Craeting Suspense in Writing

Think of a novel that you have read into the wee hours of the
night. It is usually a book that you just can’t put down. That is
the power of suspense. The reader is left hanging and needs to
read on. Children can learn the art of suspense in a number of
different ways. 

• One way we teach suspense is through story questions. The
simplest way to do that is to have the main character raise a
story question like; What in the world is happening to my bike?

• Another technique to teach suspense is word referents.
A word referent is a description of a character or an object
without naming it. For instance: The creature stood on its hind
legs and growled. It lumbered closer and closer to me. I felt its
hot breath on my face and was frozen with fear. The fish eater
reached out a giant paw and that was when I turned and ran.
Notice the author did not have to tell you it was a bear, but
rather was able to describe it without naming it thereby
creating a sense of anticipation in the story.

• The final technique we use to teach suspense is The Magic of
Three. This technique involves using a series of three sensory
hints to build tension-the third hint leads to a revelation. For
example: Just then I saw large footprints in the snow and
anxiously looked all around me. Nothing else was unusual so I
kept walking. Suddenly from out of nowhere a strange noise
sounded very close to where I was standing. My heart pounded
in my chest and I stood frozen to the spot. Without warning a
trembling began to shake the trees around me and when I
looked up I was standing in front of a snow monster.

• When building suspense, especially the Magic of Three, authors
use red flag words and phrases. These include words such as;
suddenly, without warning, in the blink of an eye, instantly, a
moment later. We have created a list of these words in the
classroom and are beginning to use them in our own writing.