Author: Loretta Eidson

How to Use REal Life to Make Suspense Come Alive

Post author By Loretta Eidson
Post date September 17, 2021
No Comments on How to Use REal Life to Make Suspense Come Alive

There’s nothing more disappointing than picking up a novel described as mystery, suspense, or thriller, fully expecting a hair-raising adventure, only to find it failed to meet its genre expectations.

A bee sting doesn’t merit being called a suspense scene unless the heroine is deathly allergic and will go into anaphylactic shock without immediate treatment. Then, tension soars because the reader wonders if the murderer cleverly orchestrated the danger.

Wondering if a baseball player will hit a home run in the last inning of the game can become intense, but what if the stakes shot higher? How much more would the suspense escalate if someone replaced the game ball with a fake one containing a bomb? What? Who? And why?

Think about actual life situations and the escalating feelings of shock, fear, trepidation, and horror that are increasingly overwhelming. Did goosebumps appear? Were there screams and tears? Shaking, nervousness, or fainting?

Make your scenes realistic, like these.

1. A man’s face appeared in the kitchen window while she washed the dinner dishes. She screamed. Water doused the floor. She bolted. Shock, fear, and adrenaline sent her plowing through the house as she tried to escape.

2. The green car pulled to the curb. The passenger door flung open, exposing the empty passenger seat. The driver pointed a gun and demanded she get in, or else. She darted down the street toward home, and he didn’t shoot, but sped away.

3. Two female teenagers walked down the road, returning home from the store a few blocks from home. A pickup passed with two men in the flat bed portion of the truck. Gunshots fired. The zing of a bullet passed close to one girl’s head. The other girl held her hands over her ears and screamed.

4. A young mother soaked in the bathtub while her baby napped. Her husband stormed into the bathroom in a rage, pointing a gun in her face. He claimed she was the enemy, and he was going to kill her. He ranted and left as quickly as he’d come. Soaking wet, she jerked on her clothing, grabbed her baby, and ran for her life.

5. A teenage girl moved into an apartment for her first experience of living on her own. She arrived home from work one day and settled in for a quiet evening. Suddenly, unfamiliar angry male voices shouted and pounded on the front door. Mortified, she ran to her bedroom, locked the door, and scampered into the closet, pulling clothes over her head. Crash! They kicked in the front door and started shooting. Her hands shook uncontrollably, but she called her mom and whispered through breathless sobs that she was about to die. Her bedroom doorknob twisted. Sirens rang. Heavy footsteps grew distant as the men ran from the apartment. Police arrived only moments before her mother. She jumped into her mom’s arms and left, never to return to the apartment. This innocent teen escaped death, but the trauma remained.

Each scenario mentioned above actually happened. How easy would it be to expound on them and develop a fabulous suspense story?

Breathe life into your characters and make their feelings and reactions realistic. Read the newspapers, listen to the news, or watch the crowds. There’s a hidden story out there waiting to emerge.

Loretta Eidson writes romantic suspense. She has won and been a finalist in several writing contests, including first place in romantic suspense in the Foundations Awards at the 2018 Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference, a finalist in ACFW’s 2018 Genesis, was a finalist in the 2018 Fabulous Five, and a double finalist in the 2017 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence.

Loretta lives in North Mississippi with her husband Kenneth, a retired Memphis Police Captain. She loves salted caramel lava cake, dark chocolate, and caramel Frappuccinos.

Visit her:

Website: lorettaeidson.com
Facebok: loretta.eidson.7

Tags adding suspense, raise the stakes, tension, writing suspense

Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

Dramatic Tension

What is dramatic tension? Merriam-Webster states dramatic is “sudden and extreme, greatly affecting people’s emotions” and defines Tension as an “inner striving, unrest, or imbalance, often with a physiological indication of emotion or a state of latent hostility or opposition between individuals or groups.”

Put them together and you have “a sudden or extreme unrest which increases emotions, hostility, or opposition between individuals.” Talk about a page-turner. Setting characters up with this type of tension will keep readers engaged.

We could also describe it as a sudden conflict or unexpected change that blocks the character from his mental or physical goals, causing fear, stress, tension, or anger toward others or within oneself.

Dramatic action comes by blocking the goal or task at hand, disagreements or distrust between characters, a shocking, unexpected revelation, or by ramping up the element of surprise.

