Suspense vs Tension

gothicangel

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Okay, so reading a book called Story Trumps Structure and this has confused me a bit.

Suspense: A quality in a work of fiction that arouses excited expectation or uncertainty about what might happen.

Tension: The element in a novel which evokes emotions such as worry, anxiety, fear and stress on the part of both the reader and characters.

Is this not the same thing, or are they closely related? Is suspense a plot thing and then tension something that works on a character level? Confused.
 

InkFinger

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I think of suspense as not knowing. I think of tension as knowing, or thinking you know, and wanting something different.
 

Ari Meermans

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We're used to saying novels must have conflict, yeah? Tension is generated in that push-pull of goals (conflict), in the strained relationships between the characters, when the MC's dream takes a nose-dive or is caused by finding their life isn't what they planned or thought it would be. Suspense really only comes into play when the element of danger rears and there's no way the reader is going to get any sleep tonight until they find out what happens to the character—will they escape the deathly trap, will they be seriously injured, will they be killed? All novels have tension but not all novels are suspenseful.
 
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Woollybear

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Ari's explanation sounds right. (Inkfinger's intrigues me and is getting filed under 'hmm.')

Tension can be present in every scene, every sentence. When we trim inane dialog out of a scene, that alone increases the tension. Tension is like a string being pulled tight. Tuning a piano or a guitar--get the tension right.

When tension de-escalates too easily (is too easily resolved for the reader) the blame can be down to a phrase or two. There's sometimes (usually?) a simple fix to keep the tension present and avoid deflating it.

Suspense seems to me to be something that builds over chapters ('what might happen.'). Will they find the killer before another innocent girl is stabbed? Lots of tense moments before we know the answer to the question.
 
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Goshawk31

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To me, suspense is where you don't know what's going to happen (and, if the writer is any good, you actually care).
On tension, it's any kind of conflict.
Suppose you have a battle scene, two armies fighting. The suspense might be which army will win the battle and thus the prize of whatever it is. The tension might be between knight A and knight B slashing swords at each other. Which one will strike the killing blow?
The two are obviously very closely related but I guess I'm saying that suspense is more long term while tension is the here and now.
All that said, I love inkfinger's definition. Never thought of it that way before.
 

Maryn

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Clearly there's no general agreement on the difference.

For me, suspense is in the not knowing, but there's a real possibility things could go badly. It's your basic plot set-up. Will the kidnapped child be found alive and well? Does the sniper succeed? Do the aliens mean humans harm?

Tension is the rapid approach of a turning point in the story structure. It can be created by a literal "ticking clock" (will the ransom be picked up in time for the child's return?) or by circumstances coming to a head (the target's schedule goes public and the sniper is all over it), or by an uncertainty becoming clear (the aliens meet with world leaders at the UN).

A novel's tension rises and falls, but the suspense remains until the plot's resolution.

Maryn, opinionated as usual
 

DeleyanLee

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Love that book, BTW.

IMO: Suspense and tension are two different reader reactions, depending on when/how the author has provided information.

Tension is when the reader only has the questions they want answered, and they want them answered NOW.

Suspense is when the reader knows stuff the characters don't, and they're seeing the characters make bad/dangerous choices.
 

Layla Nahar

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Tension is also used in music composition, as in 'tension and release. So the tension builds up, you know the piece is going somewhere and you know where that somewhere is when you get to the release. A symphony, a song, what have you is made of a series of these things, and the composition builds up to one final point.

So I would say that tension would be about the forward motion of the story, and suspense would be a quality of a certain point (or points) in the story.
 

gothicangel

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Thanks, this is helping a lot.

Another question about tension. Most of what we have talked about is tension as plot. Is it also correct to think about tension as something which causes conflict the MC's inner and outer problems? So, in my WIP my MC's son has been kidnapped, but to rescue him my MC has to face up to his past (something which has him paralysed with fear). Tension is created as he edges his way through the fear towards the final confrontation with his past?
 

Woollybear

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In my view, yes, and I think Ari's answer gets at this--the push-pull is conflict, and it creates tension. Inner and outer problems should come into conflict, I believe, and this creates some of the story tension.

In her heart Jen knew he was right, but she'd never admit as much.

To my way of thinking, that sentence alone has some tension. It's a conflict between two warring parts of Jen, and in the right context those two clauses could easily relate to her inner and outer problems, respectively.

Your example sounds of working through fear to save a loved one sounds like a good example of a way to create tension.
 
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