12 Steps to Suspense
I don't know about you, but Thriller novels are all that seem to be on my bookshelf lately. I can never put them down once I've picked them up. Sometimes I stop to analyze them, too--and ask myself why I'm reading "one more chapter" instead of sleeping or eating or doing chores. I try to learn about what makes a good thriller novel good, so that someday I can them as well as Lee Child or S.J Watson do. The idea of writing suspense is fairly intriguing, after all. Even more so since it's a genre that rests comfortably between drama and horror, two of the trickiest genres to pull off as a beginner! Trust me, it takes a lot of work to get suspense right.
Today I'm going to share what I've learned with you. What makes a novel so suspenseful that you don't want to put it down? That your readers don't want to put your novel down?
All I've learned, both from the articles about writing suspense and from the novels themselves, can be condensed into 12 simple techniques.
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The Dramatic Question
The first technique relates to your character's goals. You should already know what the goal is, or at least what the main goal is, if you have multiple goals throughout the plot. Because once you do, you can use that to increase the story's tension. Basically, you want your readers to ask themselves: "will Bob and Susie ever get together?" because they know that Bob's goal is to confess to the girl of his dreams. This is something small to do, but still very helpful.
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A Hook in Every Page
You already know to use a hook in the first line of your novel, no matter the genre. Well, thriller writers take that to the next level and make sure to use a hook in each chapter. You can compare this to writing a cliffhanger, except instead of only being towards the end, it's in the beginning and middle as well. Thriller writers make sure that something exciting is happening on every line of every page of every chapter, so that they're hardly giving readers a chance to catch their breath. It seems hard, and is hard at first. But it's worth it. And you don't have to worry about how minor the hooks are. Just make sure that there are always problems in need of solving.
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Write a Good Antagonist
As I've talked about recently in an article called 'The Perfect Antagonist', a good plot needs a good villain. Those problems your main character needs to face are the foundation for tension in your novel, and things only work better for you when a problem takes the form of a person. You can make this person the exact opposite of your protagonist, or you can make the two eerily similar. Whatever you'd like to do with this antagonist, make sure they're a good match for the story's hero--maybe even more than a good match. If the readers really aren't sure who will win, you can bet they'll want to find out.
Oh, and you can learn more about how to write a good antagonist in that blog post I mentioned.
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Embrace the Unknown
Scientific studies prove that humanity's greatest fear is the fear of the unknown. It's why we don't like the dark. It's why we don't like the idea of unseen monsters under our beds or in our closets. It's also why, in thriller movies as well as in novels, not knowing who or what we're fighting is much more scary than having it revealed right away. It could be that the audience doesn't know, or that it's only the protagonist who's unaware (which is called dramatic irony, by the way). This is a trick most often used in the horror genre, but you'll see that it works just as well in suspense.
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High Stakes Are Important
So you've got action. You've got a good antagonist. You've even sprinkled in some of that fear factor.....or, you've tried. The thing is, no matter how good the plot, readers won't keep reading if they don't care about the story's protagonist. And no, this isn't about writing a two-dimensional character. It's about having high stakes in your story. You've gotta make it so the world caves in if the problems presented aren't dealt with. Ask yourself, what are the consequences of the main character failing? What really happens if everything goes wrong? If you can't come up with at least 3 examples, then the stakes in your novel aren't high enough.
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Up and Down
Ever wonder why things like gambling and illegal betting seem to gather new addicts every minute? It's not just because of wealth, by the way, although the money you have a chance at winning is one motivation. According to psychology, that's not it. People are attracted to the risk factor--to the rush that comes with not knowing whether they'll win or not. You should use something similar when writing suspense. Keep your readers hooked by playing with their emotions. Let the protagonist win a little, without fully defeating the problem. The next time they face that problem,they lose, but still with the chance to try again. Go up and down, back and forth, winning and losing, until you're sure the readers couldn't possibly guess how it's all going to turn out. Just make sure to do this as you move towards the climax, so you don't overuse the idea.
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Apply Tons of Pressure
Never, never, never stop presenting problems. It needs to be one problem after another if you're going to keep your readers on edge. Right when the protagonist is about to catch a bunch of arms dealers, he gets a frantic call from his wife about their invalid daughter. You can also use the 'Up and Down' trick, and determine whether it would be better for the protagonist to turn in these criminals or let them go before rushing to the hospital. It's the same basic rule: don't slow down the plot for too long. A false sense of security, even for a few pages, then BAM--another problem.
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Calm Before the Storm
I've had so much fun using this trick. Dedicate several pages, or a whole chapter, to making your readers feel safe. Include a happy dinner scene, or a light-hearted conversation. Give the main characters a bit of a break, but don't show any problems being resolved. Now would be a good time to use subtle foreshadowing, too. This way, even while the protagonist celebrates what they think to be a victory, your readers have their doubts. There should be something in the back of their minds, telling them something's up. This technique best used right before the climax, towards the end of the story.
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Be Unpredictable
A good ol' plot twist is always welcome in a suspense novel. But you don't always have to be that dramatic, if you don't want to. Instead of taking a full U-turn, take some sharp turns here and there. Predictable plots are boring plots, so be unpredictable by putting yourself in the readers' shoes. Ask yourself, "what's the last thing my readers would expect to happen right now?". Even if you never use the idea you come up with, this is still a great exercise. You're teaching yourself to keep the audience guessing.
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Put the Protagonist's Dear Ones at Risk
Chances are your main character has someone they care about. It could be a little sister, or a best friend, or a love interest. Whoever they are, use them to make life even worse for the protagonist. Make the villain kidnap someone, or threaten to. Gets someone to be in the middle of danger without realizing it. The main character has to save them, putting off whatever other problem they're dealing with. The protagonist's love for them would, in that case, be something holding them back. But it should also be something he/she would never be willing to give up. Not only does this build tension, it builds character.
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Throw in a Countdown
A ticking bomb is the one thing that could make the main character's dilemma even worse. One of the simpler, more commonly used tricks, for a reason. That straight forward 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 , used well along with high stakes, is more than enough to keep readers hooked. All you have to do is push your resolutions to the last minute, kind of like procrastinating. Then right when the main character is ready to face the problem/antagonist, add a countdown of some sort. It could be a literal bomb, or something else, like a tidal wave about to hit or a girlfriend about to leave the airport. Whatever has a time limit and a consequence will work perfectly. And why use this technique? Because it creates a sense of urgency that is vital in any good thriller. Pick up any recent bestselling thriller novel and you'll find some form of a countdown inside.
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Handicap The Characters
After you've stripped your protagonist of their strengths, allies and advantages, what's left? What will they do?
You'll have fun experimenting, and finding the answer to that question. This technique, like most others I've discussed, is best used before or during the plot's climax. It'll bring everything up to 100 pretty quickly. Just take whatever helped the main character win (or escape) last time, and get rid of it. For example, did a friend rescue them last time? Make sure that this time, that friend is in a different country, or dead, or the one in need of rescuing. Take everything you know about your protagonist, and use it against them in the final battle. Force them to challenge each negative aspect of themselves. If you do this right, you'll not only end up with an awesome final battle. You'll end up with a gripping suspense novel.
Hi everyone! I'm at a writers' conference right now, so sorry if the blog is updated late. Having lots of fun but am starting to run out of caffeine. It's the middle of the night right now and everyone else is sleeping....
See you next week!
