Suspense is a powerful story-telling technique that we see quite a lot in thrillers, horror, action and more. Suspense is a great way to blend tension, quick and slow pacing, plot twists and more to keep the story dynamic and exciting. Most of the time, suspense gives us that feeling that we’re sitting on the edge of our seats, and that’s the goal when we curate a story around suspense. It doesn’t matter what genre you’re focusing on, suspense can really help change your story for the better. So, here is how you can make a story feel more suspenseful and achieve that gripping plot that will get your readers excited and guessing with every page turn!
What is Suspense?
Simply put, suspense is that feeling of anticipation or anxiety that something is going to happen. That something is typically associated with risk or danger of some sorts. In TV and movies, it’s a highly-used mechanic to get viewers’ attention constantly on what’s happening. Horror movies do this a lot before jumpscaring the viewer or setting up the viewer to expect a jump scare. Thriller and action movies also do this a lot, and it’s usually a combination of the camera work, music, and lighting. However, achieving this same thing in a book is harder. You don’t have a soundtrack or camera crew to help and you can’t add lighting to your book to make it suspenseful. So, you’ll have to play with words.
What Makes Up Suspense?
1. Uncertainty
One of the big pieces of a suspenseful scene is the idea of uncertainty. If you’ve ever watched a suspenseful movie, you’ll know that one of the questions that’s probably crossed your mind is: What’s going to happen next?
In a story in general, you want the reader to be asking these questions. They should not be able to easily guess the outcome of a scene and they should be wanting to turn the page desperately to get the answer. This is how you can achieve suspense with the idea of uncertainty.
2. Pacing
Pacing refers to the rhythm of your story, in terms of what events happen and how they are timed out. Paying attention to this critical part of your story is essential to building suspense, especially since suspense is judged by how it is built. Try switching between action-packed, fast-paced scenes and more relaxed ones so readers can understand the plot and the character’s feelings. The key to mastering your pacing is transitioning between these scenes as well to create a flow between the increases in tension and the slower moments and transform your plot with a rhythm to create suspense in all the right moments.
3. Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing refers to a literary tool which you can use to subtly indicate what will happen in the future in the story. These hints can often create an unsettling feel, especially if the reader does not know exactly what they mean at the moment. Be careful not to foreshadow or spoil too much though, since it might ruin what the suspense might lead to. After all, the goal is to keep readers engaged, not reveal the future plot points.
4. Misdirection
Misdirecting the reader includes providing clues or plot points that are set to lead the reader away from the real plot. They often take the form of scenes that might throw the reader off and make them second-guess conclusions they may have previously reached. They can especially be impactful in mystery stories to confuse the reader and add to the suspenseful vibe. They are also often used in murder mysteries to make the reader, who might have been sure about a suspect, confused and feeling the confusion and suspense with the characters themselves. Don’t use them too often though since they might make the plot seem overly confusing.
5. High Stakes
To build suspense, there needs to be something to lose for the character. The stakes need to be high for them and they should feel threatened or pressured by something significant. This could be the fear of physical danger or emotional tribulations. Perhaps a family member of theirs is threatened, or they feel like they’re one step away from achieving their target and something threatens that. The more pressure and higher stakes, the more the reader will be glued to the page.
In my series, The Fallen Age Saga, the main character of Book 2, Joel Vandernord, is a soldier in the United States military. As he’s fighting in a global war that involves an alien invasion, there are plenty of high stakes moments that occur. For instance, one scene takes readers alongside Joel to France where the warfront is picking up. However, things suddenly quiet down and all seems well until it’s not, but the stakes are high–it’s life or death!
Get your copy of Soldat, Book 2 of The Fallen Age Saga on Amazon!
6. Time Pressure
Time restrictions can really add suspense, especially if the reader feels the pressure of a ticking clock alongside the character. Having a pressuring time constraint can force the character to act quickly, and possibly make irresponsible decisions or ones that readers feel the pain of. Using the force of time can keep readers flipping to the next page, especially if something huge can be lost if the character feels to meet their goal within the time constraint.
7. Cliffhangers
Cliffhangers are endings that are often left open or on the brink of a thrilling moment that leave readers wondering what happens next. Using cliffhangers at the end of chapters is a great way to build suspense by having readers ask: What’s next? End a chapter with a tragedy, or with a character running and at the edge of a cliff with no escape. Make the reader feel the pressure from the confusion and uncertainty of such an open ending.
How Can You Make a Story Feel Suspenseful?
1. Develop Strong Characters
Suspense is more palpable if readers care about the characters, and to do that, the characters need to be well-rounded and relatable. Building characters with clear motivations and showing how they navigate between different tribulations can really help the reader connect to them. As a result, if the character is threatened by some obstacle, make the reader have the feeling inside them to root for them to escape that situation. When a reader feels connected to the character emotionally, they are more likely to feel and become interested in seeing what happens next.
If you want to learn how to develop strong characters, you can check out this post!
