why would I have to pick one?

Characters must be compelling enough to keep the reader turning pages. Suspense, as in horror-movie-actress-approaching-the-nasty-Keep-Out-door-while-the-soundtrack-blares-ominously suspense, is optional, and cannot be sustained for the length of a novel at the same level a compelling character needs to be sustained... though some interest/"suspense" is required to keep readers turning pages, too, even if it's just wondering what happens next.

I totally agree!

I guess I asked for only one in this case because of something I saw someone post on here to another thread about how having good suspense mechanisms is the only thing a story needs to be a page-turner. So I figured I would gather some additional opinions before forming my own judgement
 

blackcat777

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There is no spoon. ;)

I think the best mix of conflict is when the external circumstances trigger or bring to surface something inside the character that the character doesn't want to face. Mirroring of internal and external, making them one and the same, making everything on the outside a choice that forces your character to either confront or deny the inner darkness.

And then set up other characters with similar internal conflicts who employ contradictory coping mechanisms. Mandelbrots of conflict.
 
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blacbird

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As for the purpose of the question: as clarified above in what I'm trying to ask exactly, I'm interested in seeing what some of the forums' opinions are on internal vs external conflict and which people find more interesting/important in general. In short I'm just curious about people's preferences haha.

It was the "pick one" in the thread title that raised my eyebrows. Too often here we get these either/or questions that really aren't very helpful. And the upthread comment by Urbanspaceman ("Compelling characters can create suspense, but no amount of suspense is going to create compelling characters.") nails the issue exactly for me, as a reader. By no means does every engaging novel depend on "suspense", but every engaging novel, for me, needs engaging characters. I read a lot of mystery fiction, so suspense is an important attractor for my reading. But it isn't the only one.

caw
 

The Urban Spaceman

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If a character is compelling, chances are they're packed with internal conflict... which in itself should create suspense. The suspense just might be more psychological than external.

Amen!

Do you prefer internal psychological conflict (character driven) or external physical conflict (action driven) in your own writing and what you read? For me I like both but feel that a story with strong internal conflict but lacking external physical conflict is more interesting than a story with strong external conflict and flashy action but weak internal conflict/character psychology.

In an ideal novel (IMO), they should feed into each other. The character's internal conflict should create agency and inform their decisions (for better or worse) when they're put into situations which put them under duress or otherwise cause their internal conflict to come into play. For example, a character who believes their parents were abducted by aliens when he/she was a kid, while everybody else believes his/her parents just ran off and abandoned their kid, is maybe going to react differently to you and I when an alien spaceship crashes in the parking lot outside the local 7-11.

So, I prefer a balance. But a good story is a good story, and there's no magical recipe for success. Either I like something and it grabs me, or I meh it. I don't generally put my writer head on and analyse things like internal vs. external conflict when I'm reading a book. I'm just looking for good story-telling.
 

Curlz

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Was doing some thinking and got wondering what some of you guys' opinions are on a story with either masterful suspense OR compelling characters, and which of the two you think is more important in telling a good story.
That will depend on the definition of "good story". What's yours?
 

edutton

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Not everybody wants to know why the dish ran away with the spoon, even if it is a lurid tale of envy and betrayal.
:ROFL:

ETA: As the derail below probably shows, I believe characters are the most important part of the stew. :)

Also, f*ck Thomas Covenant. The only redeeming feature of that series was the amazing secondaries he created - Vale, Bannor, Hile Troy, the Ranahyn... Saltheart Foamfollower is one of my favorite characters in all of fantasy fiction.
 
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Harlequin

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I got nothing more to add to the excellent comments above.

I did find Covenant compelling, though. If nothing else he was a refreshing change from the usual. A kind of subtle commentary slash deconstruction of fantasy worlds in modern terms.
 

Barbara R.

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You can have suspense without compelling characters. Agatha Christie's cast of characters (with the exception of her main characters) were absolute stereotypes without a grain of originality in them. But the whodunnit aspect of the story still compelled readers to keep reading. It's an intellectual hook, not an emotional one.

That said, I agree with those who say "Why choose?" Tension arises naturally when characters you care about get in trouble, and you can't care about characters who don't feel real.
 

zanzjan

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You have to care about the characters for the suspense to be compelling.

^This

The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Unbeliever was quite suspenseful, but damned if I didn't want to stab Thomas Covenant to death after the first handful of chapters.

^so much this.

I was on a bus tour of England, Scotland, and Wales when I was 13, and we stopped at some gas station in the middle of nowhere that had a tiny mall attached, in which was a used book store. I had about 5 minutes before having to get back on the bus, so I picked out books *solely* on their covers.

They were the first Thomas Covenant trilogy and a Gor novel.

I am still yikes.

It was the "pick one" in the thread title that raised my eyebrows. Too often here we get these either/or questions that really aren't very helpful.

Helpfulness is sometimes in the eye of the beholder, and not everyone is at the same place in their writing journey. (How boring would conversations be if we were?) Patience and kindness are excellent gifts.
 

Enlightened

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As for the purpose of the question: as clarified above in what I'm trying to ask exactly, I'm interested in seeing what some of the forums' opinions are on internal vs external conflict and which people find more interesting/important in general. In short I'm just curious about people's preferences haha.

I think it is important to discuss round vs. flat characters. Round/complicated/sympathetic characters, what writers and readers want, have some degree of internal conflict. Brandon Sanderson tells of a spectrum of "everyday man" and "superman." He notes, often, characters embark on a journey to go from everyday man to superman. We see this in stories like Spiderman, where Peter Parker is a student (wannabe scientist), an everyday man. Over time, he becomes a "super man" by becoming Spiderman. Sanderson speaks of flaws vs. limitations. These add to the internal conflict and "roundness" of characters. Readers want to be sympathetic of characters. No external forces/conflict can make this happen without the characters having their quirks, problems, triumphs, failures, and so on.

I think internal conflict is more important for characters. They can be at odds with anything external, as long as it is deemed a serious enough threat to test them as individuals or in groups.
 

Lakey

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I think the best mix of conflict is when the external circumstances trigger or bring to surface something inside the character that the character doesn't want to face. Mirroring of internal and external, making them one and the same, making everything on the outside a choice that forces your character to either confront or deny the inner darkness.

And then set up other characters with similar internal conflicts who employ contradictory coping mechanisms. Mandelbrots of conflict.

^^ Oh, oh, yes. A perfect, genre-agnostic encapsulation of my own personal preferences as to what makes for excellent fiction, and perfectly stated as well.