Writing Is Hard (And Other Things Someone Should've Mentioned)

Suspense

SUSPENSE

With nothing more than a sliver of witchlight to guide them, your hero steps into a dark, damp cave and crosses the icy waters of the bottomless lake within. Shivering, with clothes matted to their frame, they wrap their fingers around the beautifully crafted sword buried in the rock on the other side. And then the inky water behind them, still until now, begins to churn...

That feeling you get just before the slithering monstrosity appears behind them? That's suspense.

And it's crucial to any story.

What is Suspense?

Suspense is an anticipation of the outcome. It's that feeling of dread, or the delay of happiness. It's that feeling where your heart is pounding in your chest. In stories, suspense is perhaps one of the biggest elements in keeping your readers glued to your book.

So... How Do We Build Suspense?

There are many (fun) ways to build suspense. As the writer, it's your job to not only build it, but cultivate it in a way that keeps your readers present without scaring them away completely. But talking about suspense and actually building it in your piece are two entirely different things. However, I'm here to tell you that whether your genre is romance, thriller, or even historical fiction, you can build suspense. Here are my favorite ways:

Reveal something to the reader that the character doesn't know. When the reader knows something is going to happen, or that a decision is going to come back to haunt the main character, it adds a level of tension. Even if the reader knows something about the villain that the main character doesn't know, there's a level of tension built with the reader. It's like waiting for the shoe to drop. Think about it in terms of movies - the trailer gives the watcher details and snippets of what is to come, so they spend the whole beginning of the movie waiting for those details to come to fruition. And if you're able to do this subtly, your readers won't even feel the suspense until the moment you want them to.

Spice up your conflict. Though readers won't say it, they want conflict. They want to see your main character grow and they want drama. They want to see the main character get past hurdles. Adding a certain level of conflict is integral to the story. But once your main conflict is set, adding to the conflict ramps up the suspense.

Add a time constraint. Maybe you've got conflict and aren't sure how to ramp it up. Adding a time constraint to your main character's goal or conflict will amplify the suspense. Need to save the girl? Great! Suspenseful. Need to save the girl and oh my goodness there's a clock counting down until the laser hits her? Marvelous. Double Suspense.

Keep adding pressure. Adding to your conflict or adding a time constraint is one way to add suspense. But if you're able to keep upping the stakes or building the conflict against the main character, you'll continue to add to the tension of the piece. Keep in mind it's a delicate balance. Certain genres only really expect a certain level of tension. For example, if I'm reading a thriller, I'm expecting twists and turns and drama at every turn. But if I'm reading a quiet romance, and there's too much going on, I might be more apt to put the book down. Always consider the audience you're writing for. Adding pressure doesn't need to mean explosions. Adding pressure can also mean a fight with a best friend or a particularly bad day.

Create Dilemmas. If you're able to give your main character a lose-lose decision, that's sure to ramp up the suspense. Even better if you force your character to think their way out of a dilemma. Maybe they just found out that their best friend's boyfriend is cheating and they have to decide whether to tell their best friend. Maybe the experimental drug their company is working on actually kills people slowly and they have to decide whether to bring that to light and lose their job or keep it quiet and live with the consequences. These dilemmas are smaller ways to build that suspense tactfully. They also do a marvelous job of revealing to the reader more about the main character by the decisions they make. So though it's a lose-lose for the MC, it's a win-win for the writer.

Be Unpredictable. While it's acceptable to be a touch predictable with your piece (after all, readers are at least expecting to read the book as it was portrayed in the description), unpredictability is a fantastic way to quickly build suspense. We don't need major plot twists either. The smallest, most efficient way I've found to be unpredictable is actually in dialogue. Rather than having your character answer a question in a way they're expected, think about how else the character may respond and go with that. This bit of unpredictability is small but mighty. Again, we don't need explosions and Jerry Springer Show-type plot twists to achieve this unpredictability.

Keep Cards Under your sleeve. This goes a bit hand in hand with unpredictability, but having a few cards up your sleeve to reveal later is always a good thing. Whether you're a plotter, a pantser, or anything in between, it's not only fun to have hidden secrets, it's somewhat expected. There are details that the author knows the readers don't know. While you may choose to write the book with full transparency, even saving a few details and revealing them when the time is right adds to the suspense. For example, if my main character's mother has cancer, but hasn't revealed it to the main character yet, I can absolutely save it for a later chapter, after I've built the subtle details - maybe a cough from the mother here and there, or the mom choosing to sit out on a family outing. Then later, I can reveal the big detail: cancer. It's not so much hiding secrets, so much as only giving light to certain details. But man, does it have an impact!

QUESTION OF THE DAY

What's the last book you read in which you felt the author did an amazing job of building suspense?

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