A myriad of scenarios can cause tension, as in these examples.

1. The hero or heroine mysteriously disappears and causes a sudden fear of the unknown.

2. An unexpected intrusion of a villain creeping through the house or an attack increases tension.

3. Rain turns to ice, making roads impassable amid a hostage situation or a high-speed chase increases frustration and blocks the character’s goal.

4. The hero assumes he’s in control of a situation, but learns he isn’t. His anger skyrockets.

5. Someone’s chasing your heroine, and she finds herself at the edge of a cliff. Does she jump and risk death or find another way of escape?

6. Answering the phone in the middle of the night. The caller breathes heavily, saying nothing or states in an eerie voice that he’s watching you.

7. A sharp knife pressing against your hero’s throat could cost him his life. How will he escape unscathed?

Give the reader a sense of trouble. Build the tension by upping the stakes and putting your characters in unexpected circumstances. The best scenes come about when every decision your character makes is bad. Whatever he does will cost him something.

Dialogue is a good way to show the emotional element and expose the internal conflict. What’s going on inside your character’s head during this intense situation? Some inner thoughts spill out in a heated discussion. Ramping up the drama and maintaining unresolved tension keeps readers intrigued.

Using the five senses is another great way to intensify dramatic tension. The smell of rubber burning, a sour taste of clabbered milk, the sound of a growl close by or a shot fired, seeing a shadow slip passed the window when you’re home alone, or touching the gooey slime on the cold doorknob.

Anytime one or more of these senses enters the picture, readers relate to what your character experiences. They keep turning the page until the risks subside and their desire for an acceptable end is in sight.

Loretta lives in North Mississippi with her husband Kenneth, a retired Memphis Police Captain. She loves salted caramel lava cake, dark chocolate, and caramel Frappuccinos.

Visit her:

Website: lorettaeidson.com
Facebok: loretta.eidson.7

Tags building suspense, conflict, dramatic tension, mystery writing

Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

Gain a Clearer Understanding Through Reading

Post author By Loretta Eidson
Post date December 17, 2020
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Outside of studying the necessary and ever-increasing number of how-to books on writing, character building, plotting, showing and telling, or conflict and suspense, there is another step in the learning process. Reading.

What does a suspense writer gain by reading novels in the mystery, suspense, and thriller genre? You’ll connect with the character and feel what she feels in a gripping scene, experience an awkward moment between characters, or feel the pause in action. You will discover how well those situations work within a story. Does it present the unexpected and capture your attention? Are you drawn deeper into the plot? Does the heroine react naturally?

Learn the differences in these genres by purposely reading novels in these categories. As Lisa Betz states in her article on the Almost an Author blog from May 31, 2018, a mystery is about solving a crime or puzzle, a suspense novel is about suspense, and a thriller is about action and danger.

Make time to read and purposely take notes. Referring to them when questions arise could be beneficial and less time-consuming.

Write a review. Authors appreciate positive reviews, and the exercise may help you learn how to write a back-cover blurb.

Writing skills have the potential to grow stronger when reading becomes a priority. Reading helps you:

Increase your imagination.
Gain ideas on characters’ reactions to stressful conditions.
Discover how authors describe internal conflicts in their heroine, hero, and villains.
Learn proper application of tag lines.
Get familiar with realistic dialog.
Understand the value of consistent point-of-view

Where does one go to find well-written books? There is an endless supply of fabulous mystery, suspense, and thriller authors. You won’t go wrong delving into the depths of novels written by these authors or many, many others on the market.

Jerusha Agen

Christy Barritt

Lynn Huggins Blackburn

Patricia Bradley

Robin Carroll

Colleen Coble

Ted Dekker

Rachel Dylan

Lynette Eason

Elizabeth Goddard

Ronie Kendig

Dana R. Lynn

DiAnn Mills

Dani Pettrey

Shannon Redmon

Susan Sleeman

Darlene L. Turner

Virginia Vaughan

Natalie Walters

Susan May Warren

Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Christian Book Distributors, and many of your local bookstores carry novels written by these authors. Christmas is the perfect time to request a suspenseful book as a gift and start the New Year, digging into the art of writing through reading.

Quote: “Can I be blunt on this subject? If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”
Stephen King

Loretta lives in North Mississippi with her husband Kenneth, a retired Memphis Police Captain. She loves salted caramel lava cake, dark chocolate, and caramel Frappuccinos.

