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Technique

Why suspense?

This entry is part 9 of 26 in the series Tension, suspense and surprise

Why are suspense, tension and surprise all so important? We’ve established that suspense and tension draw the readers along through your story, and compel them to keep reading. But it’s more than just making readers read, and rewarding them (with surprise sometimes)—it’s making them want to read your book (and your next one).

tss series medJames Scott Bell highlights one reason why these elements are so important: “Modulating tension is one of the keys to writing fiction” (Revision And Self-Editing, 82). We started off our series with a quote from agent Noah Lukeman: “Suspense, more than any other element, affects the immediate, short term experience of the work” (The Plot Thickens, 119).

But Lukeman further explains why being conscious of tension and suspense are so important:

The presence of suspense is . . . a feat and shows promise, since it indicates that the writer is writing more for the reader than for himself. (120)

I think it’s easy—and for many of us, important—to draft for ourselves. I’m told Stephen King says you should write the first draft “with the door closed”—with little to no input or interference from others, so that you can get out the story you’re trying to tell. Remember the delight, the way you relish the scenes that you’ve been waiting for your whole book long?

But when we’re ready to open that door, to share your writing with an eye to improving it, it’s not about what you loved writing and what you still love reading anymore. It’s about what someone else—an agent, an editor, a customer in a bookstore—will love reading, what will suck them in and drag them on a relentless, compelling journey with your characters. Focusing on the experience of your readers shows that you’re not just in it to entertain yourself and a few friends—you’re here to tell a story, to get people reading—to entertain.

What do you think? Why are suspense, tension and surprise so important?

Photo credit: Aart von Bezooyen

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Technique

The tension begins

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This entry is part 2 of 26 in the series Tension, suspense and surprise

The suspense is killing me! I hope it will last.

—Oscar Wilde

Today we’re kicking off our series on tension, suspense and surprise. (I mean . . . surprise!)

It’s easy to look at those elements and think, “Oh, that’s good for a mystery or a romance, but my story doesn’t need those things” or “I’m not writing suspense, why does that matter?” But really, every story should have suspense, tension and surprise. Why are these elements so important? They’re what keep readers reading. Sadly, readers aren’t as indulgent as your friends and critique partners—we have to give them a reason to believe read on.

tss series medSo what’s the difference between the three? Surprise is fairly obvious, but suspense and tension are often used interchangeably (and I’m sure at least some of my sources won’t use the same terminology that I’m choosing). However, for the purposes of this series, I’m going to use “suspense” to mean things that propel us forward in the story—things that make us want to read the next scene. “Tension” will be the events within a scene that keep us from skipping that scene to get to see the next one 😉 .

In other words, tension is a scene-level (or page-level, since we will be looking at Donald Maass’s book) element—something that makes this particular scene interesting, that makes us care about it as readers. Suspense is the larger, overarching thing that keeps us reading once the scene is over—though, like I said, there’s plenty of overlap in those areas anyway.

Surprise, like I said, is fairly obvious. An unexpected event occurs. (This would be a counterexample.)

All three are necessary for a good story. I like the way Noah Lukeman puts it in The Plot Thickens: 8 Ways to Bring Fiction to Life: “Suspense, more than any other element, affects the immediate, short term experience of the work” (119). Tension can be used to create that suspense, compel readers to read through the scenes themselves and keep them interested. Surprise is important because, well, nobody wants to read a story where they already know everything that’s going to happen!

So for . . . the next little while, we’re going to look at how (and how not to) create tension and suspense, how to use them, and how and when to use surprise.

What do you think? How would you differentiate between suspense and tension? What areas or topics interest you most for these elements?

Photo credit: Aart von Bezooyen

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Works

July Writing Challenge Results

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Last month (is it August already?!), I participated in a writing challenge hosted by Tristi Pinkston. Well, actually, I did almost no writing, unless you count rewriting, but then again I did have two family reunions, a road trip, moving my sister and a long visit from my family in July, so I tried to take it easy on myself.

Yeah, apparently I don’t know what that phrase means.

So I had to lighten my own load with revised goals the first week of the month—and I’m glad I did.

