Skip to content

Vibe, tension, and resonance

Collect them all.

David Gane
David Gane

Vibe is genre. It is the feeling your audience gets from interacting with the story. Whether it is laughter, terror, enlightenment, understanding, or something else, it is the emotion you give them while they consume it.

Tension turns pages. It can be the conflict between characters or themselves, or it can be more abstract, such as between the reader and the story, or its own construction.

Resonance comes with time. Does your story stay with your reader or viewer for a day, weeks, or years afterwards? Or does it dissolve the moment they finish?

Ideally, you want all of them, and how you approach the work can shape all three.

Blog
David Gane

David Gane Twitter

Co-writer of the Shepherd and Wolfe young adult mysteries, the internationally award-winning series, and teacher of storytelling and screenwriting.

Comments

Related Posts

Members Public

What's it for?

Seth Godin recently asked two questions in a blog post: "Who's it for? What's it for?" When writing, do you know who it's for? It doesn't have to be an audience with a capital "A." It doesn't have to be for any audience; it can be for just you. But

Members Public

Journey with your characters

Most people can't have the whole story in their heads. Too many pieces, too many moving parts. That doesn't mean you must plan it out. Once your character's story takes shape, then begin. Allow yourself to be surprised and adapt, and let your imagination take you on a journey. That

Members Public

The lies our characters tell themselves

Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon tells the story of a priest and woodcutter trying to understand a murder by listening to the testimonies of the multiple people involved. Ultimately, they struggle to find the truth amongst the lies. A similar type of story occurs within each of us. We tell ourselves multiple