Visit her:

Website: lorettaeidson.com
Facebok: loretta.eidson.7

Tags importance of reading, mystery, Reading, thrillers

Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

The Power of Facial Expressions

Post author By Loretta Eidson
Post date September 17, 2020
No Comments on The Power of Facial Expressions

Facial expressions speak louder than words, and yet, they don’t make a sound. In most cases, faces convey an approachable or unapproachable signal and can clarify whether people are happy, intrigued, afraid, or angry. Solemn looks can be more complicated and may show stress, plotting, deep thinking, or sadness. Only a few set expressions easily identify moods. Even a smile can come across as deceptive and filled with revenge.

Eyes play a significant role in reading attitudes. When people smile, their eyes brighten and may curve upward. The opposite happens with a frown. Rolling eyes indicate annoyance with another’s actions, but shifting eyes at a crucial moment could expose a lie. Wide eyes can withhold their blinks when tension rises, while uncertainty or fear holds them captive in a frozen stare.

Challenge: During a suspenseful scene in a movie theater, turn around and examine the audience’s expressions. Some may bite their fingernails. Hands might cover faces as they catch a peek between their fingers. Others slide down in their seats, squinting and waiting for the villain’s attack. Watch their actions, posture, and facial expressions and jot them down. This information will be an asset when describing a character’s emotions.

Furrowed brows with wrinkled foreheads may show displeasure, sadness, or worry, maybe even confusion, sympathy, or pain. However, used with red cheeks, flared nostrils, and tight lips, one can suspect anger or rage, especially if it comes with a fist punching a wall or the slamming of a door, and many other scenarios.

Every chapter in Character Expressions by Dahlia Evans gives examples of descriptive facial expressions in writing fiction, which helps engage the reader’s imaginations. Who knew there were so many ways to express moods or emotions, or that entire chapters could contain so much information?

Here are a few of the chapter titles from Dahlia’s book.

Frown
Glare
Grimace
Pout
Scowl
. . . and many more

Valerie Howard’s 1,000 Character Reactions is another great asset to a writer’s literary collection. She states your characters can do more than nod and sigh. If all your character does is smile through the entire story, where will the reader see conflict or tension? No one smiles all the time, so make sure there are other emotions involved.

Challenge: Stand in front of a mirror and think about how you’d respond in different situations. Describe your reaction to fear, surprise, shock, horror, sympathy, compassion, admiration, love, etc. Build a personal list of facial descriptions that you can refer to when writing a character’s silent response.

What first comes to mind when you see pursed lips, a clenched jaw, or the quivering chin? You see people at a distance and may not speak to them, but you read expressions every day without realizing it.

Challenge: Describe the mood of your character in each expression:

One eyebrow lifted, sporting a smirk
Color draining from one’s cheeks with eyes widened in a frozen stare
Slightly narrowed eyes while biting the lip
Blank expression and shifting eyes
Bright eyes and a big smile
Lowered brows, tight lips, and flared nostrils
Red face, glaring eyes, jutting jaw
Rolling eyes

Study and discover what’s behind a sneer, open mouth, or closed eyes. Not every facial expression is suspicious. Widened eyes give off the signal that you have nothing to hide. A flash of the eyebrows raising and lowering suggests familiarity or a sign of attraction or interest.

Have you ever heard of the Duchenne smile? According to www.scienceofpeople.com/microexpressions/ The Duchenne smile is a genuine smile that comes from true enjoyment and can be distinguished from a fake smile by the orbicularis oculi muscle, which forms crow’s feet wrinkles around the eyes. Who knew?

Facial expressions are part of life and a significant part of showing every character’s reactions, along with their body language. In writing, it’s imperative to show the correct facial responses and descriptions to match the intensity of the scene.

What expressions have you used when writing a suspenseful scene?

Loretta lives in North Mississippi with her husband Kenneth, a retired Memphis Police Captain. She loves salted caramel lava cake, dark chocolate, and caramel Frappuccinos.

