I want to address three emotions that often get intermixed and, therefore, confused in writing. Surprise, tension, and suspense are all beneficial to a thrilling plot line. Each have their strengths and weaknesses, and, by understanding these, writers can find ways to weave them into their plots for maximum effect.
In order to understand each better, I’m going to throw out a hypothetical story scene. The scenario is: a woman invited her ex-boyfriend over for coffee, and he begrudgingly accepted. Now they are at her place with mugs in hand and talking.
Surprise
According to the dictionary, surprise is “an unexpected or astonishing event, fact, or thing.” Surprise happens in a story when the reader has no way of knowing something will happen and it just occurs. It requires no set up, and for that reason it can come across as a cheap plot twist if done incorrectly.
Let’s look at an example using our hypothetical scene. The woman and man are making small talk when she suddenly blurts out she’s pregnant. No warning, just new information to complicate the scene.
Readers like to be surprised by new small tidbits of information. If readers can know everything about the story before you tell them, it’s not an interesting read. However, surprise doesn’t work for major plot twists unless the reader has the opportunity to predict the twist but wasn’t able to put the pieces together. You have to foreshadow while also directing their attention elsewhere. This allows them to look back at the story and think they should have noticed it, but in the moment they weren’t able to see it. In my opinion, it’s the best kind of surprise you can deliver for a reader.
Tension
The dictionary definition of tension is “mental or emotional strain.” Tension is the friction between people in a scene. It isn’t something you use to describe a whole book. Tension is underlying conflict that is scene specific.
For instance, there is already tension with our man and woman at the beginning of the scene. First off, they are ex-lovers. Second, she clearly wants him around and he doesn’t want to be. Then we add the third line of tension, she’s pregnant. All of these things contribute to the tension between the two people.
Suspense
Suspense is defined as “a state or feeling of excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen.” Suspense is almost like a mix between surprise and tension. There is uncertainty like with surprise, and anxious feelings like with tension. However, suspense is its own category. You can’t really have surprise and suspense at the same time because suspense requires the reader knows more than the character. By letting the readers in on the secret, they fear for the oblivious character. Suspense is different from tension in that suspense happens on a book-long level. You start off with a problem or question, and you wait the whole book to see how it turns out. However, you can have suspense on a scene-long level too.
Let’s return to our scenario. So far, our book scene has both tension and surprise, but there isn’t really any suspense. Now, what if before the man shows up for coffee we see her put poison in his cup? Then she tucks the antidote into her pocket, and, if he agrees to marry her and raise their child, she’ll give it to him. If not, she’ll let him die. Suddenly, the whole scene isn’t just a tense interaction between ex-lovers. The reader is anxious to know if he will get over his dislike of the woman for the child’s sake or if he will unknowingly seal his own death. The reader doesn’t know what he will pick, and then there is also the uncertainty of whether the woman will really let him die.
Suspense is tricky to pull off so let me give you three ways to create suspense in your story.
1. Glance Through The Window, But Don’t Open The Door
Suspense is about balance. You have to give the readers enough of a glimpse to make them anxious but not tell them everything. Don’t walk them into a room and show them a dead body. That’s surprise. Show them a trail of blood leading outside and into the dark woods. Is someone dead or not? Who was involved? A million questions pop up, and that uncertainty paired with a negative sign creates suspense.
2. Show The Character’s Internal Processing
When readers get into a story, they are experiencing it through the POV (point of view) character. If the character is feeling anxious, show it. Make their hands sweat, their heart race, their thoughts spin out all the horrible things that could happen. By showing the character’s internal thoughts, feelings, and reactions, you are making the reader feel them too. That will boost the story’s suspense.
3. Create Competing Desires For The Character
One of my favorite ways to create tension is by using the character’s own wants and desires against him. For instance, the man in our scene. We know he doesn’t want to be with the woman—they broke up and he begrudgingly came over for coffee. That makes the reader assume he will tell her he doesn’t want to get married. However, if we know he has a soft spot for children and always wanted a child, he may overlook his dislike for the woman and marry her. In the end, the readers aren’t sure which he will choose. If you make your character’s personal goals and fears collide so he has to choose one over the other, the readers will be left in suspense, unsure which option will win.
Final Thoughts
That was a quick rundown on surprise, tension, and suspense. I hope it helps clear up their meanings and uses so you can write them into your story with precision and tact. I think every book, regardless of genre, should have all three. Each emotion increases intrigue, and our goal as writers is to keep readers’ attention. Use these three in your story to make that job a little easier.
Thanks for reading!
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