Romance
The best romantic tension usually lives in the awkward gap between what the reader can see and what the characters are willing to admit. If both people feel the pull but keep finding perfectly sensible reasons to be difficult about it, the relationship has some teeth.
Too often the obstacle is treated like a plot device instead of a character habit. Much better when the resistance is embarrassingly human: caution, pride, bad timing, old hurt. Attraction is obvious. Behaviour, naturally, is another matter.
Too often the obstacle is treated like a plot device instead of a character habit. Much better when the resistance is embarrassingly human: caution, pride, bad timing, old hurt. Attraction is obvious. Behaviour, naturally, is another matter.
Sometimes the obstacle isn’t even resistance. It’s habits that have become so ingrained the characters mistake them for personality. He tells himself he’s being considerate, she calls it self-protection, and meanwhile the poor reader can see they’re both just terrified of looking foolish. That’s where the tension gets its grip.