Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Creating Suspense and Immediacy
My Regency historical is also a bit of a romantic suspense. But, as I’ve been going back over my story and synopsis post pregnancy, (read: after the resuscitation of many of my brain cells) I’ve realized there’s not a lot of suspense in my suspense.
There’s the plot. They’re trying to trap the “villain.” To gain enough information about him to put him in jail and avenge an innocent party. But, that’s the plot, not the suspense.
So, I ruminated. I picked and pulled at my brain, trying to find a way to keep readers at the edge of their seat. I want them asking: will they catch the villain at his dastardly deeds or will the slippery fellow get away again? Worse, will he accomplish his goal before they do?
Ultimately, I found myself asking, “Who cares?” Not in a this-is-a-boring-storyline kind of way, but in a who-has-the-most-to-lose kind of way.
When I started, the only one who really cared if the villain got caught was my hero. If the villain is caught, my hero’s brother is avenged and my hero’s reputation is quasi-repaired. But, that was all I had.
Initially, my heroine sort of just got drug into the conflict. She was collateral damage, forced to be part of catching the villain due to extenuating circumstances. But she didn’t care because of her own motivation and I decided it would be more suspenseful if she wanted to catch the bad guy all on her own. So, I added an external conflict that would be resolved if she got involved, namely, the hero offers to pay her a lot for her help and she needs the money to accomplish a very altruistic goal.
Finally, I decided the villain needed to care. At the onset, he just didn’t want to be caught for the sake of it. I mean, who wants to go to jail? But that’s not an interesting reason because, in fact, no one wants to go to jail. I wanted something specific to him, something that was compelling. Something that makes him hell-bent on working at odds to my hero and heroine. I’m still working on that part.
But I realized that there was a trend here. I wanted all my characters to have a stake in the outcome of their actions. And, I wanted that “stake” to be something immediate. It couldn’t be something without a timeframe. My hero only has a certain time to catch the villain because once the villain realizes he’s on to him, he’ll disappear and my hero will lose his chance. My heroine needs to take the “job” my hero has offered because she needs the money—fast. My villain can’t run and hide even when he’s foiled because of… well, something I haven’t figured out yet.
Their needs have to be immediate and volatile and in complete opposition. And they have to be completely invested. No turning back.
My story gets a little life or death. But I don’t think suspense in every story has to be that dire. I think as long as the characters have an immediate need that is in opposition to another character, an author creates tension and suspense.
So, I wanted to see how everyone else does this. How do you create the suspense between your characters, the immediacy of them accomplishing their goals? Anyone want to offer up their own hero's or heroine's motivations for example?
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31 comments:
I'm a big one for either the hero or heroine knowing more about what is going on than the other. I'm not sure that really amps up the suspense, other than the reader wondering what the hell is going to happen when the other gets a real clue...
Let me think...the current WIP. I honestly don't have an immediant suspense. There is the emotional tension, the working toward a common goal... Sigh.
Well, he's doing it for her. She thinks he's doing it for the greater good and she isn't good enough to be greater.
Hmmm... I like that and I'm gonna stick with that. I'm pisspoor at analyzing my plots. Have you noticed? ;-)
Marn, these are great questions -- I'm not sure I have an answer though! LOL
I wonder if it comes down to that sense of "something's getting ready to happen". Like your pic up there. The dog is gonna snatch that egg as soon as he has a chance, and it's just a matter of WHEN. So I keep looking at it, to see if anything's changed -- LOL -- which it hasn't (obviously).
In my romantic comedy, someone is shooting at the heroine, and they're trying to figure out who -- especially since he's tried three times now. So (hopefully) there's a worry that it could happen again before they catch the guy.
Let me drench my brain cells in some caffeine and I'll be back! Hopefully with something intelligent to add! LOL
Chance - Well, he’s doing it for her. She thinks he’s doing it for the greater good and she isn’t good enough to be greater.
I love this idea, that one character feels something deeper for the other and the other doesn't know about it. So all the time we watch the one character angsting and hurting but unable to speak and we just ache for them. Le sigh. :)
Donna - I do think it does come down to the "something's getting ready to happen." I think what I was trying to say is that when you put them on a deadline--my hero has to capture the villain this season, my heroine needs the money right now--it makes them desperate. And desperate people do more interesting things.
Marn, I totally agree about the deadline, as well a desperate characters -- I think that's a great way to increase the suspense.
Also, when the reader knows something the other characters don't know -- I think that increases suspense when I'm reading, because I *know* it's gonna blow things up for the characters, and I keep reading to find out WHEN it's all gonna come apart. LOL
So with your hero and heroine and your villain -- they all have their goals -- but they all don't necesarily KNOW each others' goals, do they?
I think I'm rambling! I've got to drink more coffee before hitting the keyboard!
Nope, they don't all know the other's motivations, at least not exactly. My hero knows my heroine likes money but doesn't know why she needs it, my heroine knows my hero wants to avenge his brother, but she doesn't realize why it's so dire. And the villain's motives aren't clear to anyone but him.
