Just chiming in here to agree with Kathy and Jeff. I love angst, which will be no surprise to most people here.
But I absolutely agree that
over-contrived angst is a big mistake. Most of my favourite stories are angsty: Masques, A Love Well Worth the Wait, Faster Than a Speeding Bullet, Love Beyond All Measure/Dimensions of Loving, Tryst, The People v Clark Kent, Rage and many more. However, if I feel that an author is cranking up the angst through means which seem artificial and contrived, I'll quickly get fed up and stop reading.
If there's a logical reason why something happens, or doesn't happen, great. If, say, Martha and Jonathan are on their European tour. If the reason you don't want them there isn't just so that Clark can writhe in even further agony but that, perhaps, he might be forced closer to Lois.
Now, that sounds like something I'd enjoy!
Wendy
