Some Poison in the Coffee

Suspense and Surprise. What's the difference?

With suspense, the audience knows something that the character doesn't know. We're just waiting to see how the character responds.

Let's take for our example... a mug of coffee that has just been poisoned. We know the girl has put poison in the guy's coffee, but the guy is unaware of this life-threatening fact. We watch the guy go about some mundane activities. He butters a slice of toast, and takes a bite. So far, he ignores the coffee. Suspense makes us wonder: when is he going to reach for that cup?

Surprise is different. For surprise to work, it's got to be a surprise for both the character involved as well as for the viewer. Surprise can also be harder to achieve. For it to work, it really does have to be a plot twist.

So, which one is better? Well, think of it this way. Surprise only works once. And it usually only works for a couple of seconds.

On the other hand, you can have suspense that lasts 15 minutes. Depending on story, the screenwriter should think twice about sacrificing suspense for the little moment of surprise.

[Photo by life serial]