Title - All structures seek equilibrium Tags - writing structuraltension
All structures seek equilibrium.
They want to end all contrasts in favour of stability - a condition where everything is equal to everything else.
For example:
- a warm room wants to cool to room temperature
- a cold room wants to warm to room temperature
Too hot is a tension.
Too cold is a tension.
Both conditions seek a return to equilibrium: room temperature.
In the same way, tensions in writing and other art forms seek resolution.
When you set up tensions, the observer wants the resolutions.
This works because the process of moving from unstable to stable - tension to resolution - requires energy.
In writing, it’s this energy - contained in tension-resolution systems - that keep the reader interested, engaged, and reading.
[#fritz2021forartists]: Robert Fritz (2021): The Path of Least Resistance for Artists, Newfane Press.