How Do I Create Suspense?

The simplest answer to this question is that a suspense scene involves danger to the main characters. That's a "will the hero survive?" physical danger. Or "Will the main character escape emotional turmoil and unhappiness?" emotional danger.

A successful suspense scene must also draw the reader in by using the senses. The words must be vivid, the reader should experience what the character is experiencing, and we must be in the head of the character who has the most to lose in the scene. 

Suspense is more complex than that, though, in novel-length.

First the writer must keep offering questions to the reader who keeps reading to find out the answers, and as the reader finds the answers, the author offers more questions to keep the reader reading.

A question can be a simple "what happens next?" or "why is this character doing this?" All the questions and their answers are the clues that the reader gets to understand the novel and the characters.

Think of these questions and answers as bread crumbs leading the reader bird through each scene and through the novel. Part of the suspense in each scene comes in finding out the answer to some of the questions the author poses.

Suspense won't work if the reader doesn't care about the person in danger so part of creating suspense is making the reader care about that character. In my romantic suspense, GUARDIAN ANGEL, if my hero had been a jerk instead of a charming, decent man, most readers wouldn't care if he survived to the end of the novel, and they certainly wouldn't think him worthy of Desta, the brave and kind heroine.

The character must also have a worthwhile goal so that the reader wants the character to succeed.

If the main character wants to find the treasure so he can live a lavish lifestyle, the reader may root for him if the search for the treasure is interesting enough, but if he wants the treasure to ransom his beloved wife and children before they face torture and death, the reader will be as anxious as the character is that he succeed. Each suspenseful scene will be a hurdle or threat to his reaching his final goal, and failure is unthinkable.

If the reader cares for both the character and his goal, your story have even stronger suspense than just an exciting plot.

Links of Interest

QUESTIONS TO ASK A FREELANCE EDITOR:

http://labelleseditorialservices.com/blog/questions-to-ask-a-freelance-editor/

PROMOTION BASICS, THE AUTHOR PHOTO:

http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/journal/debut-author-lessons-the-author-photo/

PLOT VERSUS PREMISE:

http://rebeccabelliston.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/mbm-premise-vs-plot-by-janice-hardy/

50 THINGS TO BLOG ABOUT:

http://www.authormedia.com/50-things-to-blog-about-when-you-have-writers-block

CREATING EMOTIONAL FRUSTRATION IN YOUR CHARACTERS:

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/there-are-no-rules/creating-emotional-frustration-in-your-characters

MARKET STRATEGIES FOR SELF-PUBBED BOOKS:

http://www.publetariat.com/sell/10-winning-marketing-strategies-your-self-published-book

PUBLISHING NEWS, AMAZON BUYS GOODREADS:

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/amazon-to-buy-goodreads_b67761

http://lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/2013/03/as-amazon-buys-goodreads-some-look-to-alternatives/

CONTRACT TERMS, ENABLED ACCESS RIGHTS:

http://chiseledinrock.blogspot.com/2013/03/books-for-blind-enabled-access-rights.html

DRAMATIC IRONY:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2010/06/oh-irony.html

WHEN AND HOW TO UPLOAD YOUR EBOOK TO VARIOUS DISTRIBUTION SITES:

http://thewritersguidetoepublishing.com/self-publishing-for-beginners-my-ebook-is-ready-to-upload-so-where-do-i-upload-it-and-what-should-i-prepare-ahead-of-time

PETITION TO STOP ALLOWING REFUNDS OF KINDLE BOOKS AFTER A CERTAIN PERIOD, (SOME “BUYERS” RETURN ALL THEIR BOOKS FOR REFUNDS, OTHERS BUY THEN POST THE BOOKS ON PIRATE SITES BEFORE GETTING A REFUND):

http://www.change.org/petitions/amazon-kindle-e-book-return-policy-stop-allowing-refunds-on-e-books-after-e-books-have-been-read

PININTEREST AS A MARKETING TOOL:

http://www.rachellegardner.com/2013/03/dont-think-of-pinterest-as-social-media/

WHERE TO UPLOAD SELF-PUBBED EBOOKS:

http://thewritersguidetoepublishing.com/self-publishing-for-beginners-my-ebook-is-ready-to-upload-so-where-do-i-upload-it-and-what-should-i-prepare-ahead-of-time

CONTRACT TERMS, TERRITORIES:

http://amazingstoriesmag.com/2013/03/demystifying-contracts-2-novels-basic-rights-transfer/

