Guest Post: “Keep Out – Danger!”

Today I’m happy to host Rayne Hall as she discusses creating suspense.

Suspense is a feeling – the feeling of excitement, of tension, of fear, the feeling of needing to know what happens next. As writers, we aim to create suspense, because our readers love it.

Here’s a quick trick for increasing the suspense:  Let your protagonist walk through a doorway on her way to danger.

Film makers use this technique frequently. Next time you watch a thriller, cop drama or horror movie, observe how the camera lingers on the door before the hero enters.  Subconsciously, the viewer perceives the door as a barrier: if the protagonist crosses it, she is entering a danger zone. The viewer screams inwardly ‘Don’t open that door!’. Of course, the protagonist opens it and enters. By now, the viewer is sitting on the edge of her chair, frightened on the hero’s behalf, needing to find out what happens next.

You can use the same trick in your writing: Put a door between your protagonist and the danger, and linger for a moment before she or he enters. Any kind of door serves: a front door, a garden gate, a gatehouse, a trap door, a stile, a cave mouth, even  a gap in a hedge. This works whether your  heroine is  a police officer on her way to confront a serial killer, or a governess tempted to explore the mansion cellar’s secrets, whether your hero accidentally stumbles into a werewolves’ lair or whether he gets dragged into the torture dungeon.

Slow the story’s pace for a moment and linger at the door.  Describe the door: Is dark oak, grimy glass, gleaming steel, or splintering hardwood with peeling paint?  Are there any ‘Danger’ clues, such as knife marks, smashed glass, ominous stains, thorny plants, perhaps even a sign ‘Visitors Unwelcome’ or ‘Keep Out’ nailed to the centre?

Describe the sound of the doorbell, or the weight of the keys in her hand. Finally, describe how the door opens: Does it creak open or screech open? Does it rattle or whisper? Does it whine inwards on its hinges?

By the time your protagonist steps through the door, the reader’s  suspense is turned to high volume, intensely anticipating what happens next.

If you want to increase the suspense further still, describe the sound of the door as it closes behind her. For example:  ‘The door snapped shut. ‘ ‘Behind her, the door groaned shut.’ ‘The door thudded closed.’ ‘The door clanked into its lock. ‘

This suggests to the reader that the protagonist has just walked into a trap, and that her escape route is blocked.

By making your protagonist walk through a door, you can add a lot of suspense to your scene with just a few words.  Try it out, and enjoy.

ONLINE CLASS: WRITING SCARY SCENES

Rayne teaches online classes for writers, including ‘Writing Scary Scenes’. Are your frightening scenes scary enough? Learn practical tricks to turn up the suspense. Make your readers’ hearts hammer with suspense, their breaths quicken with excitement, and their skins tingle with goosebumps of delicious fright. Whether you’re working on a ghost story, a thriller, a paranormal romance, an urban fantasy or a romantic suspense, this workshop is perfect for planning or revising your scary scenes. One month, twelve lessons, twelve assignments. If you wish, you may submit a scene for critique at the end of the class.

May 2012. Outreach International RWA. OIRW: http://www.oirwa.com/forum/campus/#MAY

October/November 2012: http://www.celtichearts.org/workshops.html

For more of Rayne’s workshops for writers, see https://sites.google.com/site/writingworkshopswithraynehall/

Bio:

Rayne Hall writes dark fantasy and horror. She has published more than twenty books under different pen names in different genres, and her stories have earned Honorable Mentions in ‘The Years’ Best Fantasy and Horror’.  She also edits anthologies of horror and fantasy stories.