Surprise! Humor Can Help With That

How laughter can break tension resulting in a surprising climax.

Content Warning: Violence

Surprising readers and constructing inevitable aspects of a narrative is a constant battle. But what if you could trick readers? What if you could use misdirection to make a reader forget — just for a moment — that something terrible is about to happen, even if they know it’s coming?

That’s exactly what Tobias Wolff does in his s…