Great blog, Marn. I think you're absolutely right. There has to be something at stake for each character...what happens if they don't meet their goal.
This is an issue in my current WIP. The hero's whole plan is to get revenge on one person. If he doesn't accomplish it....he just goes home. No harm, no foul. That's not really good enough for a thriller :)
Hal - with Jo's story? I agree, the villain can't just "go home" or escape underground. They have to keep going too, just like the hero and heroine.
But, as you know, I'm having the same problem. Why can't he just... leave? Ugh.
Marn -- Kersey, actually. I'm still knee-deep in revisions. At one point in the book, he actually says, "I don't know what to do next". Hmmm, that maybe be a problem :)
hahahaha!! hmmm..... You know where to find me if you need to hash it out. Or, just do stream of consciousness emails to figure it out. :)
I meant you can just send me stream of consciousness emails in which you figure it out and I can take the credit for helping. I am not properly caffeinated. LOL!!
LOL! You'll probably get one soon *g*
LOL! I'm just formulating mine right now. :)
This is going to be a 3 rum straight up lunch time. I'll get here and catch up as soon as I can.
No problem, Bo'sun. Sorry everyone, I was just thinking all this stuff through yesterday and so it's boiled over into my blog.
Great blog, Marnee.
Hero's motivation begins as external-his mom has recently remarried and will be monivg to her new home after his sister's wedding at the end of the Season. He decides he needs a wife who can keep his life running smoothly, without any romantic strings attatched.
Heroine returns to London to fulfill a promise to her Aunt, and to attend her bff wedding (hero's sister). Her goal is to make it through the Season, so she can return to her painting and her cottage where she retreated after her fiance's death.
I love that she turns his world upside down and knocks him off balance.
Di
Marn, it's a great topic -- I wish I had some concrete suggestions to offer. (I'm also working on my resume right now, so I'm a little distracted by that.)
Okay, I'm caught up. First off, I'm so sad that I didn't notice the cat and dog eyeing the little girl's food until Donna pointed it out. Just call me observant.
I really like the idea of adding the timeline and now realize my completed MS doesn't have one. Huh. I'm trying not to freak, but it's not easy. Damn damn damn.
I think Donna had the best answer and didn't realize it. The trick is for the reader to know something bad is going to happen and the characters not know. You have the perfect tool to accomplish this by using the villain's POV. It's even better if the villain knows something about the H/H that they don't know he knows.
Okay, before I cross into Abbott and Costello, I'll stop there. Does that make sense? Throw in three, maybe four POVs of the villain telling some minion of his dastardly plan. Even better, have that minion be someone the reader thought was on the H/H's side. Then the reader is really freaking because they'll be yelling at the H/H NOT to talk to the minion anymore.
Di R - That does sound fun and provides the timeline. Makes things more imminent. (Did I spell that right?)
One more thing I figured out when I had to revamp my villain and conflict. Whatever the issue is, it has to be personal. At first my villain was just the heroine's cousin who was an asshole for no reason except he was an asshole.
Now, the villain is not related to her, has always wanted her, and basically sexually harrasses her. So, when her goal becomes to take him down, there's a personal reason for it, not just that he's an asshole.
Now it's back to work. :)
I cannot keep timelines straight when I write. I have watch-blindness. So I have to stick to a more generic threat... it's all happening right now!
The one time I left it really wide open...that turned interesting. As the H/H found the pursuit, with no end in sight, was sapping their vitality, turning them against each other, and exhausting their allies.
So much depends on the word suspense!
Suspense between characters.. Hm. There is always someone dying, blackmailing, thieving and conniving between my characters. And since it's in first person I think that helps bring suspense between the characters because you don't know who else is doing what.
Sorry I haven't been around this week wenches. :(
The example I was thinking of earlier, when I mentioned that one character knows something the other one doesn't -- it was from Kresley Cole's new book.
It's a fairly simple plot -- the heroine needs to betray the hero, because she's protecting a child. She goes IN knowing she's going to betray him, BUT he doesn't know that.
So the reader is kept in suspense about when this terrible thing is going to happen, AND there's a ton of suspense even knowing there's an HEA. LOL
I also think suspense can come from unpredictability. We lead the reader to believe that Item A is going to happen, but it doesn't. Item B does instead.
The reader needs to keep guessing, and needs to worry "what's next?". LOL
Jordan, that's a great list! Thanks for sharing it. (And my blog posts all seem to come about because of "issues" I'm working on in my own writing. LOL)
I've got to run to the store and get some essentials (coffee, half and half -- LOL) in case Earl tries to put a hurt on us in a couple days. Be back soon!
Donna - resume writing huh? Blech.
Di - your conflicts are great. :) So, the hero and heroine have known each other for their lives, yes? Has there been any feelings between them in the past?
