Adding Suspense to a Novel – the Ticking Clock

Use This Simple Technique to Build Tension When Plotting a Book

Nov 16, 2009
Marg McAlister

Plotting a Novel – Use the Ticking Clock - Clipart.com

Everyone knows what it feels like to race against the clock: the rush of adrenaline; the fear of not making the deadline. So... add this to a book's plot to hook readers!

What makes readers keep turning pages?

The intense desire to know what happens next.

How can an author build the suspense even more?

Simple – use the power of the ticking clock.

The TV series "24", featuring the seemingly indestructible Jack Bauer, is a prime example of how to have viewers gnawing their fingers to the bone with tension as the main character races to meet a deadline. ("Will Jack find his wife and daughter? Will he be able to save them – or will he have to sacrifice them for the greater good? Will he get to the bad guys before the bomb explodes? And so on and so on...)

Tick, tick, tick... as time marches inexorably on, the viewer (or in the case of a novel, the reader) gets more and more anxious.

The Two Main Requirements of the Ticking Clock in Fiction

An author has to:

Plan to have something big happen at the end of the chosen period of time, with severe and unwanted consequences for the main character if he/she doesn't meet the deadline. (For example, he might have to: complete qualifying races on time to be eligible for Olympic selection; make it to a phone to bid on a property; meet a contact to receive crucial information; find a bomb before it explodes; track down a loved one before she is murdered; repay a loan or lose a business.)
Choose a period of time during which the action of the story will play out – a day, a week, 39 days, a year – the time period doesn't matter, as long as the main character faces serious challenges to complete whatever is necessary in the time frame. (The writer will create a series of hurdles and setbacks, with the time available to achieve the goal shrinking with every page turned.)

Ways to Use the Ticking Clock When Plotting a Novel

The ticking clock can be used as the framework for the entire novel, or used in selected scenes. For example, the writer could:

Mimic the TV series '24' and have the entire action play out in 24 hours
Insert a scene in which the main character is given a time limit to make a critical decision. (This can range from "You have sixty seconds to give me an answer or your wife dies," to "Have a visa and money ready to travel within a week or wave goodbye to the business.")
Play two characters off against each other in a race to get the prize. Each has the same target and the same deadline. Each goes close to winning before one edges the other out.
Give the main character a challenging task with an achievable yet tight deadline. Let him struggle, but make it in time – only to find that there is a hidden agenda. The stakes are suddenly much higher, and he has a seemingly impossible deadline. The tension will immediately take a leap.

These are just a few suggestions for how an author can use the 'ticking clock' to build a page-turning novel. This plotting device can be used once or several times in any book. It is also an excellent framework to use for plotting a short story, and works equally well writing for adults or writing for children.

Marg McAlister - Marg McAlister has tried on a good many writer's hats in her career, and has enjoyed wearing most of them. Her writing achievements ...