Visit her:

Website: lorettaeidson.com
Facebok: loretta.eidson.7

Tags building suspense, character emotion, description, expressions, facial expressions, using emotion

Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

Helpful Resources For Mystery/Suspense/thriller Writers

Post author By Loretta Eidson
Post date June 17, 2020
No Comments on Helpful Resources For Mystery/Suspense/thriller Writers

Technology today offers a wide selection of resources for writers in the form of YouTube instructional videos, simulcasts, zoom meetings, etc., as well as stacks upon stacks of how-to books by professional and successful authors. Regardless of the genre, writing basics remain the same.

Bookstores stock genre-specific educational books. Utilizing these valuable resources will aid in effective writing. Below are some Mystery/Suspense/Thriller instructional books in my writing library.

BOOKS:

Conflict & Suspense, by expert thriller author and writing instructor, James Scott Bell. This book offers proven techniques that help craft fiction, tap into suspenseful power, build conflict, and maximize tension.

Mastering Suspense, Structure, & Plot by Jane K. Cleland. According to the front cover, this book offers instructions on how to write gripping stories that keep readers on the edge of their seats.

Writing and Selling Your Mystery Novel by Hallie Ephron provides a complete guide to writing mystery, suspense, and crime. It explains twisting the plot, creating a compelling sleuth, and much more.

Deadly Doses: a writer’s guide to poisons by Serita Deborah Stevens offers correct information about poisons, methods of administration, symptoms, and reactions.

YouTube:

YouTube videos are available, too, with a plethora of topic selections. Decide on a topic and search for the desired video. If you’re looking for a specific person’s teaching, then add the name to your video selection. Sample videos are listed below.

Steven James- Writing Thrillers Serious Writer

Ted Dekker – Mystery, Thriller, and Fantasy

Tom Bradby – How to Write a Thriller

DiAnn Mills presents ongoing tips and teaching on her YouTube channel

CONFERENCES:

American Christian Fiction Writers:

ACFW.com offers member resources, writing tips, writing help, writing software, books on writing, on-line courses, and more. Join the ACFW Mystery/Suspense/Thriller Group on Facebook.

Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference:

blueridgeconference.com offers daily informative and instructional blog posts for every genre, along with Facebook Live videos targeting writing specifics. Like or join the conference Facebook page for more information.

Killer Nashville International:

killernashville.com This conference is for the criminal-minded writer and happens in Franklin, TN. Be sure to check out their Facebook page.

Serious Writer Inc.:

seriouswriter.com offers simulcasts and teaching in their Academy. The Serious Writer Club is where you’ll receive over one hundred hours of training and more.

Writer’s Police Academy/Murdercon:

writerspoliceacademy.com focuses on the mystery/ suspense/thriller writers dealing with almost every area of crime imaginable. This conference is highly sought after and sells out fast when registration opens. They have a Facebook page as well and offer Facebook Live videos.

The list of helpful resources is ongoing, but it takes training, determination, and persistence to develop mysterious, suspenseful, and thriller scenes. Attend writer’s conferences, connect with a critique group, and join your local monthly writer meetings.

Feel free to add other helpful resources to the list.

Loretta lives in North Mississippi with her husband Kenneth, a retired Memphis Police Captain. She loves salted caramel lava cake, dark chocolate, and caramel Frappuccinos.

Visit her:

Website: lorettaeidson.com

Facebok: loretta.eidson.7

Tags mystery writing, Resources, thrillers, Writers Conference, writing books, writing suspense

Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

Escalating Conflict

Sit down with a good book and hope for a relaxing evening. The opening sentence immediately captures your attention, and before long, an hour has turned into four. Your feet are tucked under you, and you’re buried beneath a blanket, and yet, you keep turning the page. Why?

The stakes keep rising, tension soars, and the protagonist walks into a trap. Your mouth goes dry, and your pulse increases? She shouldn’t go alone. Will she become his next victim?

“Wait,” your inner voice yells. You want to help her avoid harm or certain death, but you can’t. It’s the author’s responsibility to pull her through.

Page by page, the suspense intensifies. Suddenly, the antagonist appears. He’s snide and vindictive and plans his attack. He knows her weakness and will use it to get what he wants. He sharpens his knife and slides the blade across his finger. Blood oozes. He confirms it’s sharpness and laughs.

But wait, the protagonist is now running through the dense fog in the depths of a forest, and, yes, she’s alone. She’s out of breath, but she knows he’s on her trail. How much further can she run? She stalls and hides behind a tree. Will he hear her gasping for breath?

