Every great horror writer has a talent for creating the mood. Tension, suspense, and even tangible chills are the aim of every great horror novel, and creating these can be difficult at times. The suspense level of a horror novel will largely determine the fate of the book when it goes up for sale in the bookstores. Here are some tips to increase the suspense level in your horror novel with ease:
Suspense has many forms. You have suspense that is born of setting, and suspense that is born of action. These two forms of suspense are the two that is most common. The great horror novels dive into other areas of suspense, however. For example, what about suspense of what may or may not come? That is, can you create suspense in your novel about something that the reader surmises and does not read? Making a reader try to predict what comes next is the key. Having them be wrong is what turns that key.
When you are setting the stage in a horror novel, it is important to pick the mood right away. You do not want a ton of ebb and flow in the book, as it will detract from the edge of your seat suspense. If you want a book that is going to be dark, then create dark suspense. If you are aiming for more of a jolt them out of the blue approach, then start and finish writing that way. Pick your poison and do it better than anyone else.
Horror is all about what people find to be scary. Not every person is afraid of spiders, for example, and so you have to know the crowd you are writing to. Many people that write horror novels will try to write to everyone, thereby losing the target crowd in that effort. Write to your niche of readers, and the rest will come. If you are writing a story about spiders, then create suspense aimed at people afraid of them.
Do not be afraid to take the suspense to another level. That is, do not take them to the pinnacle and then be afraid to “go there” in the end. Horror fans are used to artists and writers pushing the literary and moral envelope and they expect as much in your writing. If you are going to do suspense, do not put the brakes on your imagination like that. It will kill the suspense in your novel, and leave your readers feeling shortchanged.
Spend hours considering the senses. What do they see? What do they hear? What do they feel? What do they taste? If you answer these questions with suspense in mind, you will paint a picture that people will connect with on a personal level. That is the set up for suspense. You want them in the book, and not just reading it. Give them the tools to climb in and they will. Then you have them set up for the suspense, and can turn that key.
