Writing a Suspense Story
photo credit Nasa / Goddard Space Flight Center / Reto Stöckli
Talk to your partner
What is Suspense?
Suspense is a technique that a
writer uses to make the reader feel

– scared
– anxious
– excited
– desperate to know what happens next!

It’;s fun to feel scared when you know that
it’;s all a story.
How to create suspense

1. Use short sentences to build up the tension
2. Use ellipsis (…) to create the What happens next? moment!
3. Use simile and metaphor to describe
Listen to writer Malorie Blackman
talking about how she creates tension
in her writing
Now try creating suspenseful sentences with the following tense sentence openers

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye.
My heart pounding in my chest, I thought I could hear.
As the vast door of the Alien craft opened, I could feel.
bbc.co.uk/education/clips/z9dc87h
The floorboards groaned like a menacing beast. His heart pounded. His hands shook. Sweat poured. He could feel the eyes watching him from dark corners.
Simile
like a menacing beast
Short sentences
What happens next? The ellipsis creates excitement.
Eyes watched him from dark corners.

4. Is there something hidden in the darkness? Can you keep your reader guessing about what is there.

5. Use powerful verbs like crept, whispered, raced.
His heart pounded. His hands shook. Sweat poured
.
Take a moment to consider this scene. Create a suspenseful paragraph with your table group using some of the techniques we have talked about so far.
– short sentences
– ellipsis
– simile and metaphor
You are going to listen to a piece of music.
Try to create a suspenseful tale in your mind using

everything you have learned.
Short sentences to create tension. Hearts pounded. Heads ached. Time ticked
Use ellipsis to create a page-turning What happens next?
Similes and metaphors
Dark shadows. What is lurking, hidden? What strange sound was that?
Powerful verbs
Use all your senses.
Music used in WMM video composed by K MacLeod at incompetech.com (Constancy Part 2)
Moving Image used in WMM video from dreamscene.org

What hidden sounds can the crew of the space rocket hear?
How is the creature moving?