You swallow hard, and your heart races — anticipation grabs your throat. The story can’t end like this. She can’t die, can she? You turn the page, still consumed with the story. What will happen next?

His arms reach around the tree with a knife in one hand. You gasp. He gives his wrist a quick thrust in hopes of eliminating his prey, but slices into the tree trunk instead. Did she escape? You must keep reading to find out and help her reach safety.

Suspense is one of those gripping genres that keeps you on your toes. Thrillers do the same. Well-Written suspense or thrillers will thrust you into the depths of the story, and capture your intrigue.

Once such incident happened to me. As much as I love suspense, I picked up a thriller. The plot was so intense I couldn’t put the book down. I didn’t like the cynical antagonist, and yet, I kept reading. Why? Because I had to know how the story would end and have the satisfaction of knowing that the bad guy met his fate.

This reaction is just what the author desires of her audience, to capture their attention and keep them turning the page. It takes well-organized planning for authors to pull off such responses.

Create the reader’s empathy for your protagonist by helping them identity with her internal struggle.
Put pressure on your antagonist.
Keep the stakes high. What does she want, and what does she have to lose?
Keep your reader guessing about what will happen next. Write the unpredictable.
Escalate tension. Short sentences help build tension.
Using red herrings helps redirect the reader’s attention from the real antagonist and creates added tension and uncertainty.
Fulfill your promise to deliver a satisfying outcome/ending.

Suspense, thrillers, and mysteries will continue to draw readers of all ages. What have you learned by writing and reading in these genres?

Loretta lives in North Mississippi with her husband Kenneth, a retired Memphis Police Captain. She loves salted caramel lava cake, dark chocolate, and caramel Frappuccinos.

Visit her:

Website: lorettaeidson.com

Facebok: loretta.eidson.7

Tags raise the stakes, tension

Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

Red Herrings

What are red herrings?

According to Merriam-Webster.com, they are herring (fish) cured by salting and slow smoking to a dark brown or red color. What do these fish have to do with writing?

The definition goes on to explain the term comes from “the practice of dragging a red herring across the ground, leaving a fishy scent to throw dogs off the trail.” This action distracts the canine’s attention from the real issue.

How fitting is it for authors to use distractions when writing suspense, mysteries, and thrillers? What a perfect way to throw the reader off the trail of the real villain than to place an innocent bystander in the midst of a scene and throw the suspicion on him.

Whether we realize it or not, we see this happening in movies and books, but we seldom associate the scene with the term red herrings. Our characters are asked questions, but they don’t give straight answers. Instead, they change the subject or point to someone else, which shifts the reader’s thinking down a false trail.

Red herrings are used as writing diversions with the purpose of misleading, or as the old cliché goes, they send people on a wild-goose chase. Writers use them to mask the facts by keeping their readers’ interest and distracting them from identifying the real culprit.

Example:

Roy: How did you get into my office, and why are you searching my desk?

James: Oh, I thought this was Albert’s office.

Roy: You’ve been here ten years, and you know Albert’s office is downstairs.

James: Have you seen Margie today? She’s supposed to bring doughnuts to the staff meeting.

Notice how James changed the subject and didn’t respond to Roy’s question. Now the reader starts questioning James’ motives. The truth being, James was an innocent co-worker and had nothing to do with the crime, but adding him as a red herring shifted the reader’s line of thought.

Various red herring scenarios are used in a variety of styles and genres, but we find them more often in suspense, mysteries, and thrillers. Writers don’t normally want to reveal the villain until the end of the story, so they create diversions. They throw the suspicion on another person or thing. Yes. That’s right. Red herrings don’t always have to be human. An object can be used instead.

For example, if the heroine receives flowers and suspects who sent them but later discovers she was wrong, that person becomes a red herring. The author intentionally used him to shift the reader’s attention.

There are many ways to scatter red herrings throughout our writing to keep readers from figuring out who is guilty. Using them will create more tension, intensify the suspense, and make a storyline more exhilarating.

Have you used a red herring in your writing?

Loretta lives in North Mississippi with her husband Kenneth, a retired Memphis Police Captain. She loves salted caramel lava cake, dark chocolate, and caramel Frappuccinos.

Visit her:

Website: lorettaeidson.com

Facebok: loretta.eidson.7

Tags clues, mysteries, mystery writing, red herring