Suspense

If I were to sum up suspense writing, it would be: quiet, quiet, quiet, LOUD!

They often feature brave, curious, even troublesome characters setting foot in narrow, dark, quiet places, with a scary beast lurking in the background.

You’ll notice the beasts don’t appear until late in the story. Even then, they emerge gradually: a claw, an eye, a fang… 

Up until then, they are just shapes or shadows. We know what will happen… our character doesn’t!

I have left the endings as cliffhangers. You can, too. Or, maybe you could change it to suit you!

A few useful Suspense tips:

Use repetition to build excitement or drama:  the more, the more; closer and closer.

Use short sentences for dramatic or exciting parts: She ran. They had gone. 

Use empty words: something, a shadow, a shape, a figure.

Use onomatopoeia words to build suspense: crack, click, rattle, snarl, hiss…