ABSTRACT
As the book shows, there is a tight knot between how exciting exhibitions can be and how well they are at telling stories. It is therefore essential to define first what a narrative is. This is also important because two different media, films and exhibitions, will be compared with their own specific narrative qualities. However, instead of defining narrative exhaustively, the chapter focuses on aspects which are decisive for understanding how suspense potentially works. At this point suspense should be defined as open as possible as ‘the wish to learn how a story unfolds’. This definition will be enriched and refined continuously throughout this and the following chapters. To be able to attract and maintain the audience’s attention, it is important how the events in a story are selected, arranged and connected. Going beyond structural properties, another important aspect is to what extent the authors succeed in conveying the significance of the content. During the chapter, characteristics of exhibitions appear that make it challenging to tell a story and evoke suspense.
