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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/48287
License name: CC BY-SA 4.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/48287
License name: CC BY-SA 4.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

@Amadeus describes an "act of patience" as "not doing". I would argue that **an "act of patience" can also be about keeping on doing, day after day, something that is very hard to do - it is about perseverance.**

As an example, take _The Wild Swans_, or any work derived from that fairy tale. The main character must knit shirts of stinging nettle for her bewitched brothers to save them from a spell, and she must maintain silence the whole time. Tension is derived both from the pain she experiences working the stinging nettle, and from it becoming increasingly harder for her to keep her silence - much that is dear to her is threatened, even unto her life itself, and she must balance that against the success of her quest. There's a strong possibility of failure - the necessary element @Amadeus speaks about.

In _The Lord of the Rings_, Sam is characterised by following and supporting, not by "daring". He observes while Frodo acts. Yet as the story progresses, more and more we're in his head rather than in Frodo's, raising arguments regarding which one of them is the main character. The role of the loyal friend is an "act of patience" - the failure we care about is not his own, but the failure of the character he supports. This is similar not to the fan at home supporting his team, but rather to the coach.  
(Note that Frodo too is characterised more by perseverance than by daring. Day after day he makes the same choice - to go on. But for him accepting the quest at least was an act of daring. He is similar to the _Wild Swans_ example. For Sam there isn't even that. Contrast them with Merry and Pippin who leap into battle.)

_The Pianist_ is a film in which the main character "acts" very little - instead he endures - an "act of patience". Here tension is derived from what he must endure, and the question of whether he will survive. I would also put _All Quiet on the Western Front_ in the same category. Such tales aren't really about the individual, but about the group this individual represents - it is acting rather than being acted upon that makes an individual stand out. But the story doesn't become less interesting for that. There is sufficient action and tension forced by the environment.

In all those varied cases, the character will continue doing as they were doing. Hence "patience". Tension, hardship, possibility of failure, must therefore be derived from the resistance increasing. If the character started out walking on solid ground, he'll find himself plodding through mud, snow, quicksand, a brick wall.

Original score: 31