Have you ever found yourself on the edge of your seat, heart racing as you watch characters navigate the complexities of their relationships—like a game of emotional Jenga where one wrong move could topple their world? This captivating analogy, introduced by Margaret Lyons in her review of the Australian drama Last Days of the Space Age, brings to light the delicate interplay of character dynamics in storytelling. Just as each block in a Jenga tower relies on the others for stability, so too do the intricate connections between characters shape the narrative’s trajectory. In this article, we’ll explore how to stack those character dynamics effectively to create a gripping, unpredictable story that keeps your readers guessing—after all, the best tales thrive on tension and emotional stakes! Ready to dive deep into the architecture of storytelling? Let’s get started! LEARN MORE.
Writegeist
Stack a precarious tower of character dynamics to craft a gripping, unpredictable narrative.
While reading the New York Times “Watching” newsletter this week, I came across a phrase that stopped me in my tracks. Margaret Lyons, in her review of the Australian drama Last Days of the Space Age, described the show’s tangled relationships as “emotional Jenga.” She writes, “There’s a dreamlike overlap to everything, a snarled and intractable layering of all the relationships… It’s emotional Jenga for everyone.”
That phrase — emotional Jenga — immediately got me thinking about the emotional architecture of storytelling. In the same way that removing one block can destabilize an entire Jenga tower, character decisions in a well-crafted narrative can send ripples through the plot, intertwining each emotional arc. When done effectively, these interconnections don’t just raise the stakes — they create a precarious balance where every move feels loaded with consequence.
It doesn’t take an ensemble cast like The Fellowship of 9 characters in The Lord of the Rings or the collection of families in “Big Little Lies” by Liane Moriarty to weave a precarious, interconnected tower. Even…
