The Yin and Yang of Creative Writing

Much of the power of fiction derives from the tension between what is present and what is missing (the Yin and Yang of creative writing?)  Often, it is a sense of yearning or curiosity to explore this gap which drives a plot forward, so this is a factor which is well worth considering when you are planning a story, or thinking about how you can improve the construction of it.

This intriguing idea of discrepancy can be expressed in a number of different ways:

• Between the past and present.
• Between reality and aspiration.
• Between the known facts of a situation and the unknown ones.
• Between what you've had and what you've lost.
• Between the dead and the living.
• Between how your character sees herself and how others see her.
• Between power and impotence.

I'm sure you can think of hundreds iof examples of your own and -- who knows -- one of them may be the springboard for a new story or a useful way of fixing up an old one.

Perhaps this tension is also what lies at the heart of my fascination with doors: the interplay between the present, outside the door, and the unknown country that lies across the threshold....