  1. Edit 350 pages of my MS. Woot! I mentioned this before, but not only did I finish the two rounds of editing, I added a bunch of words (side note: once I had a writing client inform me that you cannot use “not only” without the accompanying “but also.” Riiiight.). I’m still working on cutting. Well, not really. I’m working on getting chapters to critique partners, still. My mom read it and liked it, though 😀 .
  2. Read my library books:
  3. Read at least one book off my Summer Reading Thing list.: Lockdown, reviewed last week! Hm. . . . two challenges this summer. Have I ever met a challenge I didn’t like? (Oh yeah.)
  4. Continue to mull over the exact plot, premise and motifs for my next WIP. (If I’m feeling really ambitious—or, y’know, stuck on a long road trip—even outline one book or the full story arc.) Mulled like cider, baby. (Um, wow . . . let’s just move on.) I have most of the book outlined, though I still need to clarify a few things and work on the conclusion. Still doing a lot of research in this area, and I definitely want to brush up in the genre before I nail down the characters and events, but I’ve already written a little of the opening. It was tough going, though, and I don’t like fighting with my writing from the beginning, so we’ll see.
  5. Stay current on critique partners’ edits. Thankfully, there wasn’t much demand in this area.

Even if you weren’t part of the challenge, how did your writing (or your vacation 😉 ) go for July?

Photo credit: Richard Dudley

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Progress report

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Note: coming up in our deep POV series this week: Getting into our characters’ heads in two different ways!

Well, we’re almost a week into Tristi Pinkston’s July Writing Challenge. I admitted when we started that my goals were rather lofty, especially given that I’ll be spending the rest of the month with family in town. Plus, my library due date is fast approaching. So I’m revising my goals a bit, and reporting on the progress I’ve made so far.

  1. Edit 350 pages of my MS:
    • Go through my writing partner’s notes on the last ten chapters. Down to the last five!
    • Go through the second half of the book last eight chapters again to make all my planned changes, add two scenes one scene to go! and cut out the parts people skip
    • Get as many chapters to my critique partners as they can stand. 😉
  2. Read my library books:
  3. Read at least one book off my Summer Reading Thing list.

  4. Continue to mull over the exact plot, premise and motifs for my next WIP. (If I’m feeling really ambitious—or, y’know, stuck on a long road trip—even outline one book or the full story arc.) (Mulling away!)
  5. Stay current on critique partners’ edits.

Even if you’re not part of the challenge, how is your writing (or your vacation 😉 ) coming along?

Is your writing any good? Join my writers' email group to find out how you can get a free edit & skill assessment!

 
Works

July Writing Challenge

Tristi Pinkston is hosting a July writing challenge! For the month of July, we’re setting goals for what we’d like to accomplish in our writing projects, whether that’s words written, pages edited or even research done.

July is set to be a pretty busy month for me—festivities for the Fourth of July (seriously; my husband just called and said he got us tickets to four different events next week), my family here for most of the month, two family reunions, a road trip. . . . I think I’m getting a little ambitious. But we’ll try, anyway!

  1. Edit 350 pages of my MS:
    • Go through my writing partner’s notes on the last ten chapters
    • Go through the second half of the book again to make all my planned changes, add two scenes and cut out the parts people skip
    • Get as many chapters to my critique partners as they can stand. 😉
  2. Read my library books:
  3. Read at least one book off my Summer Reading Thing list.

  4. Continue to mull over the exact plot, premise and motifs for my next WIP. (If I’m feeling really ambitious—or, y’know, stuck on a long road trip—even outline one book or the full story arc.)
  5. Stay current on critique partners’ edits.

This is a great way to help us reach our goals. By writing them down, we have something concrete to work toward. And part of the challenge is checking regularly at Tristi’s challenge blog, where you get accountability and encouragement. And at the end of the month, we report to Tristi for our final dose of accountability. All of these things can help us achieve our goals.

So what are your writing goals for the next month (well, five weeks—my goals start from today for me)? Share them in the comments or on your blog to participate in the challenge!

Photo credit: Richard Dudley

Is your writing any good? Join my writers' email group to find out how you can get a free edit & skill assessment!