1. SUSPENSE TOOLBOX A sympathetic character with a fear to face
A threatening setting
Foreshadowing builds anticipation of future events.
Cliffhangers help build suspense by causing delay.
Questions raised peak reader’s curiosity
Flashbacks can provide important info and also cause delay.
Red Herrings can confuse readers and keep them guessing.
Obstacles: stand in the character’s way of reaching a goal.
Situational irony: reality is opposite of expectation.
Dramatic irony: reader knows more than character.
Time constraints: a ticking clock adds tension.
Distance: create distance between character and goal.
Isolation: an isolated character is more vulnerable.
Language and punctuation.

2. SUSPENSE WRITING ASSIGNMENT
You will create a suspenseful story that incorporates some of the strategies for building tension in the Toolbox on the previous slide.

3. STORY FEATURES 3 - 4 pages in length (Times New Roman, size 12)
Sympathetic character with a particular fear he or she must face.
Setting with a well- established mood.
Dialogue that reveals important information about characters and events.
Consistent point of view.
Plot includes:
Conflict (internal, external, or both).
Rising action with built- in delays.
Climax worth waiting for.
Satisfying resolution that wraps things up!

4. RUBRIC: 50 POINTS Focus (5 points): Consistent point of view
Content (25 points):
3-4 pages (12 size font, Times New Roman)
Sympathetic character with a fear to face.
Well-paced plot that incorporates suspense- building techniques.
Organization (5 points)
Well-sequenced events.
Narrative transitions.   
Style (5 points)
Vivid imagery/descriptive language.
Variety of sentence beginnings and types
Conventions (10 points)
Consistent verb tense
Well-edited for spelling, punctuation, and capitalization.

5. PREWRITING: STORY PREMISE
Character with claustrophobia gets trapped in a elevator or lost in a cave… and perhaps he’s not alone!
Character afraid of rejection worries her fiancé will not show up on wedding day…will she be ditched at the alter?
Character with fear of heights gets trapped at the top of a ferris wheel…with his very pregnant wife!
Character who is afraid of disappointing his father tries out for the baseball team…will he make it?
Afraid that she is as crazy as her father who is in a mental institution, a young character does not want to tell a soul when her dolls start talking to her.
Character with fear of flying experiences severe turbulence in a storm…or is it something else?
Character with fear of spiders gets bit by one in his basement and it’s not your average daddy longlegs…will he get the anti-venom in time?
Character with a fear of the dark is not happy to be lost in the woods as darkness begins to fall…especially with his creepy stepbrother.
Character who is generally overprotective regrets allowing her son to go to that party…where is he?
Character who fears death is devastated to learn about her own…four days after it happened.

6. More story premises Universal theme: Be careful what you wish for What can go wrong?
A lonely young girl wishes to be wanted.
An overweight girl who is bullied wishes to be thin.
A boy whose dog has died wishes to have the pet back.
An unemployed man about to lose his house wishes for a million bucks.
A young teenage boy wishes he could have all the chicks.
A singer wishes to become famous.
A child who is fascinated with dinosaurs wished they still roamed the earth.
A teen girl wishes her parents would leave her alone.
A clumsy teen wishes to become varsity quarterback.
A video addict wishes to become part of his game.
A young boy with a scientific mind wishes to visit the future.
A teenage girl wishes she didn’t have an annoying little brother.
Character+Wish+Consequence

7. PREWRITING: CHARACTER SKETCH
Sympathetic character: give your reader someone to care about. Give this character a fear to face to add tension.
TASK:
Write a character sketch that includes details the reader needs to know to make predictions and understand motivations. Be sure to only include details that are relevant to the story.

8. CHARACTER SKETCH Jimmy Winters 14-year-old boy
Just moved from New York City to Last Run, a remote mountain town in Colorado where his parents plan to renovate a old ski resort.
A city boy and not much of a nature lover, Jimmy is ill at ease in his new mountain home. He misses the sights and sounds of NYC and can’t stand the quiet.
This move is his parents’ last ditch effort to save their marriage and Jimmy feels like a third wheel.
What worse and incredibly ironic, Jimmy is afraid of heights and not at all excited about living at a ski resort. He does not plan to go anywhere near the lifts…

9. CHARACTERIZATION
Remember, there are different ways to learn about characters.
Characters’ thoughts and actions. (narrator of “Tell Tale Heart”)
What the narrator tells us (Mr. White of “The Monkey’s Paw”)
What other characters think and say about them (Fat Lady in “The Elevator”). .

