Hashtag might help😅

#Sustember

#Sustember

Pandora Hearts (the manga, anyway).

While it's not exactly what I'd call suspenseful, Jun Mochizuki did an amazing job at building the mystery around what's going on. And that's not say there isn't suspense--the whole thing about Humpty Dumpty's murders was insane (in a good way--and

Woops #Sustember

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Let's talk hidden gems! Are there any underrated stories you've read that use these tools well? Share with the group!

One of my faves is Silvia Moreno-Garcia. I love how atmospheric her books are. That definitely helps feed into the suspense and dread.

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#Sustember Sept 27 (I'm doing these out of order)

Tips:

1. The shorter the sentence the more intense the anxiety becomes.

2. Show, don't tell. Exposition drags the pace to a halt.

3. Use all the senses.

4. Have plenty of action to keep the tension going.

#Sustember Sept 28

My favorite writer is Edgar Allan Poe. I grew up in Baltimore where he died. You don't live in Baltimore & not know about Poe. 😸 I visited his grave and home. Big fan.

Poe builds suspense until you can barely take it. His endings always leave you in awe. The man was a master.

#Sustember
Fave short story of all times is The Pit and the pendulum, so in very short:
- all 6 senses required
- style changes (as if in a trance when under the pendulum, philosophical during a dream, methodical when measuring the cell)

This is hard. So much of my consumption for the last 5 years has been non-fiction. I don't have exact examples off the top of my head.

Many of the writers I gravitate toward let the reader discover things along with the characters and not in a "got you" moment way.

#Sustember

#Sustember I have a lot of favorite authors. This regularly rotates based on my preferences at the time. This year I've been heavily reading T. Kingfisher.

She's really effective at burying the lead of her scares behind humor until they're too large to ignore.

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Who is your favorite writer and how do they use suspense in their work?

Let's chat about it!

Starting with yesterday's post:

I write suspenseful scenes like I write poetry. I look for rhythm and how the words and sentence structure create emotion in the reader. I use short, quick, or even one word sentences.

Writing poetry is my exercise for suspenseful scenes.

#Sustember

#Sustember

I guess the best tip I've got is to not be afraid to foreshadow things you think might be more obvious, or even throw in little hints. Get feedback on if it gets the point of being too much, of course, but you'd be surprised how many don't notice~

My biggest writing tip in general is, don't be afraid to experiment. There is no right way to write suspense or right way to write in general. If you advice you follow isn't working, mix it up and try something new.

#Sustember

My own #Sustember answer -- Not that I can think of right now, but I also just finished a nine mile hike and don't have much of a brain 🤣