The Structure of Story now available! Check it out on Amazon, via the link in our bio, or at https://kiingo.co/book
Compelling drama is all about the future. We try to keep the audience focused on what's ahead by raising questions.
The future is uncertain--and rife with emotions. Let's consider a few of the emotions that the audience may experience as we mix anticipation with uncertainty.
The Emotions of Dramatic Questions
Recall that dramatic tension is the push and pull between success and failure. It's created when a character has a goal, that goal meets opposition, and there's something at stake if the character loses. Dramatic tension creates an implicit dramatic question: Will the character win or lose?
Anytime we let the audience feel that the character is on the verge of some sort of success (particularly when it comes to dramatic tension), the audience will likely feel hope. They'll believe that it's plausible the character actually wins this thing and gets what they want.
The audience is looking forward to something happening.
When we let the audience feel that the character is on the verge of failure, on the other hand, we're likely inducing fear. The audience may begin to believe that the character's not actually going to pull this out and doom awaits them.
The audience is not looking forward to something happening.
As we'll later discuss, audiences feel suspense when a dramatic question (i.e. a question of whether a character will win or lose) is combined with uncertainty and the feeling that an outcome is imminent.
In other words, the audience feels like something good or bad might happen at any moment. They're not sure what or how things will play out, but they believe there's a chance things could turn out terribly. Suspense is an interesting mix of hope and fear.
The audience is not sure whether something bad will happen or not.
Audiences feel tense when the outcome of a dramatic question is delayed. In other words, tension is created when a suspenseful moment is stretched.
Let the audience linger in their uncertainty. Let them feel that hope and fear even longer. That's where we get explicit tension.
The audience is not sure *when* dramatic tension will be resolved.
Audiences feel curiosity when there's an implicit or explicit promise that missing information could be interesting. To create curiosity, review our tools for raising an active or passive mystery.
We've explored a few of the emotions the audience can feel when they're stuck in a moment of uncertainty about the future. But eventually that future must arrive. Eventually we must actually give the audience answers to those dramatic questions.
And in those moments, we get the emotions associated with reaction.
Audiences feel surprise when they didn't get what they expected or anticipated. There's an answer to a dramatic question but it's something we didn't see coming.
Audiences feel disappointment when they didn't get what they had hoped for. Sometimes their expectations weren't met. Other times they're disappointed that the character appears to have failed.
Audiences feel relief when they didn't get what they feared. They may feel this when the bad thing they envisioned didn't occur or the character was successful.
It's important that we understand the tools that allow us to create these emotions as we craft our stories. They'll help us orchestrate a symphony of emotions in the audience.
