Anticipation Quote by Colin Greenland
“Plotting is like sex. Plotting is about desire and satisfaction, anticipation and release. You have to arouse your reader's desire to know what happens, to unravel the mystery, to see good triumph. You have to sustain it, keep it warm, feed it, just a little bit, not too much at a time, as your story goes on. That's called suspense. It can bring desire to a frenzy, in which case you are in a good position to bring off a wonderful climax.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: The Art of Suspense, 2015
Suspense is built by arousing desire, feeding it gradually, and timing release for maximum impact.
In simple terms: Storytelling uses desire and delayed payoff.
Key Takeaway
Control pacing to keep audience engaged.
Themes
storytelling
desire
anticipation
Mood
engaging
strategic
Type
creative
instructional
When to use this quote
- novel writing
- film scripts
- marketing campaigns
Key Concepts
narrative tension
psychology of suspense
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you balance tension and release?
- What cues signal the right moment for climax?
A Different Perspective
Over‑stretching tension can cause boredom.
![“[It is hard to know what is good luck and what isn't and therefore whether we should be happy or sad about it. Only time will tell. For example...] The Talmud relates a story about two people who wanted to travel by boat. One broke his foot and was unable to make the trip, while his friend got on…” quote by Zelig Pliskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/68d/zelig-pliskin-22951_anticipation_it-is-hard-to-know-what-is-good-luck-and_34545.jpg)
![“The only thing is that ordinarily when I do dance with [women] they think I am suddenly going to throw them over a table or twist them all around. All I want to do is one-two, one-two-three - a simple fox trot. But they're shaking with anticipation at the thought that I'm about to whip them around…” quote by Gene Kelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/073/gene-kelly-11878_anticipation_the-only-thing-is-that-ordinarily-when-i_44100.jpg)
