Suspense is the Ingredient That Keeps Your Readers Turning Those Pages
Posted: Saturday, September 20, 2008
by oldtimer
Fortress Publishing
Whether you're writing an action thriller, a short story, or anything in between, a carefully placed piece of suspense will keep your readers turning those pages wanting to know the outcome.
But my non-fiction book on vegetable gardening, or my personal biography doesn't require the suspense element, does it? Oh, yes it does. But more about that later.
First there is the 'signpost' suspense. This is where something happens, or is said, or is described that hints at some outcome, pleasant or unpleasant, in the future. Here is an example:
'I was shown into a dimly lit room. On one wall hung a painting. It was grimed with age, but I could make out the shapes of two people, a man and a woman. The man was holding a short sword in one hand, and as I looked, I felt a strange uneasiness creep over me. Why this was so I couldn't tell just then, but I wanted to leave that room and never come back.'
The reader will get the message that something about this painting forbodes ill for the future in the story. Notice the phrase 'just then', this tells the reader that later he or she did find out. It's a signpost, a hint of dark things to come. Your readers will read avidly to find out what happens.
Next there is the 'up to their eyes' suspense. The Indiana Jones stories, as well as many others, show the hero or heroine 'up to their eyes' in some desperate physical situation that is life threatening, or at the very least may seriously damage their health. Underground passages with snakes and rats come to mind. If you want to keep your readers frantically turning pages you need to keep them in fraught situations throughout in order to build up the suspense.
Sometimes the suspense is a little less fraught with physical danger. For instance in a romance story you can keep your readers in a state of agitation which hangs on whether the heroine is going to marry the rich squire or turn him down for the penniless farmers son.
What about the biography or non-fiction book? Believe it or not, the same applies to them. For example:
'When I was 17 I longed to join the Army and fight for my country. So I went down to the recruiting office, lied about my age, and got enlisted. If only I had known what this decision would have made to my life and to that of my parents, I would never have been so rash.'
You can see that readers will want to find out how this decision changed all those lives.
'One of the most serious forms of blight is orange spot. Many gardeners say it can't be cured but I'm going to let you into my own secret cure later in this chapter.'
It's a good idea to plan at what point the suspense occurs and at what point it is resolved. In all probability the object of suspense and it's resolution in a short story may be the reason for the story in the first place. In a book you may want to have a series of suspenseful situations throughout. Do make these episodes of varying degrees, though, as you don't want your readers in a constant state of frenzy through all 80,000 words!
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Top-level comments on this article: (1 total)Excellent article with great examples! Thank you! I am going to write a book or longer short story on an expansion of a very short flash fiction piece I did (and posted here)...called Escape. I'd be interested in your feedback, if you so choose. This was really helpful. Thank you. Warmly, Barbara
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