As I mentioned in my last couple of blog postings, I've watched several excellent online lectures on fiction writing while on virus lockdown. One involved the complexity of plotting, which introduced a particularly intriguing concept: the contrast between surprise and suspense in a story's plot.
First of all, the instructor discussed the definition of plot versus story. A story is a series of events linked by a chronology. Told that way, the reader is led to ask, "And then …?" A plot is how a story is structured. Its events are linked by cause and effect, and are not necessarily chronological. The reader may then ask, "Why?"
In fiction, a fundamental principle of plotting is the withholding of information. At the beginning, you want the reader to know very little. At the end, the reader should know everything. In essence, the ending is withheld from the reader.
As the plot unfolds, withholding is used throughout so the reader keeps reading. The question to consider: what is withheld from whom? This is where surprise versus suspense comes in.
Surprise
In certain works of fiction, details are withheld from the reader in the beginning, and revealed bit by bit as the plot unfolds. In literary fiction, it's often details of the main character's life that are vague at first, but become clearer as the story progresses. In a mystery, the crime it known right away, with the possibilities of "whodunnit" slowly revealed. In these situations, withholding information from the reader is intended to result in the classic surprise ending, where the reader finally knows everything.
Suspense
For other works of fiction, the author tells the reader everything that is going on, but withholds details from the main characters. The reader knows the terrorist is building a bomb, then is told the target is a world leader, then is told where and when. The reader also knows the government intelligence agent has clues about the terrorist, who then figures out there's a bomb, then figures out the target, then where and when. The plot is like a slow-motion chase, where the antagonists spiral closer to an inevitable (and often predictable) confrontation. This sort of plot - with the reader knowing all, but the characters wandering in the dark and unaware of each other - is intended to create a feeling of suspense throughout the story. The reader is mostly along for the ride, with an omniscient view of everyone's movements.
So, the contrast between a story intended to surprise, versus one intended for suspense, depends upon who has been denied the crucial information. It's the reader versus the characters.
