Name That Technique!
A literary device where the author gives subtle hints or clues about events that will happen later in the story is called:
A) Dramatic Irony
B) Foreshadowing
C) Red Herring
D) Cliffhanger
Foreshadowing
Using an unsettling, dark, or isolated setting has this specific effect on the reader.
making us feel uneasy
The narrator mentions that leaving the front door unlocked was a mistake she would regret for the rest of her life. Which technique is used?
A) Red Herring
B) Foreshadowing
C) Ticking Clock
D) Comic Relief
Foreshadowing
A character hears a sharp scratch at the window, followed by total silence, then three rhythmic knocks. The author is using:
A) Sensory Imagery to build mood
B) Point of View
C) Expositional Info-dumping
D) Withholding Information
Sensory Imagery to build mood
To speed up the pace of a scene during an intense pursuit, a writer should use:
A) Long, complex sentences with multiple clauses
B) Short, punchy sentences and active verbs
C) Detailed paragraphs describing history and geography
D) Extensive internal monologues about childhood
Short, punchy sentences and active verbs
Ending a chapter or scene at a moment of maximum tension or unresolved danger is known as a:
A) Slow Burn
B) Deus ex Machina
C) Cliffhanger
D) In Media Res
Cliffhanger
When an author uses foreshadowing, it triggers this reaction in the reader's mind.
making us predict
The reader experiences the story through a first-person narrator who cannot see what is creeping up behind them. This relies on:
A) Cliffhangers
B) Point of View
C) Dialogue
D) Illustrations
Point of View
Before exploring the dark cellar, Mark remembers his uncle’s warning from five years ago: "Never touch the iron door." This is a:
A) Ticking Clock
B) Flashback
C) Cliffhanger
D) Red Herring
Flashback
What is the main purpose of withholding key information from the reader until the climax?
A) To make the story impossible to understand
B) To generate curiosity, mystery, and suspense
C) To finish the story in fewer pages
D) To satisfy publisher requirements
To generate curiosity, mystery, and suspense
The author uses very brief, choppy sentences to speed up the writing and make the action feel urgent.
Short sentences
When an author limits what we know by using a specific Point of View, it creates this feeling in the reader.
making us feel uncertain
A graphic novel uses dark shadows, stark framing, and eerie imagery to show a monster approaching without using words. This technique is:
A) Foreshadowing
B) Illustrations
C) Dialogue
D) Short Sentences
Illustrations
He froze. Sentence 2: A shadow moved. Sentence 3: The key snapped in the lock. Short sentences here serve to:
A) Slow down time dramatically
B) Accelerate pacing and simulate a fast heart rate
C) Provide complex backstory
D) Demonstrate formal academic tone
Accelerate pacing and simulate a fast heart rate
How can high stakes elevate suspense in a story?
A) By making the consequences of failure severe and personal to the protagonist.
B) By ensuring everyone gets what they want without effort.
C) By keeping the situation low-risk so no one gets hurt.
D) By revealing the ending in the second scene.
By making the consequences of failure severe and personal to the protagonist.
The author intentionally doesn't tell us everything right away, leaving key details hidden.
Withholding Information
Stopping a chapter on a major cliffhanger creates this primary reader effect.
making us want to keep reading
Chapter 12 ends with the protagonist slipping off the edge of a rain-slicked roof, reaching out frantically with one hand as the page turns. This is a classic:
A) Cliffhanger
B) Resolution
C) Exposition
D) Epilogue
Cliffhanger
A clean, polished mansion has one hallway that is pitch-black, freezing cold, and smells of rot. This contrast creates suspense through:
Prompt: Scenario: Characters speak in hushed, fragmented whispers: "Did you hear that?" "Shh! Don't move." This creates suspense through:
A) Dialogue
B) Foreshadowing
C) Illustrations
D) Point of View
Dialogue
Isolating a protagonist (e.g., in deep space, a cabin in a blizzard) increases suspense because:
A) It eliminates all possible plot points.
B) It removes safety nets and external help, heightening vulnerability.
C) It allows the author to stop writing dialogue.
D) It automatically resolves the story's main conflict.
It removes safety nets and external help, heightening vulnerability.
The author strategically slows down or speeds up the pacing of events to manipulate the reader's anticipation.
Pacing
According to our toolkit formula, suspense ultimately answers these two big questions.
What does the author make me wonder about, and how do they make me keep wondering?
A character enters an abandoned house, but the reader only sees through their flashlight's narrow beam and limited field of vision. This relies on:
A) Point of View
B) First-person narration
C) Pacing manipulation
D) Flashback
Point of View
The story abruptly cuts off right as the villain reveals they know the protagonist's real location. This uses:
A) Dialogue
B) Cliffhangers
C) Short Sentences
D) Illustrations
Cliffhangers
Which grammatical/stylistic choice best slows down pacing to build agony and anticipation right before a door opens?
A) Extremely brief single-word fragments.
B) Highly detailed, sensory descriptions of small actions.
C) Switching immediately to an index format.
D) Removing all adjectives and adverbs.
Highly detailed, sensory descriptions of small actions.