Yay, I Got Inuchiyo Flying (falling?) Chibi. Would Have Been Better If I Also Got Nobu But I Left My

??

Wait, isn’t this dragon a castle item last BE?

5 ways to increase/decrease suspense in your writing

Suspense is one of the trickier parts of writing to manage effectively because, as the author, you can’t experience your story the way a reader does. If you don’t have enough suspense, it can be difficult to keep your readers interested. If you have too much, frustrated and stressed-out readers might throw your book against the wall. Too much suspense can even backfire - if you try to keep your readers constantly on edge, they can stop taking things seriously and the end result is as though you never included any suspense at all.

So how can you tell if you’ve reached the right balance? Unfortunately, I can’t answer that for you. Some things really do require feedback from honest and insightful readers. Once you have that feedback, however, there are easy tricks to adjusting the level of suspense without a drastic re-write. Here are my five favorite methods.

Promises and Payoffs

INCREASE SUSPENSE by promising something huge and then giving your reader something unexpected. To borrow an example from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, imagine a teenage boy and girl sneaking into an empty building. Everything from the costumes to the lighting is designed to make you uneasy about the girl’s safety but, in the end, she’s the vampire. Give the audience something sensational and they won’t be disappointed that you didn’t deliver on what you originally promised.

DECREASE SUSPENSE by promising less than you plan to deliver. For example, if you plan to kill off a character as they walk through a dark alley, let them worry about being mugged rather than murdered. Not only is it less suspenseful, the payoff is more shocking.

Characters are Crucial

INCREASE SUSPENSE by shifting the focus to a character who’s more involved in the action or one who has more at stake. Even if you have a single POV character, another can come in and demand that character’s attention, along with the readers’.

DECREASE SUSPENSE by focusing on a character who’s more concerned with a secondary goal. Subplots are a fantastic way to give your readers some room to breathe.

Calm vs. Chaos

INCREASE SUSPENSE by cutting back on the action. Suspense flourishes in the quiet moments when your characters have time to think and to anticipate what may be in store for them.

DECREASE SUSPENSE by giving your characters a big, exciting mess to deal with. Even when that mess causes more problems and puts more pressure on your characters in the long run, you’ve still created an oasis where both they and the readers are too distracted to worry about how the big picture will pan out.

Devil’s in the Details

INCREASE SUSPENSE by concentrating on the details of the setting. Horror movies are great at this - every creak of a door, every shadow across a wall keeps the audience immersed in the experience and tense with anticipation.

DECREASE SUSPENSE by breaking the “show, don’t tell” rule and allow exposition to help you move things along. You don’t need to take readers through every aspect of your story in excruciating detail. It’s okay to gloss over some things and it helps readers relax because they know you’re not going to be springing any surprises on them just yet.

Ticking Time-Bomb

INCREASE SUSPENSE by imposing a deadline that your characters struggle to meet. It’s one of the oldest and most obvious tricks in the book, but very effective.

DECREASE SUSPENSE by allowing your characters to believe that the deadline has been met or pushed back. If they (and the readers) believe that they’ve accomplished their goal or bought themselves more time, it relieves pressure and allows everyone to relax until the truth’s revealed.

Source: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=2256688471076332&id=104685412943326

Character Details to Hide from Your Readers

Hiding information from your readers on purpose will help you create tension in your novel. I know this doesn’t work for every novel, but if you’re writing something with elements of suspense and mystery, hiding details and revealing them later will improve your story. This also helps add dimensions to your characters and explore their motivations on a deeper level.

Here are a few things to hide about your characters to create tension:

Whether or not your protagonist is lying

Even good characters lie, especially if they feel like it will protect other people in the long run. There are ways to hint that your character is hiding the truth without actually revealing what the truth is. If your protagonist gets nervous or changes the subject when they’re asked about a specific detail, this will help show your readers that something isn’t quite right. If your character’s deception is hidden and then revealed at the right time, you’ll be able to add exciting tension and shock value to your story.

