Creating Suspense In A Fiction Story

I love to read mysteries, so now I am trying to write them. I have my niche – cozy mysteries. Gentile mysteries, as it were, with no chase scenes, no profanity, no explicit sexuality. Good to have all of that defined before I start! So, exactly how is it that I am going to create some tension, and a level of suspense that makes the book worth reading? Because this is also what keeps the reader’s attention!

I don’t want my characters in dicey situations from cover to cover. Not too cozy, that. And I have to be careful that whatever I do is in line with the characters that I have created. There are still a myriad of ways to go here. I can have one character withholding crucial information from another. I can have one character lying to another. I can know in my mind what is happening/has happened, but withhold that information from my reader until later in the book.

I have learned the hard way that too much backstory is too much backstory. I have also learned to space out how much of the backstory that I put on the page at any given moment in time. I like to have my characters think a bit – one thing that I had to curtail right away, because it became boring even to me!

Don’t just chat – your characters have to be doing something – there has to be some action, some suspense, that holds the reader’s interest. And make it realistic! That was another place where my imagination run amok, and tings became ridiculous. Part of the suspense is having your characters keep what they are thinking to themselves. Have them bring their thoughts out only when something big is going to happen, or when to do so would act as the ignition for something really big happening.

Well defined characters, a well plotted storyline, and controlled action to me are the makings of a truly great story.

© March 2012 Bonnie Cehovet

Researching Your Book

Do you research your fiction work? We all do our due diligence in researching non-fiction work, but how much, if any, research needs to be done on fiction work? That depends on how much credibility you want to have. You do not want to be handing out urban myth as fact, and you do not want your characters to be taking routes from here to there that don’t go from here to there. If you are working with a timeline that in part (or whole) references the past, then you need to make sure that whatever you are referencing actually existed at that time.

So, do we do all of this nifty research before we start writing, or do it as we go along? One thought here would be to research the big picture before you start writing. In other words, look at the major elements of your story, and then look at what you know and what you don’t know about these elements. You need to have a thorough understanding of what you are writing about, whether it be a given profession, cultural customs, or ways to kill someone (I write cozy mysteries – no blood, no gore!). Research the major elements, and put them in your story bible. What – you don’t have a bible? Start one – now!

Once you start writing, you will be spending less time researching – but, at least this is true for me, you will still be doing some research. Again – whatever you research, add to your bible! This is the document that you refer to as you are writing so that the colors in a room stay the same throughout the story, so that your characters remain consistent, the relationship between characters remain consistent etc.

Psssssst – The Internet is not the only place to do research! Sometimes you need to get out and talk to people! Get their version of life!

© February 2012 Bonnie Cehovet

Manuscript Makeover

I am currently reading Elizabeth Lyon's "Manuscript Makeover - Revision Techniques No Fiction Writer Can Afford To Ignore" (Perigee Book, 2008). I have had this on my wish list for sometime now, so I finally got rash and added it to my latest book order. I like her on-line blog, so I knew the book would be worthwhile -and it is. I can use it to polish my work before it goes to an editor, and I can use it to fine tune any feedback that I get on work that I am self-publishing.

This book will allow me to fine-tune the voice that I already have, to revise and rewrite with an eye to consistency (I can tend to wander off at times), and to keep track of the little stuff, like grammar, punctuation and pacing. Like any writer, I love to write. Now that my aim is to write professionally, I don't mind going back, revisiting what was so wonderful when I wrote it, and casting a more jaded eye over it.

Lyon's addresses things such as separating the story from the writing (ego issues here!), revising a story's style, structure, pacing, building strong characters, and the nitty gritty of copyediting and spiffing up query letters and synopsis (I hate writing a synopsis!) for marketing purposes.

Her style is straightforward and down to earth, discussing problem areas and presenting solutions.

I have a mystery novel from NaNoWriMo 2010 that will benefit from me sitting down to rewrite and edit with one eye on my computer screen, and the other on this book!

(c) February 2011 Bonnie Cehovet