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Suspense is a powerful tool in the storyteller's arsenal

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There are many ways to create suspense in a story, but here is one of the simplest ones:

Delay naming objects or people. Describe them first.

A few examples from actual stories I tell:

A small hand emerges from the leaf pile, holding a silver metallic object.

The object?

A spoon.

But you can see how suspense is established by describing it instead of naming it.

Charlie points and asks, "What this?" I look and see that this is going to be a long conversation.

The object?

A memorial plaque affixed to a bench.

Again, you can see how suspense is established by describing it instead of naming it.

I open my eyes. Bright light blinds me. I blink. I blink again, then I see her, smiling down upon me, almost like an angel.

The woman?

A nurse in an emergency room, but the audience knows it might also be my mother and maybe even an angel, since this is a story where CPR is required to save my life.

Who could this person be? Until I say, I leave the audience in suspense.

By simply describing before naming, we create suspense in our audience's mind. Admittedly short lived, but even a little suspense is a wondrous thing.

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