Balloon Theory — Building Suspense

SUMMARY:

Instead of rushing through the action, you have to build up the excitement very slowly. You do this by stretching out your scenes and filling the story with spooky details—like a ticking clock, a cold sweat, or a creaking floorboard. This makes your reader feel like the suspense is growing bigger and bigger, just like a balloon filling with air. You keep stretching the tension as far as it can go until the reader can barely stand the excitement. Finally, when the story cannot hold any more suspense, the big ending happens with a sudden, exciting POP!

A Series of Unfortunate Events — The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

EXERCISE:

Write down the first sentence: “Everyone said that the house on the top of the hill was haunted.”
Slow Down — Now use your senses to draw out the scene. List one thing you see, hear, smell, touch, taste
Short Sentences — In at least one part of your story, try using short, punchy sentences. This mimics a racing heartbeat and speeds up the reader's internal reading rhythm.
Decoy — Try to add a false sense of relief for the character. Something they expect to happen actually happens another way. Someone they think is there, isn’t. Just as they (and the reader) relax, strike them with the actual threat!