Suspense Secrets

Par out Clues

2012-02-19T19:36:00.000-08:00

When I first started writing suspense, I thought I needed many secrets to my story so I'd have enough material to surprise readers with. The task seemed daunting. But as I continued to study novels by other authors similar to my own, I realized the trick is not necessarily to have tons of secrets, but to par out the information I do have a little at a time. Look at any mystery novel as an example. Each clue to the final mystery is interesting and keeps the reader reading, but by itself, it's not necessarily exciting until they come together in the finale. Then bang!

Consider the first Sherlock Holmes movie with Robert Downey Jr. (Spoiler Alert) In it, the real secret to the bad guy's success is that he uses science to achieve his evil designs. Along the journey of the novel's story, the author gives us little clues. Here are a few. The watch, the experiments, the drugs, the boiled frogs, Alone, these bits of information aren't too exciting, but when they are combined with the frightening murders, the bad guy's "resurrection," and the interesting characters, we have an intriguing and suspenseful tale.

So this week's secret is spread out tiny clues to the ultimate secret.

Keeping Readers Reading

2011-12-10T20:11:00.000-08:00

I found a blog post some time ago where several successful authors spoke on how to keep our readers reading.

This is from Libby Fischer Hellmann: Suspense depends on presenting obstacles and complications for your characters. And when you couple those obstacles to a deadline, you have instant suspense. Will he rescue the girl in time? Will the bad guy get away? Can he defuse the bomb before it blows? Those are classic examples of suspense.

Alfred Hitchcock--In His Own Words

2011-11-20T20:20:00.000-08:00

Have I got a treat for you!

In case you can't tell, I consider Alfred Hitchcock to be the king of suspense. For that reason, whenever I get a chance to watch one of his movies or learn from him, I take it. Well, this last week, I came upon several video clips of interviews with him on YouTube. Here are three links:

On the difference between mystery and suspense.
On fear.
Part 1 of a longer interview with him in 1964 (7 minutes).

I hope you find them as helpful as I have.

Suspense-Building Decisions

2011-11-12T23:09:00.001-08:00

Today's Suspense Secret: suspense is increased through characters' decisions and the resulting consequences.

The main character of every story, no matter the genre, must have a goal he or she is trying to achieve or there is no story. I emphasize the word trying because that is the key to the suspense. Without effort, characters may have bad things happen to them, but if they simply defend against those obstacles, they appear dull and passive. Interesting characters, on the other hand, choose a path and deal with the tightening noose that follows. For example, if Pinocchio hadn't gone looking for his father, he wouldn't have been swallowed by the whale. And if Frodo, in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, hadn't decided to trust Spiegel instead of his best friend, he wouldn't have been lured into the spider's den.

Even worse, we, the audience, wouldn't have been on the edge of our seats, wondering how--or if--the character was going to get out of his peril.

Twists

2011-11-07T08:18:00.000-08:00

I subscribe to the Writer's Digest Newsletter. Last April I came across this great interview with suspense writer Harlan Coban. It's titled "Twist Ending Tips From Harlan Coban." In it, he talks about twists, but he also reveals a bit about his suspense-writing process, which, I might add, gives us a bit of insight into the secrets of suspense. You really ought to check this one out.

Stealing--I Mean Copying--I Mean Rearranging Ideas

2011-10-30T21:27:00.000-07:00

John Clausen wrote a book titled Too Lazy to Work, Too Nervous to Steal. While this book is about how to have a profitable freelancing career, the title also fits writing in general, because whether we like to admit it or not, every author "steals" ideas from other authors. After all, who hasn't heard there are a limited number of plot structures? Some say as few as seven. I have a book that lists 20.

However, though we must sometimes "borrow" from others, our challenge, albeit, our job, is to take that idea or technique and alter it until it becomes uniquely ours. For example, in my novel Trapped, I "borrowed" a situation from Alfed Hitchcock's movie, Notorious. In it, Ingrid Bergman, a spy who's in love with her control agent (Cary Grant), marries the dangerous man she is spying on in order to fulfill her responsibilities.Cary Grant's character is also in love with her. I loved this deliciously intriguing and romantic triangle, but I also felt it fit perfectly with my story. So, naturally (grin), I borrowed it; I allowed my POV character, Emi, to become engaged to the man she was spying on while the man she really loved looked on.

BUT, as I indicated earlier, I then made that suspenseful plot point a unique part of Trapped by coloring it with my own characters, my own setting, and my own story line.

Still not convinced this is a valid technique? Consider the movie, While You Were Sleeping. In it, Sandra Bullock's character not only falls in love with the brother (Man #2) of the man she "loves" (Man #1), but she also, ultimately, becomes engaged to Man #1 even though she now realizes she's really in love with Man #2. Not only that, Man #2 is in love with her! Doesn't this sound a lot like the situation I just described in Notorious and Trapped? And yet, all three stories are vastly different.

