Crossword Genius

South American writer's sweetheart is almost at capacity which is compelling to watch (11)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

suspenseful

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'south american writer's sweetheart is almost at capacity which is compelling to watch' is the definition.
Both the definition and answer are adjectives. Perhaps you can see an association between them that I don't see?

'south american writer's sweetheart is almost at capacity' is the wordplay.
'south american writer's sweetheart' becomes 'suspense' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'is almost' means to remove the last letter (almost the whole word is kept).
'at capacity' becomes 'full' (I've seen this in another clue).
'full' with its final letter removed is 'ful'.
'suspense'+'ful'='SUSPENSEFUL'

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for suspenseful that I've seen before include "Creating uncertainty" , "Electric" , "Like a whodunit" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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