To identify how the author of a specific story creates suspense, notice both what the author reveals to the reader and what the author keeps hidden. Click on each of the tabs below to see suspense-building in action.
Point of View
Foreshadowing
Consider whether your knowledge as a reader is limited to what the main character knows, or if you know something important that the characters do not. Which of these passages creates suspense by limiting the point of view to what the main character knows? Click on your choice to check your response.
| Creepy eyes, Laila thought. Brown, almost black, deep-set eyes. She pushed her cart a little faster, wanting to increase the distance between them. The woman was no doubt harmless, but something about her made Laila uneasy nonetheless. | This passage limits the point of view to what Laila sees and knows. |
| The year is 1969, the house large and wood-framed, steaming in the frigid air of western New York in winter. The three children are bundled in coats and hats and gloves, eager to try out their new sled. The youngest is a little scared, but doesn't say so. | This passage describes the children from an unlimited, or omniscient, point of view. |
Which of these passages creates suspense by revealing something that a character does not know?
| Martin stared down at the text message on his phone as he walked up Elm Street. In an alley half a block up ahead, a shadowy figure flattened itself against the crumbling brick wall and waited. | The reader knows of the threat lying in wait up ahead, but Martin does not. |
| Faintly, through the roaring in her ears, she hears it pealing like church bells across snowy fields—the laughter of two boys, two brothers, older and so much wiser, so sure and so fearless. | This passage is limited to the character's point of view. Readers know everything that she does. |
Pay attention to small details that are described in a way that makes them seem important. What details in this passage suggest that the sledding will be hazardous?
All three children agree that the ice-run is a thing of beauty. It flows from the tall top of the hill to the curving arc of a ramp, and it glistens and flares like a thousand diamonds in the brilliant sun. Two oaks stand several yards forward and to the right and left of the ramp, framing the course like sentries. Just beyond the trees, the stream gurgles slowly beneath a new layer of ice.
Which three details alert readers that the sled run is dangerous?
Its surface is extremely icy, it includes a ramp that is flanked by large trees, and the run ends at a partially frozen stream.