That's my secret for this week: borrow suspenseful elements from those you admire then make them yours.

More on Character-Building Suspense

2011-10-23T22:35:00.000-07:00

I admit, I never considered the following advice as a suspense secret, but I do now. And even better, it applies to EVERY genre even more than basic "suspense" techniques do, for the crime author's tip is based on character building.

I really encourage you to read the entire article, "How to write fiction: Mark Billingham on Creating Suspense," but here's a bit to wet your appetite:
"I am often asked at events and creative writing workshops how you go about creating suspense. There was a period when, in answer to this question, I would talk about the tricks of the trade: the cliffhanger, the twist and the "reveal". Such things are still important, but I have come to realise that the answer actually lies in something far more basic, something that should be central to the writing of any piece of fiction: the creation of character.

"The techniques mentioned above are, of course, all vital pieces of the mystery writer's armory and, as such, are components of the genre that readers of crime novels have come to expect."

But . . .

". . . above all, give your readers characters they genuinely care about, that have the power to move them, and you will have suspense from page one."

Suspense in Character Development

2011-10-16T16:19:00.000-07:00

Here's a very intriguing secret from E. McDannak at Irunian Chronicles: use character development to create suspense. I think this idea is wonderful because I can't think of a better place to hide a few "bread crumbs" than inside our characters themselves. The full article is well worth reading , but before you head over there, check out this very telling snippet:

"Now then, onto perspective. Perspective (POV) is really important when building suspense in your novels. I know he's not the only one to do it, but Sanderson is one of my favorite examples of this. He builds up something to be BIG (i.e. the army in the first book led by Kelsier), and then knocks it down HARD. He does what people DON'T want to have happen. Brilliant. It builds suspense because it makes you roll your eyes and mutter, "Why did they *do* that? It's so bad!" Notice how I said "bad," not "stupid." When a character who is supposed to be smart does something insanely stupid, it can be unbelievable. But if you build inherent flaws into your character, then slip-ups help to build suspense."

I actually incorporated this technique in my third novel. It's a historical romantic suspense that hasn't been published yet--still a work-in-progress--but when it finally is published, you'll have to tell me if my attempt was effective or not.

Thriller or Mystery?

2011-10-09T21:32:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite books on how-to-write suspense is titled "How to Write Killer Fiction." In it, the author discusses the difference between a mystery novel, which is like a puzzle, and a suspense novel, which is more like a roller coaster of emotions. But I recently found a great post by Allison Jae titled "So You Want to Write a Thriller." If you're at all interested in writing a suspense novel, I really advise you check this post out. :)

Here's the opening paragraphs:

"The novel of suspense is an offshoot of a mystery, and in the minds of mystery editors the “suspense” tag is more a marketing ploy than anything else. Since most bookstores budget for just a certain number of mysteries a season, putting the suspense or thriller label on a novel helps the publisher get around the quota problem.

"There are differences. The mystery is first and foremost a puzzle based on whodunit or how. The thriller is better seen as a howcatchum. Another way of looking at the difference is in recognizing that in the mystery we don’t know any more than the detective. In a thriller we usually don’t know less than the bad guy."

Allison Jae also gives more information on techno-thriller, the medical thriller, and the woman in jeopardy.

Happy reading! :)

Withholding Information

2011-10-02T21:10:00.000-07:00

So, what do you think about this bit of advice from Mosaic Writing?

"Withholding pertinent character information can also build suspense."

The blogger goes on to give examples from the book Skellig by David Almonds, stating the author only reveals a particular character's description (early on in the book) and not his nature or even his name. I haven't read Skellig, so I'll take the blogger's word for it, but this bit of advice sounds intriguing to me. I suppose that's because I've been thinking a lot about beginnings lately, and I've read conflicting advice about initial character development. Some say to describe the MC so the reader is able to connect with him/her before the inciting incident actually happens, and others say to jump right in with the inciting incident and worry about descriptions, etc., later.

In reality, the blogger probably wasn't referring to beginnings at all, and was likely offering another example of stringing the reader along with crumbs of details or even misleading them with red herrings and misinterpreted information. And yet, I'm thinking about it in relation to beginnings. Your thoughts?

A Page-Turning List

2011-09-25T16:04:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you how many times I've read "my-book-must-have" lists written by established authors. All have been helpful, but I LOVE the one I've chosen to share here today. I especially love Hallie Ephron's advice on opening scenes. Here's a taste:

"Hallie Ephron, the author of Come and Find Me, Never Tell a Lie and Writing and Selling your Mystery Novel: How to Knock ‘Em Dead with Style, amongst others, knows how to write a page-turner. (And in case you’re wondering, yes, she is one of the well-known Ephron family of writers.)

