How to make your writing suspenseful - Victoria Smith

翻译人员: Snow Wang 校对人员: Yingyu Liu

What makes a good horror story?

到底是什么成就一部优秀的恐怖小说？

Sure, you could throw in some hideous monsters,

当然，你可能会说是可怕的魔鬼、

fountains of blood,

喷涌的鲜血，

and things jumping out from every corner,

以及不知何处跳出的东西。

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

但是正如经典恐怖小说作者 H·P·洛夫克拉夫特所说，

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

最久远和最强烈的恐惧源自未知。

And writers harness that fear not by revealing horrors,

作者掌控读者的恐惧， 并不是通过揭露恐惧本身，

but by leaving the audience hanging in anticipation of them.

而是使读者身处其中，

That is, in a state of suspense.

也就是处于一种紧张的状态中。

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

大多数的悬疑案例 都出自恐怖电影和恐怖小说。

What's inside the haunted mansion?

鬼楼里面有什么？

Which of the dinner guests is the murderer?

参加晚宴的人里哪一个才是凶手？

But suspense exists beyond these genres.

但是悬疑并不仅仅来自这些因素，

Will the hero save the day?

英雄会来拯救大家吗？

Will the couple get together in the end?

情侣最终会在一起吗？

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

是什么暗黑的秘密让主角如此痛苦？

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

悬疑的秘诀就是设下一个或者一些疑问，

that the audience hopes to get an answer to

让读者想要找到答案，

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

然后迟迟不公布答案， 让他们有兴致地猜下去。

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

那么，在你自己的作品中 你可以采用哪些方法呢？

Limit the point of view.

第一，控制信息量。

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

从角色角度展开故事，

tell the story from the perspective of the characters.

而不是以上帝视角了解发生的所有事。

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

他们和读者一样一点点地开始，

and as they learn more, so do we.

读者随着他们的了解而了解。

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

比如像《德拉库拉》这样的经典小说， 是通过与角色相关的信件和日记

where characters relate what they've experienced

来展现他们经历的事，

and fear what's to come.

和他们害怕发生的事。

Next, choose the right setting and imagery.

第二，选择正确的设定和场景。

Old mansions or castles with winding halls and secret passageways

高墙环绕和密道盘旋的古楼和城堡，

suggest that disturbing things are being concealed.

意味着隐藏着令人不安的事物。

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

黑夜、雾气和暴风雨都可以起到遮挡视线

and restricting characters' movements.

和限制角色行动的作用。

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

这也是维多利亚式伦敦的场景设定风靡的原因。

And even ordinary places and objects can be made sinister

甚至不起眼的地点和物品都可以预示着不详。

as in the Gothic novel "Rebecca"

正如哥特式小说《蝴蝶梦》所描述，

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

主角的新房子里的花是血腥的红色。

Three: play with style and form.

第三，利用行文风格和形式

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

你不仅仅可以着重注意发生的事情，

but how it's conveyed and paced.

还可以注重表达方式和行文节奏。

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

埃德加·爱伦·坡在作品《告密的心》中，

with fragmented sentences that break off suddenly.

就是用零碎的句子来表达主角的心理状态。

And other short declarative sentences in the story

故事中的其他叙述性句子也是短句，

create a mix of breathless speed and weighty pauses.

营造一种窒息和压抑的节奏。

On the screen, Alfred Hitchcock's cinematography

大屏幕中，阿尔弗雷德·希区柯克的作品

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

常采用的漫长的空寂和楼梯的镜头的方法，

to create a feeling of discomfort.

营造一种不安的氛围。

Four: use dramatic irony.

第四，运用戏剧性的反讽。

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

你不能让观众一直处于黑暗的氛围中。

Sometimes, suspense is best served

有时候，悬疑的最好的表达方式

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

是向观众展现重大秘密的关键，而不是向角色。

This is a technique known as dramatic irony,

这就是戏剧性反讽的方法。

where the mystery becomes not what will happen

神秘来源于主角了解原因的契机，

but when and how the characters will learn.

而不是将要发生什么。

In the classic play "Oedipus Rex,"

在经典戏剧《俄狄浦斯王》中，

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

主角并没有意识到自己杀了亲生父亲，

and married his mother.

还娶了自己的母亲。

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

但是观众知道并目睹了 俄狄浦斯了解真相的过程，

provides the story with its agonizing climax.

这是故事的一个折磨人的高潮。

And finally, the cliffhanger.

最后，说一说连续冒险的技巧。

Beware of overusing this one.

注意不要过度运用这种方法。

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

有人认为这是既廉价有好用的方法， 同时这也有很好的效果。

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

在至关重要的情节即将展现的时候，

cuts off right before something crucial is revealed,

把故事分章、分节、分集或者分季，

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

或者在紧急场景的中间插入一丝丝希望。

The wait, whether moments or years,

这个空隙不论是短暂的一瞬还是几年，

makes us imagine possibilities about what could happen next,

都会让我们想象接下来会发生什么。

building extra suspense.

这就又制造了悬念。

The awful thing is almost always averted,

最坏的结果大多数不会发生，

creating a sense of closure and emotional release.

使观众的情绪得以释放。

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

但同时没有阻碍我们忧心接下来

the protagonists face near-certain disaster.

主角的即将面临的灾难。