10. SETTING: make it threatening!
Remember the….
Isolated home of the Whites in “The Monkey’s Paw”
Dark chamber of “The Tell Tale Heart”
Claustrophobic confines of the elevator in “The Elevator”

11. SETTING: ESTABLISH A MOOD
Rundown farmhouse
Lonely cabin in the woods
Gothic mansion
Abandoned building
Park at night
Cemetery
Empty parking garage
Amusement park
Crowded train station
Turbulent plane
Ship in a storm
Elevator
School after hours
Dark basement

12. PLOT A conflict is introduced, an external conflict.
As the character attempts to face the conflict, problems and obstacles delay resolution.
Unexpected twists, turns, and surprises arise.
Pacing: rising action must involve more anticipation than actual violence; good suspense involves delay.
PLOT
Jaws, 1975.

13. Plot Climax: The highest point of tension Rising Action:
Climax: The highest point of tension
Rising Action:
Develop the conflict
Falling Action:
What happens after the climax?
Resolution:
How does the story end?
Exposition:
Introduce characters, setting, and conflict.

14. Plot Chart: Narrative Paragraphs
EXPOSITION: INTRODUCE CHARACTERS, SETTING, AND CONFLICTLICT
RISING ACTION: THE CONFLICT IS DEVELOPED. USE SUSPENSE TOOLBOX TO BUILD TENSION!
Event 1:
Event 2:
Event 3:
Event 4:
Event 5:
CLIMAX: THE HIGHEST POINT OF TENSION. IT BETTER BE WORTH THE WAIT!
FALLING ACTION: WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE CLIMAX?
RESOLUTION: HOW DOES THE STORY END?

15. Exposition : 2 – 3 paragraphs
Introduce the character and his or her fear. Include only character background and traits relevant to the narrative.
Introduce the setting and suggest its threat. Create mental pictures for the reader.
Introduce the conflict?

16. Mini Lesson: Hook Meaningful statement Question or series of questions
Working backwards
Flashback
Cliffhanger
Dialogue

17. Meaningful Statement
Be careful what you wish for; you just might get it. I learned this the hard way four years ago when a stranger came into my life and offered to make my dreams come true. I was at a really low point in my life, so how could I say no? I thought that being the most popular kid in middle school would be like living a dream. Well, it’s a nightmare! And I’m still living it.

18. Questions
If someone offered you a million dollars, what would you do? Would you take it? Well, that’s exactly what got me into this situation. My dad lost his job and I was tired of living on macaroni and cheese. So when the genie asked me to make my wish, of course I asked for cash. The problem was how I asked. A million bucks can be taken in two ways. And this genie had a sick sense of humor.

19. Working Backwards
I’m sitting in my dark cell, listening to the screams around me from other cells. I can feel a draft although I have no window, and I can smell the toilet that is two feet from my bed. I have five years to go in here. How did I get here? All I can say is: be careful what you wish for.

20. Flashback
A spotlight shone on Dorothy and Buster as they headed to the dance floor, newly crowned, prom queen and king. Everyone applauded as the happy pair twirled around the floor. Dorothy could still feel dizzy remembering that moment. The only other time she had felt such joy was on her wedding day. Sixty years later, Buster had passed and Dorothy was all alone. And the graceful beauty of her youth was just a distant memory. Sometimes, Dorothy wished she could just fling herself back into better years.