"Mystery and psychological suspense are her specialty, but the writing tools she offered at the Willamette Writer’s Conference spell great writing advice – whether you write mystery/suspense, other fiction forms or memoir, too. Here are a list of 20 writing tips to use as a checklist for your writing.

"Openings:

* Open the book in action. Read books you love and see how those authors open their books.
* Even when you start in action, readers still need to care about your characters (or about you, if it’s a memoir). Even character-driven authors, like Janet Evanovich, draw you in through the power of their quirky characters actions and those characters’ strong voices.
* A common opening mistake is to include too much backstory. Get moving. Then, layer in backstory in bits as the story gets going."

Have I caught your attention? It's a good list, isn't it? To read more, including her point that suspense novels must contain secrets, click here.

By the way, Bonnie won my blog hop prize. Congratulations!

September Blog Hop

2011-09-22T04:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the September Blog Hop! Celebrate the beginning of fall with me and my blogger friends by hopping around, visiting our sites, and entering our contests! There are no limits - you can enter the contest on every blog. With over 40 blogs participating, that's over 40 prizes you could win. Just click on the links below to move on to the next blog.

On my blog, you can win …

an autographed copy of Pumpkin Roll by Josi Kilpack.

Would you like to win this prize? You just need to do two things.

1. Become a follower of this blog.

2. Leave me a comment in the trail and tell me why you'd like to win it.

That's it! You are now entered. The contest ends on Saturday night, September 24th, at midnight MST, and the winner will be contacted shortly thereafter. Please either leave your e-mail address in the comment trail or make sure it's visible through your profile so I can contact you to tell you that you're the lucky winner.

Now go visit my other friends ...

September Blog Hop Participants

1. Tristi Pinkston, LDS Author
2. Joyce DiPastena
3. I Am A Reader, Not A Writer
4. Mandi Slack
5. Michael D. Young
6. Six Mixed Reviews
7. Pam Williams
8. Laurie Lewis
9. Kristy Tate
10. Marilyn Yarbrough
11. Stacy Coles
12. Kristie Ballard
13. Lynn Parsons
14. Pushing Past the Pounds
15. Sheila Staley
16. cindy Hogan

17. Jamie Thompson
18. Jaclyn Weist
19. Cathy Witbeck
20. Secret Sisters Mysteries
21. Tamera Westhoff
22. Tina Scott
23. Lynnea Mortensen
24. Danyelle Ferguson aka Queen of the Clan
25. Jeanette A. Fratto
26. Bonnie Harris
27. Melissa Lemon
28. Mary Ann Dennis
29. Stephanie Black
30. Jane Still
31. Janice
32. Laura Bastian

33. Tamara Bordon
34. Betsy Love
35. Maria Hoagland
36. Amber Robertson
37. Debbie Davis
38.
39. Christy Monson
40. Carolyn Frank
41. Rebecca Birkin
42. Melissa Cunningham
43. Emily L. Moir
44. Ronda Hinrichsen
45. Lisa Asanuma
46. Joan Sowards
47. Jordan McCollum
48. Diane Stringam Tolley

Learn more about September Blog Hop here.
Get The Code

Prolong the Inevitable

2011-09-18T19:03:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite suspense-building techniques is to prolong the inevitable. A quick, readily recognizable example of this is often found in the culminating kiss at the end of a romance novel or movie. For instance, the lovers move together, hesitate, move closer, hesitate again. They breathe, move a little closer,then Dang! They're interrupted! Finally, they press their lips together. Even as I wrote the preceding example, I felt a bit of anticipation. (Grin.) Did you?

Two more examples:
1) In chapter one of my first novel, Missing, I utilize this prolonging technique by having something "soft" happening in the foreground while something threatening is going on in the background. In it, the reader "sees" Stacie Cox singing a solo of "Silent Night" in front of an important audience which also contains the kidnapper and the missing child. Slowly--much too slowly--Stacie recognizes the missing child, but when she does, it's too late; the kidnapper and child have disappeared.

2) In one episode of the classic TV show, Gunsmoke, a family of outlaws imprison Kitty and Marshall Dillon in a cabin while they build a gallows outside. That, alone, created suspense, but the writer upped the ante by having the two captives intermittently and poignantly say good-bye to one another or try to figure out how one could help the other get away. All the while, the incessant hammering on the gallows went on in the background. Since this was a series, the audience knew--yearned for--the characters to get away, but time after time, their efforts were thwarted. The writer had prolonged the inevitable.

Can you think of any other examples? I'd love to hear about them if you have.

Red Herrings

2011-09-11T22:13:00.000-07:00

One of the tools in a Mystery/Suspense writer's tool box is the red herring. A red herring is some form of false lead that fools the audience into expecting an incorrect outcome. I implemented this tool in my novel, TRAPPED, as I tried to hide my bad guy, and then again in my third, not-yet-published novel for the same purpose.That's all I want to say about those red herrings because I don't want to spoil the endings for you, so instead of using my own examples, I've included this excerpt and link from another blog at "Fiction Flurry," posted by Michele Buchholz.

