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You Just Can’t Stop!

Have you ever been in bed at night, reading a book, snuggled under the covers? You’re sooooo into the story. The characters are at the pivotal moment that you’ve been waiting for, and just as they turn to one another, you hear, “Honey! Time to turn off your light and go to bed.”

“Just 5 more minutes!” You plead. You are on the edge of the seat, you can’t stop now! There’s NO WAY that you can sleep without knowing what happens next in the story.

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You’re Not Alone!

We have all been there! Sometimes stories are so compelling, we just can’t stop reading, because we HAVE TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!

If you’ve experienced this-then you have experienced the feeling of suspense.

Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty or excitement about what is going to happen next. It often keeps you on the edge of your seat, and is right before a big moment in a story.

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Suspense!

Sometimes people think of suspense as a roller coaster-that moment as you’re climbing up, and the excitement and nervousness is building, because you’re thinking about the trip down!

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Tension

Tension is a feeling of being uneasy or nervous about what arises from a situation where you don’t know what will happen. Writers use tension to help you understand relationships and story events as a reader.

For example, you read a part in a story when two characters who aren’t getting along seem like they’re going to start talking, but then they don’t? They might grump at each other or say a few things, but they don’t handle the big issue. That’s an example of tension. It’s not necessarily a huge blow-up scene, but it still makes you as the reader feel uncomfortable, worried and curious.

In the picture here, there’s some tension between these two girls. They aren’t talking, they aren’t looking at each other, and they are both frowning. As a reader, you’d be curious about their issue.

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Tension and Suspense in Writing

Most stories contain suspension and tension in them. Some people like stories with lots of suspense, because they enjoy the feeling of being on edge. Some people prefer less. Wherever you fall on the scale is ok!
Have you ever tried to write something with suspense or full of tension? How did it go?

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Suspense and Tension

Writing with strong suspense and tension makes readers:

Ask questions
Want to keep reading
Feel invested in the story
Make predictions
Feel connected

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Suspense Writing

Slowly the door to the basement creaked open. A soft mist drifted into the room. A whispery chill crept over the children as they huddled together. “Is this it?” Luna whispered.

Use the following ideas to evaluate the tension in this sentence:

How does this writing:

Have you asking questions? What are they?
Make you want to keep reading?
Make you feel invested in the story (do you care?)?
Have you creating predictions or inferences to what’s going to happen?
Make you feel connected to a character or curious about them?

This Photo by Unknown Author is liensed under CC BY-ND

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Tension Writing �

Use the following ideas to evaluate the tension in this sentence:

Hayden couldn’t believe how boring this class had become. He noticed a book dangling off the side of Aggie’s desk. With a casual swipe, the book went flying threw the air and caught Aggie roughly in the shoulder. Hayden chuckled to himself. Maybe today wouldn’t be so boring after all. Luis gasped when he saw Hayden knock the book into Aggie. That was out of character for him, why would Hayden would do such a thing?

How does this passage:

Have you asking questions? What are they?
Make you want to keep reading?
Make you feel invested in the story (do you care?)?
Have you creating predictions or inferences to what’s going to happen?
Make you feel connected to a character or curious about them?

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Check Out Key

3 Things You Learned Today

2 Things You’ll Remember

1 Question You Still Have

Do you prefer books with lots of suspense and tension? Why?
What kind of books do you mainly read?

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