Suspenseful Settings

Authors begin a new story by creating and building their characters—the hero, heroine, and villain, but shouldn’t we also consider the setting as a character? Furthermore, can the author use it to create suspense? How? Here’s what I’ve learned recently on this subject.

Setting is where your story resides. Could be a town, city, castle, beach, office, etc., and should be looked at in the same way as we do characters by using the senses and physical traits. We want to draw our readers in by transporting them to another world. The character of the Overlook Hotel in The Shining created suspense and haunted the reader. Middle Earth in the Lord of the Rings did the same. We want to learn more about the surroundings as it keeps us on the edge of our seats, turning the pages.

What can we use to formulate suspense in our settings?

Five senses – sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. The creaking of the stairs in a haunted mansion or the howling wind echoing in the corridor gives the reader goose bumps. How about the taste of coffee in our character’s favorite café or the smell of mildew in an old estate? The touch of a sharp knife as the killer holds it against his victim’s throat or the character catching a glimpse of the eerie castle blanketed in fog. The senses are powerful and ushers the reader into the story, capturing their attention.

Nature – Does the snow sparkle in the moonlight of the quaint small town or the fireflies flicker on a warm summer night in the campground? A slithering snake or an owl hooting in the middle of the night can create suspense in our settings.

Weather – It can form tension, but don’t overdo it. Picture how a stormy night in an eerie town could add angst to your character. Also, the weather can help solve the crime. Were there footprints in the mud outside the castle’s window or a trail in the snow leading away from it?

Parts of speech – Similes and metaphors are a great way to help describe your locale and enhance the suspense, but use them sparingly.

Powerful words – Pick the right words when describing the setting. Use strong verbs and nouns. The rain pelted or the trees swayed.

In the following scene, I used sensory plus a simile to produce tension and suspense:

The wrought iron gate creaked open, revealing the brick mansion in the distance. Ominous twin turrets towered at opposite ends while cypress trees lined the lane like sentinels protecting the property from outside forces.

Setting is a powerful character that can be used to create suspense and establish the mood the writer is trying to portray. Choosing the right one is the key and we must go beyond the obvious to describe it. When we do our settings will come alive and stay with the reader long after the story is finished.

Darlene L. Turner writes romantic suspense and won the 2017 Genesis award in the Romantic suspense category and was a 2018 finalist. She was a finalist in the 2017 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense contest and won in 2016 (Inspirational Unpublished). She’s represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. Visit Darlene at darlenelturner.com where she believes there’s suspense beyond borders.