21. Cliffhanger
Sarah’s little brother was so annoying. He always spied on her and her friends. At dinner, he whined when he didn’t like the food and sometimes threw tantrums in restaurants. It was so embarrassing! Sometimes Sarah wished she didn’t have this annoying little brother. Sometimes she wished he would just disappear…

22. Dialogue
“I’m sorry, son, but we did everything we could.” I gripped my mom’s hand tighter as I heard these words. I couldn’t accept it. I couldn’t believe that everything had been done. I held it together just long enough to get to the car where I broke down and cried like a baby. I was still bawling in my bedroom that night when the genie appeared.

23. MINI LESSON: DIALOGUE Helps with characterization.
Raises intriguing questions.
Reveals important information.
Verbal foreshadowing.
Star Wars, 1980

24. Dialogue Direct Quotes:
Use quotation marks when you are repeating exactly what was said:
“Please turn in your short stories by Friday,” Mrs. Jones said.
Indirect Quotes:
Don’t use quotation marks if you are just talking about what someone said.
Sarah said that she would be here by noon.
He wondered whether Mr. Roberts would say yes.

25. Direct Quotes
1.The comma or punctuation mark always goes WITHIN the quotes, never outside.
"You need to study more," my teacher said.
“Why can’t you come tonight?” he asked.
2. The dialogue tag, when following a quote, should begin in lower case.
"Is the test on Monday?" he asked.
“I don’t want to go to the dentist!” she cried.

26. Direct Quotes continued
If the information following the quote is not a dialogue tag, the dialogue should end with a period, and the information following should be punctuated as a complete sentence.
"I have something to tell you." Sally pulled her friend away from the lunch table.
“Your dog ate your homework?” Mr. Smith studied me with suspicion.
4. If a dialogue tag interrupts a sentence of dialogue, the second portion of the dialogue should be in lower case.
"I don’t care,” Jessie lied, “if I fail the test.”
“Sally,” he said, “the movie starts at eight.”

27. Direct Quotes Continued
5. If you want to insert a dialogue tag between two sentences, you would write:
“I don’t want meatloaf for dinner again,” he complained. “I want pizza.”
“I can’t go to the game on Saturday,” Josh revealed. “I’m grounded this weekend.”
6. When writing dialogue, a new paragraph is created every time a new person speaks.
Jeremy asked, “Did you make the team?”
“No,” I admitted.
“Me either,” Jeremy said.
“I don’t care,” I lied.
“Me neither,” Jeremy lied.

28. Dialogue tags Retire: said, asked
Brainstorm a list of more specific and interesting dialogue tags!

29. Rising Action (6-8 paragraphs) Whiparound
Build tension using your toolbox. Remember, there is more terror in the anticipation of the bang than the bang itself! What tools of suspense did you use?

30. Verb Tense: be consistent
Simple Present: Betty teaches. (doing it now!)
Present Perfect: Betty has taught for ten years. (has and is still doing it!)
Simple Past: Betty taught for ten years. (no longer teaches)
Past Perfect: Betty had taught for ten years before retiring. (used to teach but is now finished)
Future: Betty will teach honors next year.(will teach in the future)
Future Perfect: Betty will have been teaching ten years this next semester. (this will be completed in the future)

31. The mysterious figure sniffed the air as he pauses beside Frodo’s concealed body. As Frodo longingly touches his Ring, he remembered Gandalf’s warning. Before he disappeared, Gandalf explains the Ring’s dangerous powers. To the hobbits’ relief, the horse broke into a trot while Frodo watched. After the horseman rode away, Frodo walked toward his companions. By the time Frodo reached his friends, they stand up. The hobbits discussed the horseman who frightens them. Sam’s father sees a stranger similar to the horseman before the hobbits left on their journey. Frodo knew that the evil creature Gollum left his cave months ago in search of the Ring. Frodo wondered whether Sauron sends the rider as a spy.

32. Climax Whiparound
This is the highest moment of tension. Make it worth the reader’s wait!

33. Falling Action and Resolution
Remember what you learned from “The Elevator.” Did you like the absence of the falling action and resolution?
Remember what you learned from “The Tell Tale Heart.” The falling action includes the heart beating louder and louder. The resolution is the mad man’s confession. Imagine the story without these critical moments.

34. HANDOUTS Model story Rubric Project description Suspense toolbox
Dialogue cheat sheet