Thriller GenresMrs. Kinney

Mystery and Suspense

Thriller Genres

Psychological - James Patterson, Dean Koontz

Medical - Robin Cook, Tess Gerritsen Political/Espionage - David Baldacci,

Tom Clancy Science Fiction/Horror - Michael

Crichton, Stephen King Legal - John Grisham, Lisa Scottoline Romantic - Sandra Brown, Mary

Higgins Clark

Developing Suspense

Who is involved? What is at risk?Where is it taking place? When will it occur?Why is it happening? How will it be resolved?

Letting the reader try to figure out any one of these elements can create suspense. Trying to guess how it’s going to be done can be just as much fun as trying to guess “whodunnit”.

Some General Rules

Conflict leading to confrontation is the basic skeleton of suspense.

Use strong, active verbs. Show, don’t tell—use dialogue and

action to convey the story. Don’t insult the reader with quick,

unrealistic or contrived solutions. Know your facts and do your

research

The reader must care about whomever and whatever is at stake.

Threats can be physical, emotional, or psychological.

The antagonist should be fascinating, riveting, fun to watch (Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs).

The pace of suspense is like a roller coaster ride—first the build up, then the exciting plunge, then another build up....

© Copyright 1998. Beth Amos. All rights reserved