Plot Structure Basics
The start of a story where characters, setting, and the basic situation are introduced.
What is the exposition?
According to the TED-Ed lesson, using an omniscient (all-knowing) narrator often reduces suspense. (True or False)
What is true?
Settings like dark hallways, abandoned mansions, or dense fog help build suspense by restricting this sense.
What is vision or sight?
This literary device occurs when the audience knows a crucial secret or threat that the character does not.
What is dramatic irony?
The primary author's purpose when writing a suspenseful thriller novel or scary short story.
What is to entertain?
The high point of emotional intensity or turning point of the story where the main conflict is faced head-on.
What is the climax?
Point of view written from the protagonist’s perspective using pronouns like "I," "me," and "my."
What is first-person POV?
Writing "the wind whispered through the hollow trees" uses this figurative language technique to make the setting feel alive and eerie.
What is personification?
An ending to a chapter or scene that leaves a major question unanswered, forcing the reader to continue.
What is a cliffhanger?
The author's attitude toward their subject or audience, conveyed through word choice and details.
What is tone?
The series of events and obstacles that build tension and develop the central conflict.
What is the rising action?
Limiting the narrative perspective builds suspense because the reader only knows as much as this person.
What is the main character / protagonist?
Environmental conditions like sudden thunderstorms, heavy snow, or power outages create suspense by doing this to the characters.
What is trapping / isolating them?
Hints or clues planted early in the plot that suggest what will happen later in the story.
What is foreshadowing?
Words like crept, lurked, shivered, and shadowy are chosen by the author because they carry strong negative connotations that set a creepy tone. (True or False)
What is true?
The part of the plot after the climax where loose ends are tied up and tension decreases.
What is the resolution or denouement?
A narrator whose credibility or account of events cannot be fully trusted by the reader.
What is an unreliable narrator?
Instead of relying only on visual horror, suspense authors rely heavily on sensory details targeting these two senses to build anticipation.
What are sound (hearing) and touch (feeling)?
A technique where an author deliberately delays answering a question to keep the reader guessing.
What is Withholding Information (or Delaying the Reveal)?
The difference between tone and mood is that tone is the author's attitude, while mood is the _______ or _______ feeling created in the reader.
What is atmosphere or emotional?
This type of conflict places a character against an outside force, such as nature, society, or another person.
What is external conflict?
Third-person POV that follows the thoughts and feelings of only one character at a time, rather than everyone.
What is third-person limited?
The overarching feeling or atmosphere created for the reader through setting description and imagery.
What is mood?
A false clue or misleading distraction intended to lead the reader or character to the wrong conclusion.
What is a red herring?
An author writing a suspense story might use an ironic or playful tone during a tense moment to achieve this effect.
What is Disarming the reader (or creating contrast / increasing discomfort)?