2. Create Conflict
Conflict, physical or emotional, is essential to driving your plot forward and creating exciting suspense that keeps readers on the edge of their seat. Whether it be external with a villain who aims to attack the protagonist or an internal struggle within the protagonist themself, conflict is a powerful tool that can keep readers questioning what the end will be. Using conflict, you can branch into suspenseful scenes where the protagonist is facing off against the antagonist or is forced to make a difficult decision within themself.
Conflicts are also a great way to help change or create goals for the character and, through their reactions, build how their character appears to people. Make sure to keep the conflict moving though, so it doesn’t appear boring to readers. Pacing is very important here, as you don’t want to have too many conflicts or end them too fast. Be sure to pay attention to how the conflicts you create pan out.
If you want to learn how to write really strong fight scenes, you can check this post out!
3. Use Descriptive Language
Being descriptive is a difficult choice to make, as suspense can both be built off confusion and uncertainty, but it can also be created with chilling environments. If you do choose to use descriptive language, it can be very helpful in conveying the character’s emotions and building an impactful scene. However, be mindful in how you do so as too much description can lead to a boring scene or draw the reader away from the plot.
When building a scene, you want to ask: Is the place eerie? Or is there so much noise and commotion that the character can’t focus on a single thing? Are they surrounded by enemies or alone in an unfamiliar place? How do they really feel inside themselves? Is their scream blood-curdling? Is the grass around them vibrant or dull? Pay close attention to the senses: what is the character smelling, hearing, or feeling around them.
4. Manipulate Information
Control the flow of information to your readers. Reveal details gradually and strategically to keep them guessing. Sometimes, characters might know more than the readers, and other times, readers might have information that the characters don’t. This manipulation of knowledge can create dramatic irony and heighten suspense. Even if you write using a first person POV and pay attention to the thoughts of the character, try to withhold some information that could really hold major significance if revealed later on.
5. Build Emotional Stakes
While physical danger and threats can build suspense, there is also a lot of potential in the emotional side of things. Building emotional connections between the character and other characters, as well as within themselves in relation to their goals can be a great tool to build more suspense. If the character is at risk of losing a loved one that the reader has seen them close to, or is hit with a stunning and unexpected betrayal, how do they react? Build suspense into their actions that follow as they try to save those close to them or recover from tragedy. If you write with a first person POV, show in the feelings and thoughts how important this certain emotional conflict is. Similarly, if you write in 3rd-person, show in the actions and movements of the character if they’re conflicted, nervous, or stressed out.
6. Vary Sentence Structure
Sentence structure can be very important to building your scenes and the feeling of them. Short sentences with choppy words and one main point can make the reader feel like they’re running along the page, right alongside the stressed character. Contrastingly, longer more flowy sentences can create the feeling of ease that slows down the rhythm of the story. Pay attention to sentence length as it can really make or break a scene.
7. Introduce a Menacing Antagonist
Building a menacing villain as a threat over the character can constantly build suspense, especially if the antagonist is always threatening the character, both physically and emotional. They should be unpredictable, and attack the protagonist in a manner that truly puts them under pressure. Let them corner the protagonist in what seems like an inescapable situation to keep the reader anticipating what is to happen to the character, or create a sense of hopelessness as they threaten the character with something important to them. Keep the antagonist unpredictable, and build meaningful using with them.
How to Create Suspenseful Scenes
1. Start Strong
Begin your scenes with an engaging hook so that you can draw readers in immediately. This could be a moment of action, a shocking revelation, some sort of high stakes, tense situation. A strong opening sets the tone for the rest of the scene and grabs readers’ attention. If you choose to start with some sort of conflict though, make sure to pan it out appropriately and create a balance between shocking openings and more peaceful ones to transition into scenes.
2. Tension is Key
Keep the tension high by continuously raising the stakes and introducing new complications. Don’t give your characters or readers too much time to relax. Every scene should push the characters closer to their breaking point or the climax of the story.
3. Use the Setting to Enhance the Suspense
The setting can play a crucial role in creating a suspenseful atmosphere. Dark, confined, or unfamiliar places can evoke a sense of danger and unease. Give the readers a descriptive scene that allows them to feel as though they are standing with the characters and give them moments of uncertainty within these settings. For example, a quiet room where a character expects something will jump out but all they can hear is something like rustling curtains.
4. Inner Conflict
Show the protagonist’s inner conflict and doubts. Their fear, uncertainty, and internal struggles add depth to the suspense. Giving your readers a glimpse into the mind of your characters will let the readers feel like they are on the same level as the characters and thus allow them to feel similar fears and doubts.
6. Action and Consequence
Every action that a character takes should have a consequence that propels the plot of the story forward. Try not to have all your conflicts resolved quickly, as you should leave some open-ended to give readers that feeling of dread while they anticipate how the situation will eventually be fixed.
7. Unexpected Twists
Suspense works a lot on the idea of twists and a lot of suspenseful stories include plenty of twists that shock the reader. A good twist should make your reader gasp–at least mentally. You want to make sure to include these and then calm things down to keep readers wondering about the next twist and shocking moment in the story.
Hopefully that helped! Suspense is a great tool that can be really useful in building tension and emotion in a story, but you need to do it well and you need to consider everything you’re writing, as even the smallest or subtlest of details can help add onto the tension of the story.
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