Best of the ICFW Archives ~ Tension

By Marcia Lee Laycock

I love books with a lot of tension on the page - books that make you grip them a little harder than others, books that make you hold your breath.

I love the Bible for that very reason. There are so many stories in it that do all of the above. The story of Joseph, for instance, especially the scene where his brothers come before him in Egypt to beg for food, not knowing this man is the brother they betrayed. The tension on that page is palpable. What will Joseph do? Has he forgiven them or will he punish them and get his revenge at last? And the tension is drawn out as he plays games with them, throws them in jail, tells them to leave and come back again, tells them not to return without their youngest brother. (A lot of lessons for a writer to learn here). Through it all we wonder what God is doing, how this drama will play out and how God will be glorified. Even when we know the end of the story, it makes us hold our breath.

Read more at the following link:

http://internationalchristianfictionwriters.blogspot.com.au/2012/02/tension-by-marcia-lee-laycock.html