Scriptwriting 101: How to Write a Killer Suspense

Imagine stepping out of your house for a walk and five minutes later, the sky suddenly becomes cloudy with lightning and thunder dancing across the heavenly canvas. At the same time, the smell of rain hits your nose and your eyes begin to water from the gust of wind. 

You look around and there's no shelter; just bushes and not even one uncompleted building in sight. You resign to fate because you can't even think of going back home. That's too far.

But just as you bow your head in anticipation of the heavy rain, you see the sun from the corner of your eyes. You raise your head and just like that, the skies have cleared! I can almost feel your sigh of relief as you confidently continue the walk. Sweet stuff! 

And then, a few minutes after your miracle, without warning, the heavens open and the rain pours down on you mercilessly. Ah, the sheer horror!

That is an analogical explanation for suspense. In this article, you’ll learn how to push your audience to the edge of their seats in anxiety and anticipation with their eyes glued to the screen and their heart racing using the elements of suspense.

WHAT IS SUSPENSE & WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

Firstly, let’s define suspense.

Suspense is the pleasurable emotion of anticipation and excitement regarding the outcome or climax of a book, film, etc. It can also be described as the unpleasant emotion of anxiety or apprehension in an uncertain situation.

Unlike mystery which is a mental activity, suspense is an emotional activity. It is used to deeply engage the audience and get them to anticipate or even predict the next course of events.

The Mission Impossible series typifies the use of suspense as a thematic focus, almost more than any other movie. 

Suspense is a recurring decimal in all six released parts (we're expecting the next installments in 2023 and 2024) but it wasn't until the second installment - Mission Impossible: II - that we got introduced to possibly the mother of suspense.

In the opening scene, biochemical expert Dr. Vladimir Nekhorvich arranges to meet on a plane with Agent Ethan Hunt of the Impossible Missions Force (IMF), to deliver the Chimera virus, and its remedy, Bellerophon. Interestingly, Ethan ends up killing his friend, Dr. Nekhorvich, and stealing Bellerophon, destroying the aircraft to cover their escape.

While we're still wondering why Ethan, the good guy, would suddenly go rogue and kill his friend, he peels off a disguise to reveal the face of agent Sean Ambrose who was sent in his stead by the IMF since he (Ethan) was on holiday. 

Not only are we amazed by this big reveal, but we also get introduced to more suspense; we are soon introduced to disguises and masks that mess with our minds. Throughout the movie, we follow the twists and turns of the main character, Ethan, and at some point, we think we know what he's up to only to be pleasantly shocked. 

We begin to ask questions: "is Ethan still the good guy? "what is agent Hunt playing at?" "will he die?", etc. 

This use of suspense reverberates through the Mission Impossible franchise and you really have to give credit to the writers and producers of all released installments. 

Oh, did I tell you that the series was based on Bruce Geller's Mission: Impossible,  an American espionage television series that aired on CBS from September 1966 to March 1973.

If you are a sucker for an excellent screenplay, dialogue, and of course, action, you should go see the movie series. 

One of the great minds of cinematography and the Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock used the perfect analogy to illustrate the meaning of suspense.

“Four people are sitting around a table, talking about baseball or whatever you’d like. Five minutes of it, very dull. Suddenly, a bomb goes off. Blows the people to smithereens. What does the audience have? Ten seconds of shock. Now, take the same scene and tell the audience there is a bomb under that table and it will go off in five minutes. Well, the whole emotion of the audience is totally different, because you’ve given them that information.

This analogy is not only a template for writing great suspense, but it also explains the difference between shock and suspense. 

A lot of people conflate mystery, shock, and suspense. To better understand what suspense truly means, I’ll explain the differences between these 3 elements of filmmaking.

The Difference Between Shock, Mystery & Suspense

The difference between suspense, mystery, and shock lies in information and perception. 

Information is needed to create suspense—your audience is aware of what a character isn’t aware of–key information—so they’re gripped with fear and anticipation of the next course of the event. 

When you hold back that information, you’ll end up inducing a shock that will only last for not less than 10 seconds and will easily be forgotten. 

While it is ideal to give away key information that your audience needs to know upfront, it is dangerous to give away too much information. 

Are you confused? Keep reading, I’ll explain that in subsequent subheadings. 

In mystery, there’s little to no information – the audience is forced to intellectually process the limited supply of information to solve a particular question – Who or What did it?  

It’s like a game of treasure hunting. There’s no emotional engagement, just mental alertness. 

