By Lidija Hilje.
Novels
are basically all about Q and A; the author poses questions and, with some
delay, answers them. In that period of delay lies suspense—a feeling of anticipation, apprehension and anxiety the
reader experiences while waiting for the questions to be answered.
The
success of a book depends on this feeling; it’s what makes the reader turn the
pages. So it’s always good to explore new ways of
drawing more suspense out of your writing.
Here’s
what I learned about building suspense by reading Glendy Vanderah’s ‘Where the Forest Meets the Stars’. This
remarkable debut is one of those genre-blending novels; it’s a
novel about unlikely friendships and overcoming difficult pasts (i.e. about the
protagonists’ emotional journeys), that also has thriller elements.
This
combination makes creating suspense particularly interesting; in thriller and
crime genres, the suspense is what the narrative revolves around (the narrative
itself is suspenseful). But are there any tools to build suspense in more ‘timid’
genres, such as women’s fiction or romance?
The
novel’s plot revolves around a young ornithologist named Jo, who rents a house
in rural Illinois to study nesting birds. Her solitary routine is interrupted
when a girl approaches her from the woods. She calls herself Ursa and claims to
be an alien who came to Earth to study humanity. Supposedly, she’ll go back to her
home world once she’s witnessed five miracles here on Earth.
Jo
suspects her to be a runaway child whose return to an abusive home might put
her in further danger. With help from a reclusive neighbour, Gabe, Jo tries to
find out more about Ursa’s past in order to help her.
Through
these unusual circumstances, the three of them form an unbreakable bond while
knowing that untangling the mystery around the girl’s identity — whoever she is — might
not just destroy that bond, but may also result in other serious consequences for
everyone involved.
Here are the top tips and tricks I learned about building suspense by
reading this book.
1. Build suspense on smaller scale
At
the beginning of the novel, we instantly learn Jo has been through a lot. We also
learn she has a medical condition, but we don’t find out what it is until some hundred
pages in.
Finding
out what condition she has isn’t the main plot of the story. It isn’t even a
subplot. The author could have simply told us Jo was a *spoiler alert* cancer
survivor.
But
instead, she kept us occupied with this information while developing the main
plot. And she harvested on that sense of gratification when the reader’s
educated guess proved correct.
It’s
a good reminder that the ‘hook’—the main question the narrative revolves
around—isn’t the only question worth posing.
The suspense should be built in layers, the hook
being the top layer. Underneath that, a series of less important questions can
be posed to build immediate suspense on a smaller scale.
2. Give the reader smaller
puzzles to work on, to prevent wearing out the suspense of the main question.
Vanderah
poses a very compelling main question: who is Ursa and what will happen to her once
her true origin — alien or human — is revealed?
But
even a question this compelling wouldn’t hold the reader’s attention for 350
pages. So, Vanderah prolongs the suspense of the main plot line by creating compelling
subplots: an unlikely friendship forming between Ursa and Jo, and Ursa and
Gabe; a romantic subplot between Jo and Gabe whose pasts would affect these
fragile, newly-formed bonds as well as their behaviors.
Balance
is crucial here, because we should never forget what the story is really about.
Vanderah
does this brilliantly. She throws in little reminders throughout the narrative (if
only by referring to the child as an alien), which always bring the reader’s
attention back to the main question.
3. Build suspense by
offering several different outcomes
Throughout
the story, we are offered different possible answers to the question who might Ursa be
(the hook). Is she really an alien? A changeling? Did she run away from home?
Did someone abuse her? Was she left alone when a caregiver of hers had died?
All
valid answers, which only amp up the reader’s curiosity about which one it
really is. The author offers clues that make any and all of those options
plausible. At this point, the reader is not only engaged by wanting to know the
answer; he is also actively trying to figure out how all these clues fit in.
This
is a tough task for writers: to write the story like it might have a different
outcome, and offer clues that support that false outcome, but that still fit
into the story and the outcome the writer had chosen. But, when executed
successfully, it brings tons of suspense.
4. Use internal conflict to
build suspense
As
I pointed out before, both Jo and Gabe have difficult pasts. Their internal
conflicts are chosen carefully to bring additional friction to the external
conflict. What this means is that their specific internal conflicts make it
particularly difficult for these exact characters to get through their
obstacles.
This
leaves reader in a constant fear; will they have what it takes to achieve a
happily ever after?
And
this fear, this apprehension, is actually what suspense in a novel is all
about.
5. Use erratic behavior to
build suspense
Unexpected
erratic behavior can do wonders for building suspense. And by erratic, I don’t
mean unusual in terms of ‘an average person’, but unusual for this specific
character.
For
instance, there’s a dialogue between the three protagonists that seems pretty
casual. A certain question pushes Gabe’s buttons and he walks out.
Instead
of simply telling us Gabe has issues with this subject, Vanderah had him react
unexpectedly, which made the reader wonder why a seemingly dull conversation
prompted his exaggerated reaction. And every question means suspense.
There
are also a few scenes where Ursa acts out, which is out of character for her.
We’re left wondering if she’s just being childish or tired or if there’s more
to her unexpected behavior.
This
goes to show that a sudden change in a protagonist’s behavior can go way longer
than simply spoon-feeding a reader information we want them to know.
6. Delay answers, but be
tasteful
With
a few quick brushes to the canvas early on, Vanderah insinuates we might get a
romantic subplot underway. After awhile, we’re pretty confident both Gabe and
Jo have fallen for each other, though there isn’t a word on the subject.
As
a reader, you crave closure, so every delay keeps you in suspense if you’ll be
getting that closure.
Still,
there’s a fine line sometimes authors cross when delaying answers for too long,
which can results in annoyance instead of suspense.
The
key is to delay as much as possible, but to respect the natural development of
a situation.
In
my opinion, Vanderah found the perfect measure.
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About the Author: Lidija Hilje
After working as a trial
attorney for ten years, Lidija recently took a plunge into the writing
universe. As a psychology enthusiast, she wrote several articles on Medium and
was declared Top writer in the fields of Psychology, Personal development, and Self-awareness.
She’s currently working on a contemporary women’s fiction novel.
She interacts with other
writers and reading enthusiasts via her twitter account: @lidija_hilje
