Tension & Suspense pair together like Tango & Cash, like cheese & crackers, like peanut butter and chocolate, to help keep a reader reading. In a recent episode of Writer Syndrome, we dove into the differences between the two and how they serve each other to keep momentum in a story. The two terms are often used interchangeably but they are different.
Tension is built with various literary devices like foreshadowing, a ticking clock, or internal conflicts. Devices that keep readers on edge from moment to moment creating that knot in the chest. Whereas suspense is the unanswered questions the keeps the reader turning pages. It’s the mystery that’s under investigation, the promise made at the start of a story, the bigger picture discoveries for the reader.
Check out the full episode below as we get into how we used these devices in our own stories.
