Camille is taking notes on "A Simple Way to Create Suspense."Like the old cartoon of the big fish eating a smaller fish eating a very small fish, you’ll find out the big answer after a string of smaller drip-drip-drip answers. The big answer is parceled out slowly and parsimoniously. I remember doing that in "Killing Floor,” my first novel featuring Jack Reacher, a drifter and ex-military policeman. Something weird is happening in a small Georgia town. O.K., great, but what? Well, it seems to be something to do with money. Fine, but what exactly? Well, it seems to be about getting hold of perfect blank paper for counterfeiting purposes. Wonderful, but where the heck are they getting it?
Duncan is taking notes on Karin Slaughter’s interview about writing.I think, really, what makes thrillers work is that they have to have a beginning, a middle and an end. When you – writing crime fiction, when you want a really good story, when you want a compelling read, you have to focus equally on plot and character. And you have to make sure that the reader cares enough about these characters so that when bad things happen, they want to read along.And being a Southern author, you know, I grew up with Flannery O'Connor, and I love reading her essays because she was such a—not just a wonderful writer, but she was wonderful at talking about writing.
Writers Karin Slaughter and Lee Child share which ideas about creating suspense? Select 2 options.Strong writing often includes an element of suspense.Classic literature provides examples of suspense.Leaving information unknown creates suspense.Delaying answers to questions creates suspense.Developing characters slowly creates suspense.
Read the excerpt from Lee Child’s "A Simple Way to Create Suspense".Like the old cartoon of the big fish eating a smaller fish eating a very small fish, you’ll find out the big answer after a string of smaller drip-drip-drip answers. The big answer is parceled out slowly and parsimoniously.
Which line from "A Simple Way to Create Suspense" best supports the central idea that writers should not give their readers answers too quickly?
Read the excerpt from "A Simple Way to Create Suspense".For instance, heading toward a movie review program, I remember we asked: Who was the studio’s first choice for the Harry Callahan role in "Dirty Harry”?We knew most viewers would be intrigued. (What, Clint Eastwood wasn’t the first choice?) But—and this was the lesson—the success of the tactic didn’t depend on intrigue. Even viewers with no interest at all stuck around to find out. Humans are hard-wired. They need to know. Even viewers who knew the answer for sure stuck around, in order to be gratified. The gap was bridged, and the danger averted. (It was Frank Sinatra. You waited, right?)
quicklyeasilyfrighteninglygradually
To identify the central idea of a text, readers must
Review the paragraph from "A Simple Way to Create Suspense" the by Lee Child.Trusting such a simple system feels cheap and meretricious while you’re doing it. But it works. It’s all you need. Of course, attractive and sympathetic characters are nice to have; and elaborate and sinister entanglements are satisfying; and impossible-to-escape pits of despair are great. But they’re all luxuries. The basic narrative fuel is always the slow unveiling of the final answer.
Gary has made this note in his reading notebook.Slowly giving readers answers moves story along.
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