by Sarah (Sally) Hamer

What’s the difference between conflict and tension? And why is knowing so important in writing? Because they are so very different. Although they are intimately connected – you really can’t have one without the other – they come from different places. … Read the post

By Janice Hardy

You can have conflict without tension, and tension without conflict. But you probably don’t want to.

I made pretty much all the writing mistakes when I first started writing, and one of them was mixing up conflict and tension.… Read the post

Part One

Some of if not the most important storytelling concepts a writer needs to understand are the concepts of tension, suspense, and conflict in stories. Those three things can captivate your audience and keep them turning pages. However, the concepts overlap enough to cause confusion.… Read the post