The Engine of Suspense
The dramatic question is the primary source of narrative suspense that keeps an audience engaged from beginning to end. It is the implicit, overarching question that is posed early in the story—usually after the inciting incident—and is not fully answered until the climax. The entire narrative can be seen as an ongoing investigation into this question. It creates a sense of anticipation and forces the audience to lean in, constantly wondering about the final outcome. The question is almost always framed around the protagonist’s main goal.
This central question should be a simple, high-stakes, yes-or-no proposition. For example, in The Fugitive (1993), the dramatic question is: “Will Dr. Richard Kimble find the one-armed man and prove his innocence before he is caught by the authorities?” Every scene in the film can be interpreted in relation to this question. Scenes where Kimble gets closer to the truth provide a hopeful “yes,” while scenes where Marshal Gerard closes in on him suggest a fateful “no.” The tension comes from the constant oscillation between these two potential outcomes. The film ends when the question is definitively answered.
Formulating the Central Question
A strong dramatic question is intrinsically linked to the protagonist’s goal and the story’s stakes. It can typically be formulated as: “Will the protagonist succeed in [their goal] despite [the primary antagonistic force]?”
Let’s break this down with some examples:
- Jaws (1975): Will Chief Brody (the protagonist) succeed in stopping the shark (antagonistic force) before it kills more people on his island (the goal and stakes)?
- The Silence of the Lambs (1991): Will Clarice Starling (protagonist) succeed in catching Buffalo Bill (goal) by using the help of Hannibal Lecter (antagonistic force/obstacle) before he kills another victim (stakes)?
- Back to the Future (1985): Will Marty McFly (protagonist) succeed in making his parents fall in love (goal) and harnessing the lightning strike (obstacle) so he can return to 1985 without erasing himself from existence (stakes)?
Notice that in each case, the question implies both a desired outcome and the possibility of a catastrophic failure. This duality is what generates suspense.
Scene-Level Dramatic Questions
While the main dramatic question spans the entire film, each individual scene should have its own smaller, more immediate dramatic question. This keeps the audience engaged on a moment-to-moment basis. The question for a scene might be, “Will the character get the information they need?” or “Will they escape the room without being seen?” The resolution of the scene’s question then feeds back into the larger, central question of the film.
For example, in a heist movie where the central question is “Will the crew pull off the heist?”, a single scene might focus on a smaller question: “Will the hacker disable the security system in time?” If the answer is yes, the audience feels a momentary sense of relief, and the crew gets closer to answering the main question in the affirmative. If the answer is no, a new complication arises, and the overall chance of success seems to dwindle. This chain of questions and answers is what creates the narrative’s forward momentum and escalating tension, guiding the audience all the way to the final, definitive answer in the climax.