Suspense Plot Techniques

THE PLAYWRITING SEMINARS > STRUCTURE > SHAPE > DIAGRAM > INCITING > PLOTS > SUSPENSE > TECHNIQUES

'THE DUCHESS OF MALFI . . . Sex, murder, betrayal, politics, poison, kings, damnation, and salvation -- all the things we really love! A good night out!'

-- Declan Donnellan

What you're after with a Suspense Plot is to get as much as you can with as little as possible. This thing is critical. But your energies need to be invested in the Emotional Plot.

Suspense Plots nearly always hinge on practical, physical, issues . . .

Will Ken sell his family home?
in Lanford Wilson's THE FIFTH OF JULY
Who killed the Sergeant?
in Charles Fuller's A SOLDIER'S PLAY
Will Tess get to go to college in America?
in Wendy Wasserstein's THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG
Who's going to get the money?
in Tennessee William's CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF
Why does Jesse want towels and a gun?
in Marsha Norman's 'NIGHT, MOTHER

In a Screenplay, you can fill 90 minutes with one of these Suspense Plots and not need anything else. But plays are about Consequences, not the events themselves. So the Suspense Plot is kept in the background, but stretched as far as possible. Playwrights do this mostly in two ways . . .

Dump the whole thing on the audience at the Inciting Incident.
Charles Fuller, Lanford Wilson, Wendy Wasserstein
Only hint at it in the Inciting Incident.
Marsha Norman, Tennessee Williams

But no matter what you do, Suspense Plots tend to evolve or transform themselves as the play moves forward . . .

Who killed the Sergeant? Becomes . . .
Can Davenport find the Sergeant's killer?
Why does Jesse want towels and a gun? Becomes . . .
Can Mama stop Jesse from killing herself with the gun?

In more subtle approaches, there's often an initial process of . . .

Clarifying Suspense Plots

And a variant for supporting your Emotional Plot, at least for a short scene or two . . .

Physical Activity as Structure

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