suspense building
Anticipation slowly mounting
Suspense building is the technique of creating tension and anticipation in a narrative, typically by withholding information, raising stakes, or slowing pace at critical moments.
The term appears in discussions of storytelling craft: The director's suspense building keeps audiences on the edge of their seats.
Also called building suspense.
- film editingAssembling recorded footage
- foreshadowingHinting at later events
- unreliable narratorStoryteller whose credibility wavers
- anticipationState of awaiting something
- edge of seatState of rapt tension
nail biter · cliffhanger · conflict · dramatic irony · stakes · plot armor · escape rooms · dread · rising tension · pacing · dramatic pause · apprehension · red herring · false alarm · plot twist · character motivation · timing · curiosity
- campfire storytellerghost story, tall tale, scary story, campfire song, dramatic pause
- Storytelling skillspacing, timing, voice modulation, character voices, plot structure
- flashback techniquestime jumps, backstory, retrospective, childhood memories, repressed memory
suspense buildingspoiler
Premature ending disclosure
full disclosure · transparency · info dump · spilling the beans
suspense buildingtension release
Easing of strain
resolution · climax · denouement · payoff · catharsis
suspense, building, suspend, suspended, suspending, suspends, suspension, suspensions, suspenseful