How to make your writing suspenseful - Victoria Smith

譯者: iSAAC NgZiLe 審譯者: 瑞文Eleven 林Lim

What makes a good horror story?

如何寫出好的驚悚故事？

Sure, you could throw in some hideous monsters,

你當然可以描寫可怕的怪物、 滿地血跡或從角落跳出的怪物

fountains of blood,

and things jumping out from every corner,

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

但一流的恐怖作家霍華德‧菲利普斯‧ 洛夫克拉夫特（H.P. Lovecraft）寫道

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

最古老、強烈的恐懼 就是對未知的恐懼

And writers harness that fear not by revealing horrors,

作家不直接揭示恐懼

but by leaving the audience hanging in anticipation of them.

而是讓觀眾懸著一顆恐懼的心

That is, in a state of suspense.

這就是懸疑感

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

懸疑感經常出現在 恐怖片和神祕小說中

What's inside the haunted mansion?

陰森的大宅中藏著些甚麼？

Which of the dinner guests is the murderer?

哪位客人是凶手？

But suspense exists beyond these genres.

但懸疑感還棋高一著

Will the hero save the day?

英雄能拯救一切嗎？

Will the couple get together in the end?

情侶能修成正果嗎？

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

又是什麼不為人知的秘密 讓主角倍感痛苦？

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

懸疑感的關鍵在於提出一個以上 觀眾想知道答案的問題

that the audience hopes to get an answer to

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

使觀眾持續感興趣，不太早揭穿謎底

讓觀眾繼續猜

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

有什麼技巧能在你自己的 作品中營造出懸疑感？

Limit the point of view.

從受限的角度看

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

別當無所不知、看清全局的敘事者

tell the story from the perspective of the characters.

從角色的角度說故事

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

他們一開始也像觀眾一樣 只知道一小部分

and as they learn more, so do we.

跟我們一起逐漸看清全局

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

例如《德古拉》這部 經典小說用書信和日記

where characters relate what they've experienced

記錄人物的經歷和他們害怕的未來

and fear what's to come.

Next, choose the right setting and imagery.

接著是慎選場景和意象

Old mansions or castles with winding halls and secret passageways

有曲折長廊、秘密通道的 古老大宅院或是城堡

suggest that disturbing things are being concealed.

暗示其中藏著不為人知的煩擾祕密

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

深夜、濃霧和暴風雨有助於

限制能見度和角色的動作

and restricting characters' movements.

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

這就是為什麼維多利亞時期的 倫敦是非常流行的場景

And even ordinary places and objects can be made sinister

但即便只是一般的地點和物品 也可以營造不祥的氛圍

as in the Gothic novel "Rebecca"

例如哥德小說《蝴蝶夢》

以「血紅」描寫主角新家的花朵

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

Three: play with style and form.

第三招，善用風格和形式

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

營造懸疑不只是關注於發生的事

but how it's conveyed and paced.

還要寫事情如何進行

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

愛倫‧坡（Edgar Allan Poe）在 《告密的心》中描寫敘述者的心理時

with fragmented sentences that break off suddenly.

使用嘎然而止的零碎句子

And other short declarative sentences in the story

故事中其他簡短的句子

create a mix of breathless speed and weighty pauses.

每個停頓都很沉重 讓人幾乎沒有喘息的空間

On the screen, Alfred Hitchcock's cinematography

大銀幕上，亞佛烈德‧希區考克的電影

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

最有名的就是用持續的沉默 和延伸的鏡頭

to create a feeling of discomfort.

營造不安的感覺

Four: use dramatic irony.

第四招，要有戲劇性的反諷

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

你不能讓讀者永遠搞不清楚狀況

Sometimes, suspense is best served

有時懸疑感最好的呈現方式是

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

透露關鍵的祕密給觀眾， 卻不讓故事中的人物知道

This is a technique known as dramatic irony,

這提供一個戲劇性反諷的技巧

where the mystery becomes not what will happen

讓神祕感不再來自接下來發生什麼事

but when and how the characters will learn.

而是故事中的人物何時、 如何得知這個祕密

In the classic play "Oedipus Rex,"

在經典名劇《伊底帕斯王》中

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

主角並不知道自己弒父

and married his mother.

甚至娶了自己的母親

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

但觀眾知道，並看著伊底帕斯逐漸明瞭

provides the story with its agonizing climax.

使故事來到最痛苦的高潮

And finally, the cliffhanger.

最後一招是「懸念」

Beware of overusing this one.

不要濫用這招

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

有人認為這只是簡單的小伎倆 但很難否認它的成效

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

因為每一章節、每一集、 每一冊還有每一季的故事

cuts off right before something crucial is revealed,

總是停在最重要情節發生之前

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

或者是停在岌岌可危之時

The wait, whether moments or years,

不論等待多久

makes us imagine possibilities about what could happen next,

都能留給我們想像空間

building extra suspense.

營造更多懸疑感

The awful thing is almost always averted,

幾乎總是能避開慘劇

creating a sense of closure and emotional release.

精采的結局也讓觀眾鬆一口氣

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

但這不會阻止我們繼續猜測、擔心

the protagonists face near-certain disaster.

主角下次會遇到什麼災難