Using Suspense To Elevate Tension in Fiction
Regardless of Genre
Long before I wrote my two recent romantic suspense novels, I was weaving threads of suspense into my women's fiction. Most notable was in my novel PG County, where the mysterious Lee and her friend Mookie slowly made their way to an exclusive gated community to confront Lee’s clueless father about his daughter. This was my first experiment with techniques that eventually led me to write You Never Know and Chloe: A Novel of Secrets and Lies.
A dash of suspense in any novel can transform an ordinary scene into something readers can't look away from. It's like finding a secret door in a haunted house. You can’t help but wonder what’s behind it. And the secret door doesn’t have to be in a mystery novel. It's a tool any writer can use, regardless of genre.
When most people hear the word "suspense" in relation to novels, they immediately think of thrillers or mysteries—stories where the lives of characters are literally in danger. But at its core, suspense in fiction is simply the art of giving readers a desperate need to know what happens next. Suspense lives in that delicious gap between a question and the answer, between uncertainty and resolution. It plays on our deep human need for closure and our curiosity about the unknown.
Contrary to popular belief, suspense isn't the same as mystery or surprise. A mystery focuses on solving a puzzle (usually "whodunit"); a surprise is an unexpected revelation. Whereas suspense is about anticipation. It's about making readers aware of possibilities—sometimes before the characters themselves know—and then delaying the revelation by stretching the anticipation across pages or chapters.
Understanding how to use suspense in your writing is like learning to dance in a new style. You knew the basic rhythm of storytelling, but now you're adding complex new steps to make things even more compelling. And this will work in any genre.
In romance, for example, the suspense or anticipation often revolves around emotional involvement—will these two people overcome their barriers and find lasting love? Will one of them deceive or hurt the other? Will something or someone keep them apart from each other? When a romance writer delays revealing key information it keeps readers turning the pages even when the core story is about relationships and personal growth rather than pure danger.
In An American Marriage, for example, Tayari Jones builds tension around a marriage strained by wrongful imprisonment, creating profound suspense around whether the relationship will survive once the husband is released. In PG County, the characters harbor secrets and maintain intense rivalries that threaten to explode at any moment. Much is revealed at various points right up to the end.
Withholding key information and strategically releasing it over time–that's suspense at work.
Here’s how to use these techniques across any genre–
Create questions readers will want answered. The human mind hates an unresolved question. Plant intriguing questions early—about characters, situations, or relationships—and your readers will keep reading to find the answers.
Strategically control information. Suspense is all about the strategic release of information. What do your characters know? What are they hiding? Don’t reveal everything up front. Drag some things out. Delay creates tension.
Raise the stakes progressively. Whatever your character values—whether it's their relationship, their reputation, or a goal—place it in increasingly greater jeopardy as your story unfolds.
Introduce deadlines and ticking clocks. Nothing creates urgency like a deadline. It doesn't have to be a literal bomb timer—it could be "before the wedding next Saturday" or "before the truth comes out" or "before he leaves town forever."
Use character secrets strategically. Give your characters something to hide—not necessarily something sinister, but personal and consequential. Gradual revelation of secrets creates ongoing tension.
To find the suspense potential in your own work, ask yourself–
What is my protagonist most afraid of happening? What is she afraid of losing?
What information am I giving readers too readily that I could delay?
What secrets can my characters keep, and what would happen if those secrets were threatened?
What deadline could ramp up the pressure?
The goal isn't to add artificial threats or dangers; it's to amplify the tension that exists naturally in your story.
Here are some common mistakes to avoid–
Anticlimactic payoffs. If you build suspense around a question or threat, the resolution must be satisfying and proportional. Nothing disappoints or frustrates readers more than a buildup that fizzles.
Manufactured drama. Readers don’t like threats or complications that feel forced. The best suspense grows organically from the story's situation and characters.
Too much coincidence. Coincidences are more acceptable early in a story to get things moving but avoid using them to resolve suspenseful situations toward the end. That will feel like cheating.
Telegraphing outcomes too clearly. If readers can easily predict exactly how things will unfold, you've undercut your suspense.
Whether it’s fiction with suspense elements or a full-blown thriller, readers across all genres crave resolution. They seek closure. The best writers know how to tease the most out of this. They’ve mastered the art of providing well-timed satisfying resolutions throughout the story while setting up new questions– the push and pull, the rhythm of tension and release. This is what keeps their readers emotionally engaged.
Whether you write cozy romances, sprawling family sagas, coming-of-age stories, or anything else, experimenting with suspense techniques can transform your storytelling. You don't need to add murders and car chases to hook readers—just the artful manipulation of events, good timing, and thoughtful management of reader expectations.
You might also be interested in “Including Gothic Elements in Your Fiction.”