How to make your writing suspenseful - Victoria Smith

Translator: Putri Prihatini Reviewer: Ade Indarta

What makes a good horror story?

Apa yang membuat kisah horor seram?

Sure, you could throw in some hideous monsters,

Mungkin kau bisa menambahkan monster mengerikan,

fountains of blood,

banjir darah,

and things jumping out from every corner,

dan kejutan di setiap sudut,

but as classic horror author H.P. Lovecraft wrote,

tetapi penulis horor klasik H.P. Lovecraft menulis,

"The oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown."

"Rasa takut tertua dan terkuat datang dari yang tak diketahui."

And writers harness that fear not by revealing horrors,

Penulis menciptakan rasa takut bukan dari mengungkap horornya,

but by leaving the audience hanging in anticipation of them.

tetapi dengan membiarkan pembaca terjebak dalam antisipasi.

That is, in a state of suspense.

Dengan kata lain, dalam kondisi tegang.

The most familiar examples of suspense come from horror films and mystery novels.

Contoh paling umum ada di dalam film horor dan novel misteri.

What's inside the haunted mansion?

Apa yang ada di rumah berhantu itu?

Which of the dinner guests is the murderer?

Siapa di antara tamu makan malam yang jadi pembunuhnya?

But suspense exists beyond these genres.

Tetapi, unsur ketegangan juga ada di genre lain.

Will the hero save the day?

Akankah si pahlawan berhasil?

Will the couple get together in the end?

Apakah pasangan itu akan bersama?

And what is the dark secret that causes the main character so much pain?

Rahasia gelap apa yang menyiksa si karakter utama?

The key to suspense is that it sets up a question, or several,

Kuncinya adalah menciptakan satu atau beberapa pertanyaan,

that the audience hopes to get an answer to

yang membuat pembaca menginginkan jawabannya

and delays that answer while maintaining their interest and keeping them guessing.

dan menundanya sambil membuat mereka tertarik dan menebak-nebak.

So what are some techniques you can use to achieve this in your own writing?

Jadi, teknik apa saja yang bisa kamu gunakan dalam tulisan?

Limit the point of view.

Batasi sudut pandang.

Instead of an omniscient narrator who can see and relay everything that happens,

Hindari narator serba tahu yang melihat dan menjelaskan semuanya,

tell the story from the perspective of the characters.

ceritakan kisahmu lewat perspektif si karakter.

They may start off knowing just as little as the audience does,

Mereka mungkin tidak tahu apa-apa, seperti pembaca,

and as they learn more, so do we.

dan saat mereka tahu lebih banyak, kita juga sama.

Classic novels, like "Dracula," for example, are told through letters and diary entries

Novel klasik seperti "Dracula" berkisah lewat surat dan buku harian

where characters relate what they've experienced

di mana karakter menyampaikan kisah mereka

and fear what's to come.

dan ketakutan menghadapi apa yang akan datang.

Next, choose the right setting and imagery.

Selanjutnya, pilih lokasi dan imaji yang tepat.

Old mansions or castles with winding halls and secret passageways

Rumah tua atau kastil dengan lorong berliku dan pintu rahasia

suggest that disturbing things are being concealed.

menunjukkan ada hal-hal buruk yang disembunyikan.

Nighttime, fog, and storms all play similar roles in limiting visibility

Malam hari, kabut, dan badai dapat membatasi pandangan

and restricting characters' movements.

serta menghambat pergerakan karakter.

That's why Victorian London is such a popular setting.

Itulah sebabnya London era Victoria menjadi latar belakang populer.

And even ordinary places and objects can be made sinister

Bahkan tempat-tempat dan barang biasa bisa jadi menyeramkan

as in the Gothic novel "Rebecca"

seperti di novel Gothic "Rebecca"

where the flowers at the protagonist's new home are described as blood red.

ketika bunga-bunga di rumah baru si tokoh digambarkan merah seperti darah.

Three: play with style and form.

Ketiga: bemainlah dengan gaya dan bentuk.

You can build suspense by carefully paying attention not just to what happens

Kamu bisa membangun ketegangan bukan hanya dari apa yang terjadi

but how it's conveyed and paced.

tetapi juga bagaimana hal itu disampaikan.

Edgar Allan Poe conveys the mental state of the narrator in "The Tell-Tale Heart"

Edgar Allan Poe menuliskan kondisi mental narator di "The Tell-Tale Heart"

with fragmented sentences that break off suddenly.

dengan kalimat terputus-putus yang berhenti tiba-tiba.

And other short declarative sentences in the story

Juga kalimat-kalimat singkat lain di dalam cerita

create a mix of breathless speed and weighty pauses.

memadukan kecepatan serta keheningan yang membebani.

On the screen, Alfred Hitchcock's cinematography

Di layar lebar, sinematografi Alfred Hitchcock

is known for its use of extended silences and shots of staircases

terkenal dengan penggunaan keheningan panjang dan sorotan ke tangga

to create a feeling of discomfort.

untuk menciptakan rasa tidak nyaman.

Four: use dramatic irony.

Keempat: gunakan ironi dramatis.

You can't just keep the audience in the dark forever.

Jangan biarkan pembacamu terkatung-katung.

Sometimes, suspense is best served

Terkadang, ketegangan terbaik dihasilkan

by revealing key parts of the big secret to the audience but not to the characters.

lewat bocoran rahasia ke pembaca, tetapi tidak ke karakter.

This is a technique known as dramatic irony,

Teknik ini disebut ironi dramatis,

where the mystery becomes not what will happen

di mana misterinya bukan yang akan terjadi

but when and how the characters will learn.

tetapi kapan dan bagaimana si karakter akan tahu.

In the classic play "Oedipus Rex,"

Dalam kisah klasik "Oedipus Rex",

the title character is unaware that he has killed his own father

karakter utama tidak tahu dia membunuh ayahnya

and married his mother.

dan menikahi ibunya.

But the audience knows, and watching Oedipus gradually learn the truth

Tetapi penonton tahu dan melihat Oedipus mengetahui kebenarannya

provides the story with its agonizing climax.

menciptakan kisah dengan klimaks tragis.

And finally, the cliffhanger.

Akhirnya, ada pemotongan mendadak.

Beware of overusing this one.

Jangan gunakan terlalu banyak.

Some consider it a cheap and easy trick, but it's hard to deny its effectiveness.

Ada yang menganggapnya trik murahan, tetapi ini memang efektif.

This is where a chapter, episode, volume, or season

Ini adalah ketika suatu bab, episode, volume, atau musim

cuts off right before something crucial is revealed,

dipotong tepat sebelum sesuatu yang penting terjadi,

or in the midst of a dangerous situation with a slim chance of hope.

atau di tengah situasi berbahaya yang nyaris tak ada harapan.

The wait, whether moments or years,

Saat penantian, entah sebentar atau lama,

makes us imagine possibilities about what could happen next,

membuat kita membayangkan apa yang akan terjadi,

building extra suspense.

menciptakan ketegangan ekstra.

The awful thing is almost always averted,

Hal yang buruk akan berhasil dihindari,

creating a sense of closure and emotional release.

menciptakan kelegaan dan pelepasan emosional.

But that doesn't stop us from worrying and wondering the next time

Tetapi kita tidak berhenti khawatir dan membayangkan saat berikutnya

the protagonists face near-certain disaster.

ketika sang protagonis menghadapi bencana.