How do storytellers and authors build suspense to keep us reading?
Suspense Machine
How do storytellers and authors build suspense to keep us reading?
You meant to read one more page. Just one. And now it's somehow two in the morning and your eyes are sandpaper and you simply must know what's behind that door. How does a writer do that to you? It isn't magic. It's a set of tricks — old, sneaky, and wonderful — and once you see them, you'll spot them everywhere.
The first trick is the simplest: ask a question and refuse to answer it. Storytellers call this a "hook." Who screamed? Whose hand was that? What's in the locked box? The moment your brain hears a question, it itches to know the answer. A good writer plants that itch early — and then makes you turn pages to scratch it.
