One of the most reliable ways to ratchet up suspense is to place your characters in danger. When we think of danger, we normally think of physical threats, a guy brandishing a gun, for example, but isolation leads to a different kind of menace, more insidious and complex. Isolation is scary.

We humans are social creatures, and when we are excluded from social interactions, we wither. Novelist John D. MacDonald, author of the bestselling Travis McGee mystery series, wrote that the heart of page-turning tension is conflict, and that conflict can occur in a physical, mental, or spiritual dimension—or in any combination of those dimensions. Let’s add emotion as a fourth dimension. Isolating characters physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually is a surefire way to build compelling conflicts—the foundation of suspense.

To do so, you need to understand the underlying power of isolation. And the first step is considering these four dimensions of conflict within the context of the two broad categories used to discuss isolation: physical isolation and social isolation.

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