I don’t like suspense. I disdain horror, splatters, thrillers, mysteries, police procedurals, or almost any story where a character’s sole reason for existence is to serve as a dead body. As you might imagine, Stephen King and the authors of his ilk do not grace my TBR list. Watching any graphic displays in the form of movies or series has also been a hard “no” for me.
I found myself in a difficult situation. My hotel offers limited TV options. Reruns of Law and Order, CSI, Chicago PD, and their spin-offs, compete with the Weather Channel for my attention. Forced to view something, I created an intellectual challenge and decided to analyze and dissect the plotlines. To do this, I needed to reassure myself the program was imaginary, and people were not harmed during filming. The themes are designed to elicit intense emotions and heighten awareness. This made unfinished threads, and unsolved plots both memorable and annoying.
We are wired to solve problems, complete puzzles, and this propensity compels our focus. Confronted with tension, conflict, suspense, unresolved questions, and personal concerns, our brains drive us to act, even if the action is only to figure out “who done it” by the end of the show. It caused me to consider how I could use suspense to increase reader engagement and create a page-turner in my writing. Without a gratuitous corpse, of course.
Do you include suspense in your stories?
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Keep on writing.
Jo Hawk The Writer
Jo Hawk 
I love all the suspense and thrills but I don’t know how to write them, probably something I should work on.
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It is a challenge, isn’t it, Gina? Let’s see what we can do.
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Oh, everything on your disdain list appears with regularity on my bookshelf😬 Well, except Stephen King because he’s a thrill step too far😏 I do have a limit!
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Isn’t it great that we have so many options. That way we can find exactly what suits us. 🙂
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I can enjoy suspense if I am not in suspense too long! But yes, I stay away from Stephen King as well. Not into overboard suspense and graphic displays either!
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I have a difficult time it. Many of those thriller, suspense stories cause me to loose sleep at night. As a rule I try to avoid it.
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I’m not a big fan of suspense. I don’t like to read or watch it. And certainly not the splatter stuff. I haven’t read Stephen King. I do like mysteries, and suspense built into the unraveling is all right.
As for suspense in writing, how suspenseful is a poem?
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I do think there are elements/techniques of the genre we can learn and perhaps incorporate into our work. I think the way a reader is led through a story and how facts are revealed are interesting.
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Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet.
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Thank you for the reblog. 💕❤💕
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Happy to share your posts with followers, My Dear!!
xoxo 🌹💖
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