Pitch Dictionary by pitch.dog
Exposition, information & reveals · Working

Suspense

Also called: anticipatory tension

ELI5

Audience anticipation created by uncertainty about an important future outcome.

Used in conversation

“Can we make the suspense clearer in the next draft?”

Pitch context

Use this when explaining how the story works on the page or across the finished screen experience.

Why it matters: Helps describe how a story works on the page and how its dramatic parts fit together.

Connected terms

  • SurpriseSurprise withholds until the event; suspense lets the audience anticipate a possible event and wait for its outcome.
Sources & evidence · 6

Direct term-level sources and supporting source families.