Quick Tip For Creating Tension
George R.R. Martin uses Heider’s theory of balance to create and resolve tension. To be honest, I don’t completely understand the psychology behind it (excuse my dumbassery), but in writing it basically works like this:
If the reader likes Character A and Character B, they’ll naturally want them to get along and be buddies. You want them to like each other. But if they don’t like each other (for a plausible reason), it frustrates the reader, but creates some really nice tension. (Plus they’ll keep reading because they want them to end up pals)
Likewise, if the reader likes Character A and hates Character B, they’ll want Character A to hate Character B. But if they get along, you get that sweet sweet tension.
Hope this helps!! I like to play around with this in my writing, and it can make for some really interesting interactions.
