Keep Those Pages Turning With a Good Dollop of Suspense

Whether you're writing an action thriller, a short story, or anything in between, a carefully placed piece of suspense will keep your readers turning those pages wanting to know the outcome.

But my non-fiction book on vegetable gardening, or my personal biography doesn't require the suspense element, does it? Oh, yes it does. But more about that later.

Let's consider the two most usual types of suspense.

First there is the 'signpost' suspense. This is where something happens, or is said, or is described that hints at some outcome, pleasant or unpleasant, in the future. Here is an example:

'I was shown into a dimly lit room. On one wall hung a painting. It was grimed with age, but I could make out the shapes of two people, a man and a woman. The man was holding a short sword in one hand, and as I looked, I felt a strange uneasiness creep over me. Why this was so I couldn't tell just then, but I wanted to leave that room and never come back.'

The reader will get the message that something about this painting forbodes ill for the future in the story. Notice the phrase 'just then', this tells the reader that later he or she did find out. It's a signpost, a hint of dark things to come. Your readers will read avidly to find out what happens.

Next there is the 'up to their eyes' suspense. The Indiana Jones stories, as well as many others, show the hero or heroine 'up to their eyes' in some desperate physical situation that is life threatening, or at the very least may seriously damage their health. Impossible car chases and underground passages filled with rats come to mind. You need to keep them occupied like this for a reasonable length of time build the suspense and have your readers frantically turning pages to find out how they escape.

Sometimes the suspense is a little less fraught with physical danger. For instance in a romance story you can keep your readers in a state of agitation which hangs on whether the heroine is going to marry the rich squire or turn him down for the penniless farmers son.

What about the biography or non-fiction book? Believe it or not, the same applies to them. For example:

'When I was 17 I longed to join the Army and fight for my country. So I went down to the recruiting office, lied about my age, and got enlisted. If only I had known what this decision would have made to my life and to that of my parents, I would never have been so rash.'

You can see that readers will want to find out how this decision changed all those lives.

'One of the most serious forms of blight is orange spot. Many gardeners say it can't be cured but I'm going to let you into my own secret cure later in this chapter.'

It's a good idea to plan at what point the suspense occurs and at what point it is resolved. In all probability the object of suspense and it's resolution in a short story may be the reason for the story in the first place. In a book you may want to have a series of suspenseful situations throughout. Do make these episodes of varying degrees, though, as you don't want your readers in a constant state of frenzy through all 80,000 words!