Suspense in Writing

Foreshadow and Suspense Lesson

by Mrs H

Open Ended

What is the most suspenseful movie you've seen or book you've read? Provide two details that caused suspense.

​Foreshadow

Foreshadowing is a literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the story. Foreshadowing often appears at the beginning of a story, or a chapter, and it helps the reader develop expectations about the upcoming events.​

Multiple Choice

Define Foreshadow

• Something the author tells you in a story that happened in the past.

• A hint the author gives you of something that will happen in the future.

• The dark thing I see on the ground  when I'm walking outside in the sun.

• Men get it when they don't shave for a few days.

​Foreshadowing & Suspense

• ​Foreshadowing also creates suspense.

• ​In literature, suspense is an uneasy feeling that a reader gets when they don't know what is going to happen next.

• ​Authors build suspense by providing clues of a future event.

• ​Foreshadowing and suspense can creates feelings of tension or anxiety in readers and/or viewers because they want to know what is going to happen next, how an event is going to unfold, or what will be the result of a previous event.

Multiple Choice

“Remember, Cinderella,” warned her fairy godmother, “you must leave the ball at midnight. If you stay later, everything will turn back as it was. Your coach will become a pumpkin again. Your gown will become rags. Promise me you will remember.”“Of course, I’ll remember,” said Cinderella, but as her coach carried her toward the ball, the warning was replaced in her mind with images of dancing and music.

• Climax

• Flashback

• Foreshadowing

• Conflict

Multiple Choice

Suspense is created through...

• Foreshadowing

• Flashback

Multiple Choice

A state or feeling of excited or anxious uncertainty about what may happen is...

• Slice of Pizza

• Social Media

• Silence

• Suspense

Open Ended

Read the passage. Write some details that create suspense.

I strolled along the lonely beach. Just then a strange splash in the water caught my eye. I turned toward the water and peered into the waves. There was no sign of whatever it was splashing out there. I shrugged my shoulders and kept walking on the shore. Suddenly I heard the most unusual sound. Again, I stopped and tried to figure out what in the world was making that sound. All was still, except for the sound of the waves. I shook my head- it didn’t make sense. I walked closer to the water, trying to figure out what was out there. Without warning, something huge and shiny seemed to leap out of the water. I gasped and covered my mouth with my hand. I couldn’t believe my eyes, it was a huge whale!

Multiple Select

Review...

What is conflict???

(choose two)

• A problem the main character in a story is facing.

• A struggle between two opposing forces.

• The highest point or the turning point in a story.

• How the story ends and the problem is solved.

Open Ended

What is the difference between foreshadow and flashback???