| Back
to Index
Seven Ways to Inject
Suspense into Your Novel
By Lynette Rees
Certain genres are renowned for
being more suspenseful than others: horror, crime fiction and
romantic suspense, but each and every book, no matter whether
it's an Historical Romance or a Paranormal
Fantasy, HAS to have a level of suspense interwoven between the
pages!
All stories need to have this
element, otherwise the reader isn't going to want to turn the
page, it's as simple as that. So if
you're interested in what makes a suspenseful page turner, then
please read on...
Creating conflict
in your novel is a given, otherwise there would be no story. If
all went smoothly it would be as dull-as-dishwater, wouldn't it?
They all lived happily throughout the story and ever after, yawn...
I've listed seven
ways you can inject suspense into your novel:
1.
Introduce your characters to their worst nightmare!
Find out about
your characters beforehand. If possible, write up their likes
and dislikes etc, and most importantly of all, find out what it
is they fear most? What is it that causes their hearts to thump
loudly, beads of perspiration to form on their upper lips, and
the hairs on the back of their necks to stand on end? Find out
what that thing or things are, and then give it to them, both
barrels. For example, if your heroine is petrified of flying because
her parents died in a plane crash, create a story where she HAS
to take a journey on an airplane. If your hero fears water because
he almost drowned as a young child, put him in a position where
he HAS to get back in the water to rescue someone.
Introduce them
to their worst nightmare and watch how they react!
2.
Lull them into a false sense of security
When your character
is really frightened of something, throw in a red herring. For
example, if your heroine thinks she hears a noise outside, allow
the plot to let her fears grow and grow. Let it be something quite
innocuous, like the dustbin blowing over in the wind. Then, when
she has reassured herself, breathing a sigh of relief, petrify
her to death by placing a prowler outside her back door!
3.
Throw the spotlight on at least two people
This might sound
a little obvious, but for goodness sake, don't make the villain
of the piece stand out a mile. Instead, have suspicion fall on
at least two, possibly three characters. This will have the effect
of your reader not really being sure until the end, when the other
shoe falls! But, by all means, leave some clues and some red herrings
along the way!
4.
Pacing
Pacing is important
to create suspense. In general, short, snappy sentences will enable
the reader to race ahead so they feel their heart is beating in
time with the frightened protagonist. Longer sentences tend to
slow things down. You might want to speed things up for a car
chase or slow it down for a love making scene. Imagine your novel
as if you were watching it on the big screen. How would it be
filmed? What would that particular scene look like to the audience?
5.
The calm before the storm
Make use of the weather to good
effect. Thunderclouds brewing overhead, often give the reader
the feeling that something is about to happen [prophetic fallacy].
A bolt of lightening hitting the night sky, power lines down,
a stranger at the door, etc. Think of the last time you watched
a horror film; didn't the weather come into somewhere?
6.
When all goes well, throw in a dead body!
When you hit a sagging middle
of a novel, and you find there's no where to go, try throwing
in a dead body. This doesn't necessarily mean that a character
has to be killed off, although you might want to do just that,
it can mean that something unexpected happens, such as the birth
of a baby, etc. Something that injects a little more oomph into
the plot!
7.
Setting
Setting is very important as a
tool to create suspense. What about that dark stone staircase
covered in cobwebs? Or the elevator that suddenly stops in between
floors? Choosing the right sort of setting can make or break a
novel. And sometimes, placing the object or person the protagonist
fears in an innocuous setting can make the story all the more
horrifying.
Be cruel to your characters and
watch them run for their lives!
About the author:
Lynette Rees has written many short stories and articles. Her
first romantic suspense novel, IT HAPPENED ONE SUMMER, will published
at Wings Press Inc from May 1st, 2006.
Her second romantic suspense, RETURN TO WINTER,
is due for publication at the same site in December 2006.
http://www.wings-press.com/
Visit Lynette's website here:
http://silverlady00.tripod.com/
|