Real suspense lives in your reader’s head—here’s how to put it there.
Suspense is the heart and soul of storytelling. Without it, the only readers who keep turning pages are the ones already keenly interested in your subject. But suspense doesn’t have to involve high-speed car chases, eerily-shaped shadows flitting outside the window, or a child running into the road.
In this FREE one-hour session, I’ll show you how to build that tension where it really lives: inside your reader’s head.
You’ll discover:
- How to build real tension from ordinary moments—a found wallet, a too-friendly stranger, a sudden silence in the woods—instead of relying on action set pieces
- How to use dramatic irony, letting your reader know more than your character does, and timing each reveal to keep them on edge
- How to plant unanswered questions that pull readers forward—and pay them off without releasing the pressure too soon
- How to put your character’s private fears into the reader’s head, so the dread is felt, not just described
Perfect for:
- Fiction writers in any genre who want pages that turn themselves—not just during the big scenes, but in the quiet ones
- Writers whose stories sag or feel flat in the middle and aren’t sure why readers drift
- Novelists and short-story writers who want suspense that comes from character and anticipation, not just plot mechanics
A live Q&A follows the presentation to answer your questions.
Fill out the form below to reserve your FREE virtual seat.
Create Edge-Of-Your-Seat Suspense: Increase Tension by Getting into Your Readers’ Heads
What if the most suspenseful scene in your next book is one where nothing “happens” at all? A character picks up a wallet that isn’t theirs. A stranger in the checkout line knows a little too much. The woods go quiet in a way they weren’t a moment ago. None of these involve danger, exactly—and yet a reader feels it in their chest.
That feeling is the real craft of suspense, and it comes from anticipation, not action. In this session, I’ll show you how to control what your reader knows and when they know it, how to use dramatic irony so the reader worries while your character stays unaware, and how to let unanswered questions do the heavy lifting. We’ll look at why a character’s private fears, filtered onto the page, become the reader’s own—and how the quietest moment can carry as much tension as any chase, in any genre you write.
You don’t need a thriller plot to keep readers up past midnight. You need to get inside their heads. Come learn how.
Join us at our FREE virtual discussion:
September 19, 2026 at 1 p.m. Eastern
Reserve your spot at this FREE virtual workshop. I’ll send you the access details shortly before the event!
In Beat the Bots: An Author’s Guide to Surviving and Thriving in the Age of AI, published in August, Jane K. Cleland shares practical exercises to nurture imagination, spark original thinking, and resist creative conformity. Her other books on the craft of writing, Mastering Suspense, Structure & Plot and Mastering Plot Twists, both won the Agatha Award.
Jane has also written fourteen novels in the multiple award-winning Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series [St. Martin’s Minotaur, with short fiction published by Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine]. The series has been optioned for film and TV.
In addition, Jane is a contributing editor for Writer’s Digest magazine and the chair of the Black Orchid Novella Award, presented by the Wolfe Pack in partnership with Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Jane has served as President of the New York Chapter and Vice President of the Florida chapter of Mystery Writers of America, and was on the national board.
