.seo-fallback{max-width:46rem;margin:0 auto;padding:2.5rem 1.25rem 4rem; font:16px/1.6 Inter,system-ui,sans-serif;color:#EDE9F5;background:#0E0A1B} .seo-fallback a{color:#FFCA3A} .seo-fallback h1{font-size:1.75rem;line-height:1.2;margin:.5rem 0 1rem} .seo-fallback h2{font-size:1.05rem;margin:2rem 0 .5rem;color:#9C93B8; text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:.08em} .seo-fallback ul{padding-left:1.1rem;margin:.5rem 0} .seo-fallback li{margin:.3rem 0} .seo-fallback .seo-meta{color:#9C93B8;font-size:.9rem} .seo-fallback .seo-note{margin-top:2.5rem;color:#9C93B8;font-size:.85rem; border-top:1px solid #2A2340;padding-top:1rem}

FilmSkool — a free film school

How to make your writing suspenseful - Victoria Smith

A short animated lesson on how suspense is generated — chiefly by managing what the audience knows relative to the characters, and by delaying the resolution past comfort.

TED-Ed · 5 min · Beginner · SCR · Screenwriting · 2018

What you take away

Suspense comes from the audience knowing more than the character, not less; surprise is what you get when they know less.

Watch it

Filed under

Oscar winners for screenplay

Books on screenwriting

Screenwriting Tips, You Hack — Xander Bennett
Crafty Screenwriting — Alex Epstein
Writing Screenplays That Sell — Michael Hauge
Zen in the Art of Writing — Ray Bradbury
FilmCraft: Screenwriting — Tim Grierson
Writing Movies for Fun and Profit — Thomas Lennon, Robert Ben Garant

More Screenwriting

Gone Girl — Don't Underestimate the Screenwriter — Lessons from the Screenplay · 12m · Intermediate
Screenwriting Plot Structure Masterclass - Michael Hauge [FULL INTERVIEW] — Film Courage · 68m · Intermediate
Anatomy Of Story - John Truby [FULL INTERVIEW] — Film Courage · 60m · Intermediate
THR Writer Roundtable: Chloe Domont, Andrew Haigh, Cord Jefferson, Tony McNamara, Eric Roth & More — The Hollywood Reporter · 40m · Advanced
12 Stages Of The Hero's Journey (Narrated By Christopher Vogler) — Film Courage · 23m · Beginner
Pedro Almodóvar | BAFTA Screenwriters’ Lecture Series — BAFTA Guru · 60m · Advanced
Céline Sciamma | BAFTA Screenwriters’ Lecture Series — BAFTA Guru · 55m · Advanced
Essential Skill Sets Screenwriters Need To Write Professionally - Corey Mandell [FULL INTERVIEW] — Film Courage · 75m · Intermediate
How to write amazing endings for your film. — Standard Story Company · 11m · Intermediate
Mike Leigh | BAFTA Screenwriters' Lecture Series — BAFTA · 62m · Advanced
Writing Subtext — The Secret to Writing What's Under the Surface — StudioBinder · 22m · Intermediate
Anatomy Of Story - Television Edition: The Complete Film Courage Interview with John Truby — Film Courage · 55m · Intermediate

This is the plain index, shown because JavaScript is off. Every lesson here is a free video published by the channel credited on it and plays through that channel's own embed — FilmSkool hosts nothing.