And it has the "end of the Season" timeline. Perfect. I'd imagine the wedding plays a big role in the story so it's always out there as an end time.
Bo'sun - I love the idea of someone pretending to be on the hero/heroine's side but being on the side of the villain. I don't know if I can work that in, but maybe. *thinking ferociously*
I'm also sure that you have the suspense. Don't freak out. Seriously.
I see that Donna has opted for caffeine in order to think.
I'm going to need something a little stronger!
In the film world Alfred Hitchcock was a master of suspense. For example that shower scene when the knife slices slowly down the shower curtain.
You could do worse than study a couple of Hitchcock films and try to analyze how he creates those chilling atmospheres.
I think the clues lie in small incidents which lie outside the norm. Isolated they would not mean anything, but when recurring or linked with other unusual events, an atmosphere filled with tension can be built.
Let us know if you discover the Hitchcock secret! :lol:
Interesting stuff!
I'm sorry I'm late in the game here. Great blog about GMC--sorta, at least this feels like GMC, the hives are similar. The time element is the "easiest" (if there is such a thing) way to drive up the suspense and make the readership care. If readers think there is an indefinite amount of time to do stuff, the "care factor" goes way down.
In Harry Potter, there was a definite sense of urgency time-wise of "foiling Voldemort to keep him from returning" and yet not really. A lot of romantic suspense have turn around times of 2-3 weeks tops. Harry Potter always had a year, though you could always pinpoint when something was going to occur. Something major always happened at Halloween; something usually happened around Christmas; something happened at Easter; and then the final big thing happened at the end of the year.
I love the idea of "someone you think is on your side but isn't" which is also implemented in HP: Professor Quirrell (a non-suspect at the time); Professor Moody; and Peter Pettigrew. Or the ones who seem to be thwarting you or are evil, but really aren't: Severus Snape or Sirius Black.
I just read your second comment there, Bo'sun, you have the suspense right there. You don't need a timeline. Just having someone else interested in your heroine adds the suspense. I'm sure that makes your villain feel plenty insecure and swings in all kinds of things. That's got plenty of immediacy.
Chance - I have watch-blindness. So I have to stick to a more generic threat… it’s all happening right now!
LOL!!
Sin - I think that is a benefit of first person POV. The MC can't know what everyone else is thinking, even if the other characters tell her/him. So, there's always a level of suspense there.
Jordan - Thanks for the link! Great list!! :)
Donna - I also think suspense can come from unpredictability. We lead the reader to believe that Item A is going to happen, but it doesn’t. Item B does instead.
I love when this happens in stories, especially if I'm legitimately tricked. If I'm not tricked, then it's like any time I'm not tricked and I get annoyed.
Q - I think the clues lie in small incidents which lie outside the norm. Isolated they would not mean anything, but when recurring or linked with other unusual events, an atmosphere filled with tension can be built.
I think I know what you mean here. I was just trying to figure out today how to do this for my villain. As mentioned in the blog, he's in my sites today. I've got an idea that sort of mixes Donna's idea for misleading and an interconnected clue leaving ala bread crumb trail in the woods kind of thing. It needs more thought.
I'm off to make a pot of coffee for help.
Hellie - I love that you tie this into HP. :) I agree about the timeframes and that you can sometimes see when the big things are coming. Like in Di's story, I could see that the wedding could be a big event. I wonder if I can implement something like that too....
*gears turning*
Glad you liked the list! (There are 20-something posts in the series after that go into more depth, but the list might be the most useful if you're just brainstorming ways to add to suspense.)
@Q—Actually, Hitchcock spoke about the secret to suspense lots. He said, "The stronger the evil, the stronger the film" Hitchcock by François Truffaut, 316.
And:
"We are now having a very innocent little chat. Let us suppose that there is a bomb underneath this table between us. Nothing happens, and then all of a sudden, ‘Boom!’ There is an explosion. The public is surprised, but prior to this surprise, it has seen an absolutely ordinary scene, of no special consequence. Now, let us take a suspense situation. The bomb is underneath the table, and the public knows it, probably because they have seen the anarchist place it there. The public is aware that the bomb is going to explode at one o’clock and there is a clock in the décor. The public can see that it is a quarter to one. In these conditions this same innocuous conversation becomes fascinating because the public is participating in the scene.
"The audience is longing to warn the characters on the screen: ‘You shouldn’t be talking about such trivial matters. There’s a bomb underneath you and it’s about to explode!’
"In the first case we have given the public fifteen seconds of surprise at the moment of the explosion. In the second case we have provided them with fifteen minutes of suspense. The conclusion is that whenever possible the public must be informed. Except when the surprise is a twist, that is, when the unexpected ending is, in itself, the highlight of the story." (ibid, 79-80).
That's one of my favorite quotes on suspense!
[...] One of my writing friends, Marnee, is working on digging deeper and raising the stakes on her WIP. I loved the way she described this: [...]
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