WHEN CHARACTERS TAKE OVER:

http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/2013/03/let-your-characters-live-and-breathe.html

90 WRITING POSTS:

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/90-writing-tools-in-a-single-post_b67870

THREE MARKETING METHODS THAT WORK:

http://writetodone.com/2013/04/01/be-a-successful-author-3-book-marketing-strategies-that-actually-work/

HOW TO USE TWITTER LISTS:

http://thewritersguidetoepublishing.com/how-to-use-twitter-lists

REGAINING YOUR PASSION FOR A STORY:

http://www.publishingcrawl.com/2013/04/01/a-conversation-between-critique-partners-maintaining-passion-for-a-story/

THINGS SELF-PUBS HAVE LEARNED, PART 12:

http://www.livewritethrive.com/2013/04/01/self-published-authors-share-5-things-they-learned-in-2012-part-12/

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT IN ROMANCE, PART 1 AND 2:

http://scotteagan.blogspot.com/2013/04/character-development-day-1-what.html

http://scotteagan.blogspot.com/2013/04/character-development-day-2-conflict-or.html

BRANDING YOURSELF AS A SELF-PUB AUTHOR:

http://www.publetariat.com/sell/indie-author-branding-how-figure-out-how-brand-yourself

SETTING UP GOOGLE AUTHORSHIP AND WHY YOU SHOULD:

http://www.publetariat.com/sell/how-set-google-authorship-and-why-you-really-should

TEMPLATES FOR WORD TO CREATE EBOOKS:

http://www.thebookdesigner.com/2013/02/book-design-templates/

QUESTIONS TO ASK TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU SHOULD WRITE NEXT:

http://www.darcypattison.com/marketing/what-next/

A COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO AUTHOR PHOTOS:

http://www.fromthewriteangle.com/2013/02/author-photos-step-by-stepthe.html

CAPITALIZATION AND DIRECT ADDRESS:

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/5-answers-to-questions-about-direct-address/

DEVELOPING SCENES:

https://deescribewriting.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/tuesday-writing-tips-developing-scenes/

CREATING GREAT PLOTS:

http://plotwhisperer.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/10-tips-to-immediately-create-great.html

THE MOST POPULAR PIRATE SITES:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2032766/the-pirate-bay-captures-the-file-sharing-crown.html

REDIGI LOSES COURT CASE TO RESELL “USED” DIGITAL GOODS, (YEAH!):

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/04/can-i-resell-my-mp3s-redux-federal-judge-says-no/

HOW TO WRITE A GREAT SCENE:

http://plotwhisperer.blogspot.com/2013/04/how-to-write-great-scene.html

BRUSH UP YOUR GRAMMAR, CAPITALIZATION FOR PERIODS AND HISTORIC TIMES:

http://plotwhisperer.blogspot.com/2013/04/how-to-write-great-scene.html

HARLEQUIN AUTHORS LOSE LAWSUIT AGAINST HARLEQUIN ABOUT LOST ROYALTIES (FULL ARTICLE ONLY AVAILABLE TO MEMBERS):

http://lunch.publishersmarketplace.com/2013/04/judge-throws-out-class-action-suit-against-harlequin-alleging-ebook-royalty-deprivation/

THE RULING ITSELF:

http://media.publishersmarketplace.com/wpcontent/uploads/2013/04/Harlequin.pdf

Maintaining the Tone of a Scene

QUESTION: I have very abbreviated writing time so I can only work in spurts so my mood comes into the text sometimes. How can I stop that? 

The trick to holding the tone of the scene is to remember that you are the viewpoint character. You are seeing what she sees and feeling what she feels. Writing character is like immersion or method acting where you become the character.

This takes a bit of practice, but after a bit, you can switch between characters and personalities with ease as you change POV for a scene, and you can also inhabit the other characters in the scene so they continue to act as you've conceived them, and their dialogue is in character.

You also have to remember that your character should be reacting to what is happening at that moment rather than constantly sliding into introspection about the rest of her life. If you and she remains in the moment of the scene, neither of you will lose the right voice or tone of the scene.