Who the real villain is

Some of the best tension is created when we’re uncertain about who the real villain is. In mystery/crime novels, for example, there’s often evidence that points to one person who ends up not really being the one we need to worry about. If you hide this information from your readers, you keep them guessing throughout the course of your novel and this will aid in creating suspense.

The truth about their past

When you hide your character’s past from your readers, you have the ability to use it as an explanation for something important later on. For example, if you character has these mysterious powers they can’t explain, you can use their parents and back story in order to reveal later on why it’s happening. Revealing past details slowly over the course of your novel helps build the mystery.

What their secondary goals are

Sometimes characters will have goals no one else knows about but them OR they will have a false goal that their using to cover up their real goal. For example, a character might say they’re rescuing another character because they want to help, but it really might be all about finding some hidden treasure along the way. There are many reasons why a character might want to hide their goals. Explore character motivations on a deeper level and you’ll be able to realistically include this type of deception in your story.

-Kris Noel 

Finally got the Current ECB Hair. It looks good on the past ranking prize dress :)

Words to Describe Someone's Voice

I went scouting through the internet for words to describe a character’s voice. Here’s a handy list for all you writers:

Adenoidal/Nasal - Some of the sound seems to come through the nose.

Appealing - Shows that you want help, approval, or agreement.

Breathy - With loud breathing noises.

Brittle - You sound as if you are about to cry.

Croaky - Sounds as if they have a sore throat.

Dead - They feel or show no emotion.

Disembodied - Voice comes from someone who you cannot see.

Flat - Spoken in a voice that does not go up and down.

Fruity - Deep and strong in a pleasant way.

Grating - Unpleasant and annoying.

Gravelly -  Low and rough.

Gruff - Has a rough low sound.

Guttural - Deep and made at the back of your throat.

High-Pitched - Very high and shrill.

Hoarse -  Low rough voice, usually because their throat is sore.

Honeyed -  Falsely sweet voice.

Husky - A husky voice is deep and sounds hoarse often in an attractive way.

Low - Quiet and difficult to hear / in a deep voice.

Matter-of-fact - Used about someone’s behavior or voice.

Modulated - Controlled and pleasant to listen to.

Monotonous -  Boring because it does not change in loudness or become higher or lower.

Orotund - Loud and clear.

Penetrating - So high or loud that it makes you uncomfortable.

Plummy - This word shows that you dislike people who speak like this.

Quietly - In a quiet voice.

Raucous -  Loud and sounds rough.

Ringing -  very loud and clear.

Rough - Not soft and is unpleasant to listen to.

Shrill -  Very loud, high, and unpleasant.

Silvery - Clear, light, and pleasant.

Singsong - Rises and falls in a musical way.

Small - A small voice or sound is quiet.

Smoky - Sexually attractive in a slightly mysterious way.

Softly Spoken - A quiet gentle voice.

Sotto Voce - A very quiet voice.

Stentorian - Loud and severe.

Strangulated - One that someone stops before they finish making it.

Strident -  Loud and unpleasant.

Taut - Shows someone is nervous or angry.

Thick - Voice sounds less clear because of an emotion.

Thin -  High and unpleasant to listen to.

Throaty - Low and seems to come from deep in your throat.

Tight - Shows that you are nervous or annoyed.

Toneless - Does not express any emotion.

Tremulous - It is not steady because you are afraid or excited.

Wheezy - Has difficulty breathing.

Wobbly - Unstable tone due to fright or emotions.

facts

Finally caught Hamsteryoshi!! 😂😂

Anyone wants to join us in this Unofficial AyakashiRR discord?

Discord

Join the sparkly ayakashi a la twilight Discord Server!

Check out the sparkly ayakashi a la twilight community on Discord - hang out with 8 other members and enjoy free voice and text chat.

We are still a small community, but we are slowly gaining numbers. We hope you can join us.

Anyone playing Yasu Act 2?

How many Skill Points do I need to finish Episode 6? Thank you 😀