A storyteller recently asked me for a specific strategy to build suspense in a story.

My answer (and thus my definition of suspense) was simple:

Don’t say everything. Say some of the thing but not the whole thing.

For example, a line from one of my stories:

“A small hand emerges from the leaf pile, clutching a metal object. The voice at the end of that hand shouts, “Look what I found, Mr. Dicks!”
The object?

A spoon.

But see how avoiding its name can build suspense?

Metal object? What is it? Is it something dangerous? What kind of metal object could be lurking in a pile of leaves?

Say some of the thing, but not the whole thing.

Also, be strategic in what you say and don’t say. I choose to describe the spoon as a “metal object” because this opens up the possibilities considerably. A multitude of possibilities means the audience will be guessing, and guessing equals suspense. When the audience wants you to say the next thing, you have created suspense.

Here’s another example from another one of my stories:

“I’m standing in my kitchen, holding an object in my hand that I have never held before. Never even touched one before. Honestly, I don’t understand this thing. I’m not sure whether to grab a knife or a spoon or a potato peeler.

Should I boil water? Or pop it into the microwave?

I need help. I make a phone call.”

The object?

An avocado.

See how avoiding the name of the object creates suspense about the object? Everything that I said was true, but I deliberately left out information that might ruin the suspense.

I don’t describe its shape, texture, size, or color. I don’t even indicate that it’s food until the third sentence.

That creates suspense.

Say the thing, but not the whole thing. Say only the parts of the thing that make your audience wonder. This strategy works for spoons and avocados, but it also works for people, places, and objects of every kind.

Get your audience wondering about the it or the who or the where by not telling them everything right away - and being strategic in what you choose to reveal - and you’ll have your audience hungering for the next sentence.

That is the ultimate goal of every storyteller.