How to make your writing suspenseful - Victoria Smith
Check out our Patreon page: https://www.patreon.com/teded
View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-to-make-your-writing-suspenseful-victoria-smith
What makes a good horror story? Hideous monsters and fountains of blood might seem like a good place to start, but as horror author H.P. Lovecraft wrote, “The oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.” Writers harness that fear not by revealing horrors, but by leaving the audience hanging in a state of suspense. Victoria Smith gives some tips for adding suspense to your writing.
Lesson by Victoria Smith, directed by Silvia Prietov.
Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible.
Carlos Castillo, Sage Curie, Ana Maria, Vignan Velivela, Ibel Wong, Ahmad Hyari, A Hundred Years, Eden Sher, Rikke Borgaard, IamJo , Travis Wehrman, Minh Tran, Louisa Lee, Kiara Taylor, KFerg, Hoang Viet, Nathan A. Wright, Joren Schiks, Аркадий Скайуокер, Milad Mostafavi.
Watch on YouTube ↗
(saves to browser)
Sign in to unlock AI tutor explanation · ⚡30
Playlist
Uploads from TED-Ed · TED-Ed · 0 of 60
← Previous
Next →
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
Weaving narratives in museum galleries - Thomas P. Campbell
TED-Ed
Your brain is more than a bag of chemicals - David Anderson
TED-Ed
Biofuels and bioprospecting for beginners - Craig A. Kohn
TED-Ed
Four sisters in Ancient Rome - Ray Laurence
TED-Ed
The brilliance of bioluminescence - Leslie Kenna
TED-Ed
Animation basics: Homemade special effects - TED-Ed
TED-Ed
Pros and cons of public opinion polls - Jason Robert Jaffe
TED-Ed
Excuse me, may I rent your car? - Robin Chase
TED-Ed
Could tissue engineering mean personalized medicine? - Nina Tandon
TED-Ed
The arts festival revolution - David Binder
TED-Ed
What's an algorithm? - David J. Malan
TED-Ed
Why do fingers become pruney? - Mark Changizi
TED-Ed
What is fat? - George Zaidan
TED-Ed
Reasons for the seasons - Rebecca Kaplan
TED-Ed
Mysteries of vernacular: Inaugurate - Jessica Oreck
TED-Ed
Let's pool our medical data - John Wilbanks
TED-Ed
Science is for everyone, kids included - Beau Lotto and Amy O'Toole
TED-Ed
Making a TED-Ed Lesson: Concept and design
TED-Ed
Making a TED-Ed Lesson: Creative process
TED-Ed
Making a TED-Ed Lesson: Animation
TED-Ed
Is space trying to kill us? - Ron Shaneyfelt
TED-Ed
Put those smartphones away: Great tips for making your job interview count - Anna Post
TED-Ed
What on Earth is spin? - Brian Jones
TED-Ed
Gyotaku: The ancient Japanese art of printing fish - K. Erica Dodge
TED-Ed
Mining literature for deeper meanings - Amy E. Harter
TED-Ed
What doctors don't know about the drugs they prescribe - Ben Goldacre
TED-Ed
Why architects need to use their ears - Julian Treasure
TED-Ed
How do you decide where to go in a zombie apocalypse? - David Hunter
TED-Ed
Tracking grizzly bears from space - David Laskin
TED-Ed
The emergence of drama as a literary art - Mindy Ploeckelmann
TED-Ed
Why democracy matters - Rory Stewart
TED-Ed
Ethical riddles in HIV research - Boghuma Kabisen Titanji
TED-Ed
Mysteries of vernacular: Venom - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel
TED-Ed
Mysteries of vernacular: Dynamite - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel
TED-Ed
The promise of research with stem cells - Susan Solomon
TED-Ed
What color is Tuesday? Exploring synesthesia - Richard E. Cytowic
TED-Ed
How do we experience time? - Matt Danzico
TED-Ed
The contributions of female explorers - Courtney Stephens
TED-Ed
The security mirage - Bruce Schneier
TED-Ed
Mysteries of vernacular: Window - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel
TED-Ed
The punishable perils of plagiarism - Melissa Huseman D'Annunzio
TED-Ed
Dare to disagree - Margaret Heffernan
TED-Ed
What we're learning from online education - Daphne Koller
TED-Ed
The rise of human-computer cooperation - Shyam Sankar
TED-Ed
The happy secret to better work - Shawn Achor
TED-Ed
Dissecting Botticelli's Adoration of the Magi - James Earle
TED-Ed
The game-changing amniotic egg - April Tucker
TED-Ed
Equality, sports, and Title IX - Erin Buzuvis and Kristine Newhall
TED-Ed
Neuroscience, game theory, monkeys - Colin Camerer
TED-Ed
Why global jihad is losing - Bobby Ghosh
TED-Ed
Want to help someone? Shut up and listen! - Ernesto Sirolli
TED-Ed
Fighting with non-violence - Scilla Elworthy
TED-Ed
Mysteries of vernacular: Gorgeous - Jessica Oreck and Rachael Teel
TED-Ed
Building unimaginable shapes - Michael Hansmeyer
TED-Ed
Behind the Great Firewall of China - Michael Anti
TED-Ed
How big is the ocean? - Scott Gass
TED-Ed
Is there a center of the universe? - Marjee Chmiel and Trevor Owens
TED-Ed
Vermicomposting: How worms can reduce our waste - Matthew Ross
TED-Ed
How to set the table - Anna Post
TED-Ed
How to fool a GPS - Todd Humphreys
TED-Ed
Related AI Lessons
⚡
⚡
⚡
⚡
Only 1 in 50 AI Projects Delivers Real Value — Here’s How to Be in That 2%
Medium · AI
Big Tech firms are accelerating AI investments and integration, while regulators and companies focus on safety and responsible adoption.
Dev.to AI
From Ericsson intern to AI consultant: How this Cameroonian engineer built a career around data
Techpoint Africa
From a Cold War Spy Bug to My Drawing
Medium · Deep Learning
🎓
Tutor Explanation
DeepCamp AI