Writing

How to create atmosphere, tension and suspense

1. Use the five senses

Think about what your character can see, hear, smell, taste and
touch.

This will:
enhance the atmosphere in the reader’s mind
create a vivid picture in the reader’s mind
stimulate the reader’s imagination
bring the story to life
help the reader immerse themselves in the story and feel the
tension and anticipation more easily.

sight
• The abandoned tractor from the spooky farm came to life at night,
once no one was around!
• The shadow in the corridor lurched and then drew back.
• She saw a movement from the corner of her eye.

sound
• The footsteps were louder. Another creak, another shuffle, just
down the corridor. Now only seconds away.
• The sound of the wind among the trees suddenly stopped.
• The world was completely still. Nothing moved, not a leaf quivered.
• The silence was ghostly.

smell
• The stench of graveyards and decay seeped through her fingers
and made her retch.
• The aroma of freshly-baked bread filled his nostrils.

taste
• The drink was bitter and stung her throat as she swallowed it.

touch
• He felt something dark rush through the air and brushed his
head with its icy fingers
• the rain running down his neck/creature slithering up his arm.

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2. Use darkness to help the reader paint a picture.
• She lay motionless in the darkness and listened to the night.
• It was an unsettling, menacing darkness, full of dancing
shadows.
• All day she had been haunted by the feeling that she was being
followed, and her fear grew as night fell. Fear of the unknown. Fear of
what lurked in the shadows.

3. Use the weather to build suspense.

• howling winds
• mist or fog
• ferocious storms
• relentless rain
• dusk, shadows
• pitch black

• The rain was ferocious, gaining in power all the time, until it
screamed over the house and beat like a fist against the walls.
• It was quiet. Too quiet! The birds had fallen silent and even the wind
seemed to have died down. All was as still as death and dark as the
grave.

4. Use foreshadowing to create a sense of foreboding

Give clues/hints/warnings to the reader about the danger to come.

• Tim and Sandy did not notice the dark storm clouds gathering in the
evening sky. They joyfully set out for a quiet boat ride on the moonlit
lake.
• Kavisha awoke with a jump. She heard a faint thud from the kitchen
downstairs.
• The gloomy weather gave him a sense of foreboding.

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5. Use panic conjunctions to increase the excitement and
suddenness of events within a story.
 abruptly
 all at once
 all of a sudden
 a moment later
 just then
 quickly
 unexpectedly
 without warning

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Types of tension
____________________________________________
_
There are four types of tension: tension of the task, of relationships, of
surprise, and of mystery.

Tension of the Task

is about the challenges or obstacles a character has to overcome.

Tension of Relationships
is about conflict between the characters in the story. Shakespeare’s
Romeo and Juliet is a classic example of this.

Tension of Surprise
is about twists and turns, making the plot zig when you expected it to
zag. Agatha Christie stories are chock-full of this kind of tension. You’re
always trying to piece things together, but just when you think you have
it, a new surprise stresses you out again.

Tension of Mystery
is built on the unknown that keeps the readers speculating, trying to
unravel the truth. Sherlock Holmes stories are prime examples of
tension of mystery.

All of these types of tension need one thing to exist: conflict.

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Activity 1
Read through the short paragraph below. Can you highlight which
techniques the author has used to create suspense? Can you spot any
other suspense techniques?

As I stumbled up to the abandoned house, I shuddered. The wind

screamed like a boiling kettle as the clouds grew darker and more
ominous. Audacious strands of ivy covered every brick, clinging
desperately against the walls. My heart pounded and every nerve in my
body warned me to leave. Through the door I entered. I listened. I froze.
Eerie sounds echoed among the cobwebs. Out of the corner of my eye, I
noticed a shadow forming from under the door ahead of me. Fear left
me helpless and I felt hypnotised as the door swung open…

Activity 2
Write a suspense paragraph. Continue from this sentence:

Kavisha awoke with a thud. She heard a faint thud from the kitchen
downstairs.

Settings for scary stories

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creepy-looking places: an abandoned house, an eerie
forest, a dilapidated (run-down) factory, a remote
beach, a spooky farm, a ghostly island