Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Action versus Suspense

How do they differ?
  • Action means happenings.
  • Suspense means uncertainty.
These are not my words or wisdom, but of William Noble, author of Conflict, Action, & Suspense.

Since my WIP is YA Fantasy and I'm creating a new world, I find that in my current revision I'm creating a good bit of mystery and uncertainty. And the "action" that I have shown is more in the form of the characters thinking, trying to figure things out. Obviously, this is not action because a character's thoughts are internalized. Sure they may get an epiphany here or there, but nothing is really happening. In my last draft of my WIP, it was wham, bam, boom, action in your face. One happening after another. The suspense was built off the tails of the previous action.

It's difficult to create a perfect balance of action and suspense. Thoughts?

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