Releasing Tension

I woke up the other morning to discover kitty litter everywhere. My first thought, hazy without coffee, was that my cat had had a party to which I wasn't even invited. But since there are no other cats in our home, and I am the gatekeeper of who enters and leaves the abode, I was pretty sure that wasn't the case. My second thought was that she was unhealthy; perhaps she'd had to make a few too many trips into the kitty commode that night. But her appetite was good, her attitude bright, and she'd just passed an exam at the veterinarian. Which left only one other possibility that I could think of: she had to release some tension.

As writers, we are constantly reminded to create tension for our characters. That's fine, but if they are credible characters, they have to be able to release that tension too, just like us real people. Some of us exercise, some of us meditate. Some of us drink (too much) wine. Some of us go shopping, some of us cook; we socialize, we retreat, we might even pray. But sometimes that's still not enough.

The protagonist in my novel-in-progress has decided she's under a lot of pressure. She has set forth goals she is worried she can't achieve, and she has decided her life, and the sacrifices she's made, will have no meaning if she fails. Whether or not other characters believe she's in such dire straits is not important; it is what she believes, it is her truth.

To relieve tension, she runs with books stuffed into her backpack. She writes prolifically in her journal. But sometimes that's still not enough. As with us real people, sometimes she needs to really let go, really let the steam out of the proverbial pot, because if she doesn't then failure is almost guaranteed. Sometimes she needs to go a little crazy and scatter her kitty litter everywhere.