Links of Interest

EDITING AND SPOTTING A BAD EDITOR:

http://riyria.blogspot.com/2013/03/editing.html

THE KIRTSAENG VERSUS JOHN WILEY AND SONS COURT CASE ON COPYRIGHTED BOOKS SHIPPED INTO THE US AT CHEAPER PRICES THAN ON US VERSIONS VERDICT EXPLAINED:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/copyright/article/56444-grimmelmann-issues-in-kirtsaeng-too-signifcant-to-end-with-supreme-court.html

http://www.trademarkandcopyrightlawblog.com/2013/03/copyright-owners-left-legally-jet-lagged-the-supreme-court-embraces-the-international-exhaustion-doctrine

PROS AND CONS OF BEING A PLOT PANTSTER:

http://labelleseditorialservices.com/blog/pros-and-cons-of-being-a-pantser/

TELL YOUR READER ONLY WHAT THEY NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR CHARACTERS:

http://killzoneauthors.blogspot.com/2013/03/keeping-your-reader-on-need-to-know.html

SIMON AND SCHUSTER TO SHARE PIRACY NUMBERS WITH THEIR AUTHORS:

http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/simon-schuster-to-share-piracy-stats-with-authors-agents_b67356

FIGURING OUT AMAZON SALES NUMBERS USING BOOK RANKINGS:

http://antickmusings.blogspot.com/2013/03/amazon-sales.html

PROMOTION THAT WORKS:

http://thewritersguidetoepublishing.com/promo-that-works-from-new-york-times-bestselling-author-gemma-halliday

CONTRACT LANGUAGE, RECORDING RIGHTS:

http://chiseledinrock.blogspot.com/2013/03/lets-not-get-too-dramatic-about.html

EPUBLISHER TO BE WARY OF:

http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2013/03/author-unfriendly-terms-at-autharium.html

WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR EBOOK ISN’T SELLING:

http://blog.smashwords.com/2013/03/six-tips-to-read-reader-tea-leaves-how.html

MAKING A LIVING AS A WRITER, PART 2:

http://www.rachellegardner.com/2013/03/make-a-living-as-a-writer-part-2/

WORKING WITH A GRAPHIC ARTIST:

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/03/23/tips-for-writers-on-how-to-work-smoothly-with-a-graphic-artist

YOGA FOR THE HANDS, GREAT TO GIVE STRENGTH FOR THOSE OF US WHO DO A LOT OF TYPING:

http://youtu.be/WEKGMPxfxtk

CONTRACT TERMS, LIFE OF COPYRIGHT:

http://amazingstoriesmag.com/2013/03/lifeofcopyright/

WRITING A THRILLER:

http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2013/03/making-thriller.html

THE THREE COMMANDMENTS OF WRITING:

http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/3-writers-commandments-and-the-dreaded-s-word/

SETTING IN RELATIONSHIP TO STORY:

http://thewritersalleys.blogspot.com/2013/03/setting-up-your-story-your-3-point.html

WHAT MAKES A HERO:

http://marcykennedy.com/2013/03/what-makes-someone-a-hero

ADAPTING YOUR NOVEL AS A SCREENPLAY:

http://writerunboxed.com/2013/03/25/march-25-ideas

SELF-PUBBED AUTHORS SHARE WHAT THEY HAVE LEARNED, PART 11:

http://www.livewritethrive.com/2013/03/25/self-published-authors-share-5-things-they-learned-in-2012-part-11/

FANTASY WORLD FOOD:

http://www.magicalwords.net/specialgueststars/brains-beer-and-books-writing-research-and-urine-mushrooms

BASICS OF CREATING SETTING:

http://blog.janicehardy.com/2013/03/is-your-description-helping-your-story.html

WHEN TO START OR STOP WRITING A SERIES:

http://mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com/2013/03/when-to-start-or-stop-series.html

THE EDITORIAL PROCESS, BEYOND THE EDITORIAL LETTER:

http://www.publishingcrawl.com/2013/03/26/after-the-editorial-letter-2/

89 BOOK MARKETING IDEAS:

http://www.authormedia.com/89-book-marketing-ideas-that-will-change-your-life/

6 THINGS READERS WANT AT AUTHOR WEBSITES:

http://www.authormedia.com/what-readers-want-from-your-author-website/

MAKING THE VILLAIN TOO POWERFUL:

http://www.magicalwords.net/misty-massey/weaknesses/

USING DIALECT IN YOUR WRITING:

http://scotteagan.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-pros-and-cons-of-dialect-in-writing.html

KILLING OFF A CHARACTER:

http://www.publetariat.com/write/killing-character

BRUSH UP YOUR GRAMMAR, THAT, WHICH, AND WHO:

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/when-to-use-that-which-and-who/