Why Suspense is Important

Can your script do without suspense? Yes. But that’d only make your movie boring and your audience disconnected from your story. 

To better understand the importance of suspense, you’d have to think more about its effect on your readers or viewers of your movie. 

What does suspense do to your audience?

It stimulates their intellect to understand a puzzle you’ve presented to them. They are set to unravel it and get their answers. Doing your job well will have them shocked and confounded by the result of the movie.

It creates a mood. What type of mood do you want to set for your audience? Happiness, anxiety, fear, etc. are moods you can set for your audience to contract and make theirs. Here are a few ways to create a mood for your audience.

• Set a theme for your story. The theme will dictate the mood.

• Your characters’ tone, action, facial expression, and colors. 

• Internal monologue.

• The ambiance, or atmosphere. 

• Symbolism, etc.

It creates a sense of urgency. What does the hero or the protagonist have to do within a specific time limit? Do they have to kill someone in two hours to save their family or their own lives? This agitates your audience. They become unsettled as if they are the ones with the deadline.

It spurs your audience’s curiosity. We always want to know more. What will happen next? The significant aspect of suspense is getting your audience to come up with likely suggestions of what could happen next. 

How to Create Suspense in Your Script

There are numerous ways to create suspense in your script or movie, but there are a few elements of suspense that guide the process. 

These elements are easy to implement and include:

Let the Audience in on Key Information the Character is Unaware Of. 

In Hitchcock’s bomb theory, explained above, he explained how to use the information to create suspense. 

It invites your audience to actively participate in the series of events. Their concern, worry, agitation, tension, and every other emotion they are feeling at that particular moment is the goal. 

Without that vital information, there is no suspense, only shock.

Introduce Serenity 

The major emotions to consider when creating suspense are; anticipation, empathy, and tension. 

Starting the opening of a movie with chaos or violence disconnects the audience from the feeling of anticipation and empathy and reduces tension. 

But when you start the scene on a calm and peaceful note, then slowly build your idea of chaos or apprehension, you’ve created the need for balance. The audience will want a return to normalcy.

Here’s an example: There’s a family of five in the living room, watching an episode of their favorite TV series. Out of nowhere, someone starts to knock violently on the door. The father opens the door, and there’s a letter at the foot of the door with no one in sight.

This is the exact moment to introduce confusion.

Usher in Confusion 

Another way to get the audience’s focus, alertness, and active participation is to create confusion - a different kind of confusion that I’ll explain in the next few paragraphs.

Continuing from the example above, create uncertainty by keeping that piece of information from your audience. Now, don’t get confused. It is important to give away key information to your audience, but it also suppresses the power of suspense if you give away all the information. Your movie becomes too predictable.

So you hide what’s on the letter and the sender, leaving your audience to interpret the content of the letter through the character’s reaction.

Psychologically, humans tend to seek answers to questions; we enjoy it, and it stimulates our intellect. 

This might be similar to a mystery, but the difference lies in the information you’ll be giving your audience on what will happen next, which will be obscure to your character. 

It could be that your audience is aware that there are traps outside the house, and anyone who leaves after the letter has been delivered would be blown to pieces. 

Raise the Stakes Using Pressure

We all know there’s a price for every good thing we desire in life. What is your character’s ambition? What price do they have to pay? That’s a form of pressure. There are many forms of pressure - it could be the price of success or failure. It could be what they have to do in a specific amount of time to gain or lose something precious to them. 

It could also be in the form of being presented with a choice - take the bribe and live, or refuse it and die. 

This forces your audience to be emotionally invested in the possible outcome while they place a bet on what their favorite character would do. 

Build Relatable Characters

The most important thing to consider when creating suspense in your story is the relatability of your characters and their actions. There’s no better way to hook your audience and get them to be emotionally connected to your story than by giving them a mirror in which they see a fragment of themselves. 

Wrapping it Up

Suspense is the most powerful way to enthrall your audience, and when done effectively, it leaves them in that state for a long time. 

To write killer suspense, you must be intentional about your storyline, patient in thinking, and stoic. The purpose of this is to help you think clearly and expansively.  

Exercise 

To be certain that you truly understand how to write a suspenseful story, choose a regular scene in one of your stories or choose one out of the options below and come up with a one-page suspenseful story. 

1. A cat on the stairs.

2. A group of students in a museum.

3. Business tycoons in a board room.

4. A little boy is playing a game in his room.

5. A dog walker on the street

You can either drop it here for a review or write it in your notebook. The main goal is to truly understand the concept of suspense.