How To Write A Gripping Novel: 5 Essential Tips

Want to write a book readers can’t put down? Use these five practical tips for creating a gripping, page-turning story.

A Tense Situation

I have just finished reading The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton. I read it compulsively – in coffee shops, in the car, at my desk, and in bed. I had to know what happened next.

The novel is not a thriller. It is the story of a young country girl, Nella, who is married off to a rich merchant trader in Amsterdam in 1686. It takes place over four months, but the undercurrents between the characters in a house strangled by secrets made me feel as if I had lived through a lifetime by the end of the book.

The writer’s skills created a palpable tension on every page.

This book made me think about how authors manage to write those stories that turn reading ‘just one more page’ into five more chapters. I realised that I was constantly on edge. The story was filled with suspense and cliffhangers that made me turn the page.

Here are the five tricks the author used to keep me wanting more.

How To Write A Gripping Novel: 5 Essential Tips

Try to include these five ingredients if you want to create tension and suspense.

1. Change. Burton begins at the moment of change. Nella, travelling alone, arrives at her new home in a strange city. We are immediately as disoriented as the young woman is.
2. Mystery. We want to know what’s happening. Her husband is mysteriously absent. Where is he?  And she is confronted with an eclectic household of striking characters who don’t seem to know what to do with her. Why is his sister so distant to Nella? How do the dark-skinned man servant and confident maid fit into this world? When Nella thinks she has the answers, she realises that she hasn’t even been asking the right questions.
3. Secrets. ‘Words flow like water in this city.’ The books simmers with unanswered questions, whispered conversations, overheard snippets of arguments and doors that open and close in the dead of night.
4. Surprises. Her husband does not come to her bed, but gives her a cabinet-sized replica of her new home as a gift. An elusive miniaturist furnishes the doll’s house with creations that show what the real house hides.
5. Danger. There is no safe place for Nella. She has no idea who she can trust. An unsettling couple, the Meermans, demand her attention. The corrupt Catholic Church oozes fear into the streets of the city. An aggressive young Englishman arrives on the doorstep.

To Summarise

The novel does what every great read has ever done.

1. It drops the main character into a situation that requires change. In the inciting moment, Nella is thrown into a foreign society and an unknown house without the comfort of family and friends.
2. It asks a question that demands an answer. Why does Nella’s husband ignore her and how is she going to survive in this new life?
3. It has an empathetic protagonist who finds out she is stronger than she ever imagined she could be. Burton made me care about Nella.
4. It is populated with a handful of striking, interesting characters, including an antagonist with the power to destroy lives.
5. It is full of conflict. There are minor and major conflicts that remain unresolved throughout the novel.
6. It is coloured by a setting that should comfort but only serves to threaten.
7. And then the author makes everything worse…

I realised that novels that keep you turning the page do not distract with an abundance of characters, irrelevant sub-plots, and unnecessary flashbacks. The story moves relentlessly forward, backstory is filtered in when it is needed, and that backstory usually adds to the suspense rather than lessens it.

The Last Word

A gripping novel keeps readers asking questions, worrying about the characters, and turning the page to find out what happens next. Build your story around change, mystery, secrets, surprises, and danger, and you’ll create the tension that makes a book impossible to put down. Most importantly, remember that suspense doesn’t come from constant action – it comes from making readers care deeply about what is at stake.

I learnt a lot from reading this novel. I hope this post helps you to create tension in your novel.

by Amanda Patterson
© Amanda Patterson

More posts from Amanda:

1. How Many Words Should A Novel Be? A Writer’s Guide To Word Counts
2. What Is A Novel Outline? 5 Strong Reasons To Outline Your Novel Before You Start Writing
3. What Is A Good Daily Word Count? Lessons From 39 Famous Authors
4. 10 Life-Changing Benefits Of Reading More Books
5. The Author’s Promise: The Two Things Every Writer Owes Their Reader
6. Why Every Story Needs Consequences
7. Scenes And Sequels: The Writer’s Guide To Stronger Story Structure
8. 50 Motivational Writing Quotes To Inspire You
9. The Writer’s Guide To Good Description: 10 Mistakes To Avoid
10. 10 Powerful Cliffhangers Every Writer Should Know

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