We humans share the tendency of presenting a happy face to the world. If you think about it, this proclivity reflects another way of thinking about isolation.

When we only let people see one side of us, we are, by definition, isolating ourselves. Yet, if telling the truth opens you up to ridicule or attack, why would you reveal your fears or shames or secrets? Why would your characters? As an author, you can use this shared human trait to develop believable scenes, characters your readers will find empathetic, and a theme that resonates.

No matter your genre or your storyline, isolating a character or having a character deal with the consequences of isolation will help you heighten tension, the foundation of suspense. A history of isolation can explain aberrant behavior in those with malevolent intentions just as isolating your protagonist in real time can test a heroic character’s mettle. Isolation might temper the strong, as the great artist, Paul Cezanne, remarked, but it can also crush the weak. Using this capability helps you harness the power of isolation.

Two broad categories of isolation that support four dimensions of conflict… these imperatives will help you create plots that readers can’t put down, and those are the books that readers crave, and those are the books that sell.

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