Tension and suspense don’t just happen in mystery novels. Whether it’s mounting frustration between two characters in a domestic drama that inevitably leads to disaster, an uneasy feeling that the protagonist gets upon entering a certain location, or some other moment in which you want your characters—and readers!—to feel just a little bit off-kilter, tension and suspense can happen anywhere and in any genre.

And when an author manages to make their readers really feel it in the story, it almost seems like magic.

The first thing to establish is precisely what we mean when we refer to both tension and its close relation, suspense. Tension is when the reader feels a mounting emotional pressure as a result of some sort of uncertainty or conflict that hasn’t been resolved yet. Suspense, on the other hand, is when the readers feels anxious in anticipation of some upcoming event or reveal. Now that we’ve established the difference, let’s look at a few ways you can weave one, the other, or both into your novel.

Keep the Pace Balanced
Think of narrative tension as a seesaw—you have to harmonize both fast-paced and slower-paced scenes to find the particular balance that you’re looking for. Every scene will essentially have action and some sort of reflection to that action.

The faster-paced scenes should have less reflection, instead relying more on the characters’ gut feelings and responses to the situation. Meanwhile, the slower ones should see the characters spending a bit more time reflecting on what’s going on. Interchanging the pace like this helps establish that feeling of uncertainty that can lead to great tension.

Foreshadowing
This is a great subtle way to hint to readers that the other shoe is inevitably going to drop—they just don’t know exactly how or when. Hinting at a previous conflict or open-ended question in a character’s past can plant the seeds of uncertainty and make readers wonder if and when there will be an eventual resolution.

Use Shorter Sentences
A physical way to build tension and suspense in your story is to literally write shorter, choppier sentences. This has the understated but inevitable effect of mimicking a beating heart, which will subconsciously build that sense of mounting pressure within any given situation. Now is not the time for long, beautiful descriptions of scenery or character outfits. Instead, express exactly what your protagonist is feeling by focusing on their sensations and knee-jerk reactions to their immediate surroundings (as opposed to how they feel about it all).

Make Your Readers Curious
Curiosity is the ultimate motivator for books that rely on tension and suspense. You want your audience to refuse to put down the novel until they have the answer to questions XYZ. The best way to do this is to pique their curiosity by raising questions through various means, which will largely depend on the genre in which you’re writing. Whether it’s an unsolved crime (mystery), questionable backstory (romance), ulterior motive (psychological thriller), or something else entirely, these questions—along with just enough subtle hints throughout the plot to keep the readers going—can thread an overarching sense of tension and suspense throughout your whole story.

Make Sure That You Follow Through
This is a particularly important one: Your characters’ actions should have real, tangible consequences. Do not tease your readers by laying out the inevitable results of a character’s decision, only for those results to never happen. Do not give your protagonist such thick plot armor that they walk away only slightly harmed by something that would otherwise destroy anyone else. Do not establish a rule in your narrative universe that conveniently does not apply to one particular person. And this is a personal one that some people may disagree with: Do not, at any point, bring a character who has died back to life unless you’re writing a zombie novel.

It’s important you show readers that actions within your book have real consequences. Why? Because when they hit the parts of your story that are building up to that emotional climax, they will only feel genuine tension if they actually think something negative could happen. If you’ve faked them out before with bogus threats and “gotcha!” cliff-hangers, they absolutely will not believe that there’s anything at stake anymore. And that lack of belief is the death of tension and suspense as you know it.

Use Multiple Types of Conflict

Lastly, don’t forget that there are different kinds of conflict—specifically, external and internal—and that both are essential to building tension and suspense in your story. The external conflict that gives rise to suspense may be the main antagonist, villain, or some sort of natural disaster. The internal conflict that gives rise to tension, meanwhile, can be anything from a character’s traumatic past to a sticky moral choice that they are forced to make. Including both kinds within your novel will not only add depth but allow that tension and suspense to really take hold of your readers.

Andrea Moran lives outside of Nashville with her husband and two kids. She’s a professional copywriter and editor who loves all things books. Find her on LinkedIn.