I like to think I have a good sense for suspense since I imagine everything in my head like a movie, but I need to hone my skill more, so it does take me a couple of drafts to pin down properly. The biggest challenge is pacing and knowing the right amount of necessary buildup. #Sustember

#Sustember 4

(Not her boss' office, but a similar funny scene that's been floating in my head.)

Getting into Jorum's office was no easy task. Old Man ran the fortress. Thalia couldn't spit without hitting a badge. That would end poorly since she was just released from prison.

Lord Gladium...

1/5

#Sustember 3

I'm plotting more nowadays. I'm still a plantser, but my first draft is nowhere near as raw as it used to be. I write the rough story in a notebook, then start typing, editing as I go.

No matter how many edits I do while writing, it's the first draft until the end is written.

#Sustember
Jorang, in his usual formal voice, contemplates leaving the other MCs after they fail to live up to his standards.

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Happy #Sustember 6!

I'm not sure anything comes naturally to me 😂

I basically lean on two things; one, rooting the suspense in reader investment in the story & characters (or trying to), and writing what *I* find is closest to my emotional truth.

I'm lucky that suspense comes naturally to me, but sooometimes I draw it out a little too long when I don't actually want a slow-burn story. It takes me a couple of drafts to trim it to the right point.

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Sometimes I have a tendency to play everything out right away, rather than build tension. It's much easier once I've finished a draft to see where I should be leaving things to be resolved later.
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I'd say it just depends on what I'm leading up to and when I know it'll get revealed. I've definitely added more suspense than when I wrote my first drafts, especially around Orkus and his plans. Since I typically do more subtle suspense, I save the more outright suspenseful moments

It comes fairly naturally. I usually hone it with further drafts.

I really like writing strange somatic responses people have when they are struggling with the unknown or their inner thoughts betray them.

It can feel heavy-handed or veer off into left field, which is sometimes ok.

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I'm pretty good at coming up with suspenseful scenarios. My big issue is I feel investment in secondary characters. They tend to be the ones whose fates are in question - getting people to care about the world, the normal people in it, that's my big fight

#Sustember The hardest thing is not to turn it into a cheap trick. It only works well if it makes sense for the characters and the plot. If the reader cares for those, they'll care about their fates and the stakes in general. After that, it's all about the pacing, and where to put it.

My first manuscripts were thriller noir. I still enjoy the genre, but I never fell in love with the stories I was writing.

It wasn’t until I began writing dark fantasy with suspenseful elements that I found my voice. Once I did, those scenes came far more naturally.

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I scribe the movies in my head, so whatever is shown there goes on paper. Including suspense. I do one "draft" and then polish that, and add more, if needed. The challenges is to be able to keep up with my characters, or to even be able to scribe all the feelings, senses, dialogues...

#Sustember Sept. 6

I write horror. Suspense comes naturally to me. I have a dark and snarky outlook on life anyway so that does its part.

#Sustember 6!
I am new at building suspense, maybe it was just Amon but I spent a lot of time building up his mask just for him to basically rip it off at the first chance he gets. I struggled to keep the masked ruse going because Cole kept trying to leak the secret and Amon on page elbowed him 😂

I'm also one of those who, after seeing a film, play, show, etc, enjoys deconstructing it endlessly, so I suppose I've always been interested in structure on an theoretical level - and suspense is a structural aspect to a story

Whether I'm any good at a thriller remains to be seen! #Sustember 2/2

Tension comes quite naturally to me: I'm a huge fan of heists and TTRPGs that build tension in an elegant way

Recently, I've been dabbling in horror which is new for me. I've never enjoyed being scared but I've always enjoyed reading the wikipedia and going "oh that does sound scary" #Sustember 1/2

My own #Sustember answer for the day -- I think it naturally pops up, but I need to really dial it in in subsequent drafts.

It comes in the pacing, the sentence structure, and the language. The way the words are laid on the page can give a factor. I like to use single-word paragraphs, onomatopoeia-