Excerpt:

"Secondary characters are often used as red herrings. Though they might have a legitimate goal in the plot, they can also be set up to mislead the reader to link they have a part in the criminal action. Remember, a Red-Herring must always have some kind of motivation and opportunity. Suspense has to do with anticipation and expectation which helps create anxiety and tension.

"Examples of Red Herring Uses

Distracting the main character
Appearance of lending support but tendency to send momentum awry
Get in the way of resolution intentionally or not
Cause of new events though not always helpful towards solution" More

Obstacles Create Suspense

2011-09-08T20:06:00.000-07:00

I never realized how many elements of good fiction writing apply to suspense until I began to do more research on the subject. Case in point, most fiction writers know that when they are creating plots for their characters they need to throw obstacles in their way. But did you also know that obstacles are important to building suspense? Check out the following article by John D. Brown, author of Servant of a Dark God.
An excerpt:
"Readers want to hope and fear for a character. To feel this, they must not know what WILL happen, but do need to suspect or know what MIGHT happen and feel tension about the possibilities. They want that tension to build, and then they want to feel a cathartic release.

"The reader will continue to feel that tension as long as the problem is unresolved (the danger or menace remains, the character continues to suffer hardship, the mystery becomes more puzzling) AND the situation changes in such a way that the reader’s worry grows. . . We do this by throwing OBSTACLES into our character’s path. We make the problem hard to solve.

"There are four types of things that make the problem hard to solve: disadvantages, conflicts, growing troubles, and surprise. . ." more

Check out God created light, Alfred Hitchcock knew how to put it off

2011-09-04T20:55:00.001-07:00

For this post, I look to the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock. I recently read an article which described some of the suspense elements he used in his movie, The Birds.

Here is an excerpt:

Excerpt:

"The movie is filled with constant thrill and is full of ambiguities. Building expectation and increasing anxiety are used effectively to manipulate the audience. In this technique, the audience is given information and is educated of the impending fate of the character, while the character is left in the dark. The whole fate is not yet known, however they are aware of imminent danger and what could possibly happen to that character. This creates a lot of tension in the audience, as they are aware of what is going to happen, while they watch the identified character walk straight into a trap.

"For instance, it makes the viewer want to scream out 'Don't do it!' It also makes the audience think whether the character will survive or not. The thriller aspect is extensively used in this movie where it is made quite predictable that the birds are the anti-social elements and are up to some harm. The audience is fully aware and is able to make quite accurate assumptions about the fate of Melanie." To read the rest of the article, check out God created light, Alfred Hitchcock knew how to put it off

A Suspense Block--Killer Fiction

2011-09-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

You've heard of Writer's Block? Well, now there's "Suspense Block." Just kidding. But seriously, it's not always easy to tell the difference between mystery and suspense or how to create that suspense. Since I write suspense and am working to improve my craft, I thought I'd share what I've learned. Most of the following information comes from Carolyn Wheat's book (or kindle),"How to Write Killer Fiction."

To begin with, the difference between a mystery novel and a suspense novel. Mysteries are puzzles, generally about who murdered whom, and the protagonist already has the necessary skills to solve that puzzle. Think of Miss Marple or Sherlock Holmes. A mystery's story structures is also based on myth.

Suspense books, on the other hand, has its background in fairy tale; i.e., its protagonist faces tests and learns skills which not only prepare him for the final showdown with the enemy, but also increase his maturity level. In essense, the hero "grows up."

Next, there are several tools we writers can use to create suspense. I will mention three.

First, suspense, unlike mysteries which are meant to challenge the mind, are emotional rollercoaster rides. At the beginning of the story, the protagonist is plunged from her safe world into a frightening, larger-than-herself world. There, she is driven from one extreme problem (test) to another and threatened with the "ultimate" danger.

Second, suspense relies heavily on information given to the reader but not necessarily to the protagonist. Edgar Allen Poe described this element as a bomb hidden beneath a table of men playing cards. The game may be even more boring than we can stand, but because we, the reader, know there's a bomb there, just waiting to go off at any minute, we watch on the edge of our deliciously terrified seats.

And finally, because suspense is an emotional experience, the reader must feel what the protagonist feels; the writer must take great pains to create an exciting, emotional, vicarious experience for the reader. If he doesn't, our rollercoaster will flatten into a merry-go-round. Or worse, a slow train through the zoo.

Like I said, there are more suspense tools, but I won't list them here. I'll simply tell you they're out there, give you a few tools, and let those nuggets work on your mind until you act.

Hmm. Is that a form of mystery or suspense?