A Simple Way to Create Suspense (article)

[Mrs. de Winter]

I thought this was an interesting read. The author says the best way to create suspense or drive your narrative is not by worrying about the ingredients of your story, but by asking questions and then delaying the answer. Thoughts?

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com...e/?ref=opinion

[Bufty]

For an article intended to show how to create suspense and hold a reader's attention I found it dreadfully boring (ETA even though I see it was written by Lee Child) and I stopped reading long before the end.

[Kallithrix]

Originally Posted by Bufty

For an article intended to show how to create suspense and hold a reader's attention I found it dreadfully boring and I stopped reading long before the end.

Oh god, me too. Added a certain irony to the smug comment about how he was creating suspense in the article. At the 'and you're still reading' part I instantly said 'not anymore I aint, bud' and closed the window.

And this technique can fall flat for other reasons too. I recently betaed a friends chapter 1, and the first line raised a very definite question that needed an answer. 1300 words later, it still hadn't been answered, and was starting to require more than a little author subterfuge and sleight of hand to avoid answering it. The eventual revelation was anti climactic. Therefore instead of suspense, what she had created was false tension that quickly resulted in the readers' frustration and annoyance.

Suspense is fine, but the payoff has to be in proportion to the pain and duration of the wait.

[Undercover]

Two many analogies like baking a cake or a movie or something, simple way is to keep the reader hanging till the end.

[Mrs. de Winter]

Originally Posted by Kallithrix

Oh god, me too. Added a certain irony to the smug comment about how he was creating suspense in the article. At the 'and you're still reading' part I instantly said 'not anymore I aint, bud' and closed the window.

And this technique can fall flat for other reasons too. I recently betaed a friends chapter 1, and the first line raised a very definite question that needed an answer. 1300 words later, it still hadn't been answered, and was starting to require more than a little author subterfuge and sleight of hand to avoid answering it. The eventual revelation was anti climactic. Therefore instead of suspense, what she had created was false tension that quickly resulted in the readers' frustration and annoyance.

Suspense is fine, but the payoff has to be in proportion to the pain and duration of the wait.

I agree--I think like anything in writing it can be done well or not so well. Like you said, when the author has to go out of their way to hide information from the reader just to keep the "suspense" going, it's just annoying.

[Billycourty]

Boring or not, the comment about the remote was awesome. I never knew that!

[Scribhneoir]

Originally Posted by Billycourty

Boring or not, the comment about the remote was awesome. I never knew that!

Hmm. When he posed the question, I assumed the answer was "VCR." I know my family's TV had a remote long before 1980. By 1990 we had too many remotes ...

[writeontime]

I read the article the other day and got momentarily stuck on pondering the comparison between baking a cake and writing suspense.

Still, it was interesting to read his approach on it.

Other than that, I have to confess that when it comes to reading or viewing suspense/thrillers, I'm a terrible example. I tend to read the first chapter and then skip to the end to discover who's the perpetrator. Similarly with films and the current Danish noir series The Killing - I have to read the spoilers before I can actually settle down to watch it (The Killing) in peace.

[Billycourty]

Originally Posted by Scribhneoir

Hmm. When he posed the question, I assumed the answer was "VCR." I know my family's TV had a remote long before 1980. By 1990 we had too many remotes ...

Tee hee, honestly I have no idea when telecomands were invented. My family lived in a cave, then a tin shed so you know, tech is tech. However, I still found the comment funny because it would had occured. And I never thought of that!

[Scribhneoir]

Originally Posted by Billycourty

Tee hee, honestly I have no idea when telecomands were invented.

Zenith's first wireless TV remote control went into production in 1956.

When I was a kid, my dog could change channels by scratching and jingling the tags on his collar. The jingling tags hit just the right frequency and we'd suddenly be treated to a quick sampling of every channel on the spectrum until the dog's itch was relieved.

[BethS]

Originally Posted by Scribhneoir

Zenith's first wireless TV remote control went into production in 1956.

Actually, it was not their first wireless remote. It was their second. The first one used used photocells and a flashlight.

I'm fascinated that wireless remotes were around that early. We never had one at our house when I was growing up, though we did have a black-and-white Zenith.

[Susan Littlefield]

Originally Posted by Mrs. de Winter

I thought this was an interesting read. The author says the best way to create suspense or drive your narrative is not by worrying about the ingredients of your story, but by asking questions and then delaying the answer. Thoughts?

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com...e/?ref=opinion

What a great article!

[boozysassmouth]

Originally Posted by Scribhneoir

When I was a kid, my dog could change channels by scratching and jingling the tags on his collar. The jingling tags hit just the right frequency and we'd suddenly be treated to a quick sampling of every channel on the spectrum until the dog's itch was relieved.

That is kind of awesome, and must have been highly entertaining. Though I suppose after awhile it was more annoying than anything else.

As for the article. I like the simplicity of the idea, and I think it's something to keep in mind, especially when I'm struggling to create suspense. But like some other people commented, I couldn't get through it. The third time he paused and said "notice that I what I did there", I just had to leave. But then, I don't care for Child's fiction either.