We’ve seen how Stephen King built up the suspense in Misery, but what about other books that he has written, and there have been many others!

In 1978, he released a book called The Stand and he created much the same kind of apprehension among readers once the virus the book is about has claimed a few victims. The novel starts off by introducing the virus and the effects it has, and it is in this initial part of the book that we start to see just how bad it might all get. In the second half of the book, we see the suspense increasing as a group of survivors sets about trying to save the world, or what is left of it. Throughout the two parts of the book, the callback is the virus, constantly providing a reminder to readers that destruction is just around the corner and can happen at any time. The payoff comes when readers are witness to a confrontation of apocalyptic proportions between the two political factions formed in the story.

Stephen King’s very first novel and arguably one of the most famous is Carrie. This very first book showed him to be a true master of horror and, more importantly, suspense. The book was filled with hints, with callbacks and a final payoff, increasing the worry of the reader throughout the entire story. The heroine has telekinetic powers and the reader waits with bated breath throughout the story for her to use those powers to get her revenge on a town for ostracizing and humiliating her. The suspense is built up with the heroine’s mother, a pious woman who also humiliated Carrie. We expect Carrie to react to the humiliation but she doesn’t, until the payoff – at which point, rage pours out of her, killing many in an overreaction that could never have been predicted.

By now, you should have noticed that, although King uses the same three steps, each time it is different. It all depends on the book. For example, you can’t say that suspense should be created by humiliating a character; think about Carrie; how could that instruction possibly have come anywhere close to explaining what went into making that book work? It is far easier to say that suspense should be created by ensuring that your readers have something to worry about – the cause of the worry will be unique to each story.

Forget about reading the book that Stephen King wrote about writing; instead, pick up one or two of his novels. Read through them with a pen, marking out what you think is going to cause the reader a problem later in the book. Mark the callbacks everywhere you find them and mark the payoff. If you read through that book again, looking at everything you marked, you will have a much clearer idea of how to write suspense the way Stephen King does. At the very least, you get some ideas for drawing the reader into the book; at the most, you can learn how to hook ‘em and reel ‘em in!