Chances are you are reading this because you love a good suspense novel.
Do you ever wonder why you love reading suspense? Is it the surprising twists, the intellectual challenge of figuring out what's really going on or is it the comfort of being thrilled and/or afraid while knowing, on a deeper level, that you are completely safe?
For me it's all of those.
Twists and Suspense
Twists are great, aren't they? That moment when something happens that makes you question what you thought you knew. Of course, it can't be so far out of the story world or character behaviour that you go 'What the…?' You want to go 'Oh my God!' or at least turn the pages faster to find out what happens or how you could have missed that amazing twist, probably also wondering what else is coming up.
Reader OMG moments
My best ever Oh My God moment (at least in recent memory) was reading Claire Mackintosh's I Let You Go. If that title seems familiar to you, it may be because I mentioned how much I loved this book in one of my earlier blog posts and on my Facebook page. Perhaps you've already read it.
Everyone raved about this book. Raved! Naturally, I had to see what all the fuss was about, and I figured if it was that good I might learn a thing or two.
Did I? You bet.
I won't give it away because the twist is incredible. Worth the wait. Up until it happens, however, it reads like the run-of-the-mill police procedural and I almost abandoned the novel. Nothing against police procedurals. I just prefer watching them to reading them. Yet what Claire Mackintosh does with her twist was a revelation to me as a reader and as a writer.
Writer OMG opportunities
Why am I telling you this?
Because when I saw the opportunity to add another OMG twist to Bad Things Happen, I took it. Even though it was just about ready for the publisher. Even though my editor said it was fine as it was.
In last year's reader survey The Twist was the most picked reason why you loved reading suspense, and as I am determined to always deliver you my best book possible–with OMG twists–I couldn't resist adding another layer to 'what was really going on'.
Which leads neatly into the second reason you may love suspense.
The Suspense of What's Really Going On?
Why is 'What's really going on' important to suspense? First and foremost, it keeps us guessing. It keeps us questioning and challenging what we understand about the characters and the word in which they live.
Earlier in the year I included an article in which I summarised of the five essential elements of Psychological Suspense–or Grip Lit, which was the term being bandied around at the time. You've probably also seen the term Domestic Noir, which for now seems to have replaced Psychological Thriller or Psychological Suspense among the publishing world (although you'll struggle to find that keyword phrase in Amazon).
Key elements
If you missed the article or just want a refresher, you can read it here.
The cliff-notes version is: • The protagonist is female: She's flawed, often isolated by circumstance or choice, and is forced to discover her strength to fight back, sometimes against the unknown. She is most often alone, mistrusted, and/or has a history that makes her unreliable. • Point of view is often first person or very close third person. We are either in her head or sitting on her shoulder. Emotions are paramount. • Settings and characters are usually highly relatable. The ordinary is rendered extra-ordinary by the nature of the disturbance. Settings are often domestic. Characters have jobs, desires and fears that we readers understand. • Does not feature graphic violence. Violence and danger are a key part of the story but rarely is there a voyeuristic display of blood, gore or torture. • Utilises a complex psychological landscape. Tension comes from the question: what's really going on? Can you trust the narrator? It contains twist after twist, and misdirection is a key suspense device. For me, it's the use of this psychological landscape–the 'what the hell is going on?' aspect–that defines the genre.
Suspense and the Thrill of Vicarious Fear
There is no better feeling, in my humble opinion, than reading a book that gets your heart pumping and has you on the edge of your seat. You can't read fast enough. Sometimes you might find the anticipation is too much and you can't keep going.
If our lives are already stressful enough, why do we seek out these feelings in our leisure time?
Reading is all about escape, don't you think? Yes, it's entertaining, but so are many things. For me the joy of reading is falling into another world, another life, perhaps even another time. It is pure escapism. And yet I most often like to escape into a world that keeps me on the edge of my seat.
Do you question this too? It has always intrigued me, and now that I'm writing books to appeal to readers like us–we lovers of suspense–I figured it was time I looked a little deeper.
Comfort and Control
It turns out that our love of that vicarious thrill we get through reading is about comfort and control.
We are quickly able to recognise what is and what isn't a real threat. When we know it can't hurt us we feel in control.
Our 'thinking' brain tells our emotional responses that we are in a safe place and so our fear shifts to excitement.
When we feel impervious to the danger happening 'out there', it heightens our comfort with that situation. Think about our delight when we are tucked up safe inside when the wind and rain howl or the elation when realising that fin in the water nearby belongs to a dolphin not a shark. (Note to self: don't go kayaking at dusk!)
It's the same when we read about a character in jeopardy. We are invested enough to care, but we know the danger isn't real, it's not happening to us or to anyone we know. This sense of safety is why journalists always tell a disaster story from the point of view of one or two victims. It humanises it and bring it closer to our door; it builds empathy. As Charlotte learns in Bad Things Happen…
"The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic." –Joseph Stalin
Another reason vicarious danger appeals to us so thoroughly is because in life there are things outside of our control. We know we cannot be safe at all times, so we seek to find situations in which we feel safe—like reading about suspenseful, thrilling or dangerous situations happening to fictional characters.
Personally, in times of high stress, especially when I feel that things are outside of my control–like my mother's recent health battles and her need for my assistance while deadlines loom–I most often want to escape into an engrossing suspense.
Does this explanation ring true for you? Or do you get something else from reading suspense? I'd love to hear your thoughts.
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About Me
I consider myself a reformed academic who discovered fiction writing was preferable to the real world. My love of suspense fiction is thoroughly indulged through writing novels and short stories about Fractured Families and Killer Secrets. My novels have been nominated for the Ned Kelly Award and semi-finaled in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award, and my short stories have been included in several anthologies including the Anthology of Award Winning Australian Writing. I also review my favourite books, interview fellow writers, and blog about books and writing.
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