18.12: The Long Shadow of Unanswered Questions
Our continuing exploration of tension has taken us to a favorite technique: unanswered questions. Sure, this obviously applies to mysteries, but consider the question posed in romances: “will they get together?” In its simplest form, the unanswered question that forces a page-turn is “what happens on the next page?” In this episode we explore how to use unanswered questions to drive tension, and how to avoid some common pitfalls.
Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.
Homework: What questions have you, in your current work-in-progress, posed for the reader? Can you pose more? Look for ways to ask questions to which the story can give multiple answers.
Thing of the week: Ted Lasso (Apple TV).
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