on Fiction University:
Suspense matters in all novels, not just the thrillers and the horror stories.
The most memorable experience I’ve had with suspense and storytelling, was watching the final episode for season one of “Why Women Kill.” Despite the name, the show is a drama, not a documentary, and is brilliantly told through three sets of characters, in three time periods, all in the same house. All you know going in is that one of the women in each time period is going to kill. You don’t know who, you don’t why, and you don’t know how.
The final episode where all is revealed is sheer genius.
I literally sat on the edge of my seat, knees pulled to my chest, hand over my mouth. I was riveted.
Though we often associate suspense with characters in danger, it’s just the reader’s anticipation of something: waiting for the killer to strike, hoping for that first kiss between beloved characters, wondering when a life-changing bit of information will finally be revealed—these are all things that pique a reader’s interest and keeps them reading.
Which is what suspense is really all about. A reader who doesn’t want to know what happens next won’t read on to find out.
It’s our job as writers to create a situation that’s so tempting, so exciting, so emotional, that readers can’t put down our books.
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The key to creating suspense?
Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog 