Risk

I've been thinking hard the last week on some advice I heard.

My characters are not disenfranchised. They are however insufficiently at risk. They're insufficiently at emotional risk. They might be unusual; though, they're altogether too safe.

I have to fix that.

Now, the emotional spectrum is difficult for me because emotions are not the first or even second thing I think of when evaluating any challenge.

The relationship between characters should involve more than the possibility that Miss A. will kill Mr. B.

I consider the terror from yesterday and I have the synthesis. My character will have and share the foreknowledge of suspense with the reader as they struggle with two or more bad choices (their perspective).

Suspense is knowing I have a gun and a dislike of someone in the room. Surprise is discovering the  same fact after the killing.

I want to convey suspense in an outcome that the character suspects,  which the reader foresees, and which all the effort of character is unable to stop once events begin cascading.