I write thrillers. My first novel, “A Killer Secret” is a psychological thriller with an intimate cast of just three main characters, one of whom is a serial killer. My second novel, “The Fall of Faith,” is a domestic thriller with a much larger cast. It’s a story of regret, lust the journey to live for something larger than oneself. They’re two very different stories, but they’re both thrillers. So I thought I’d take a moment for the uninitiated to define what my favorite genre is.
As you can tell from my own works, thriller novels range in theme and content. As a writer, I like that because it doesn’t box me in to writing the same story repeatedly. For you, the reader, it’s also cool because you can choose what thrills you’re interested in. From domestic to psychological to horror and even straight suspense.
So what is a thriller novel? Let’s look at some of the main features that make a thriller novel so thrilling.
Complex characters
A thriller novel must have well-written, interesting, and challenging characters to work with. For the most part, the main character will make decisions that affect the story, but other characters can force their hand and change the action as well.
Sometimes the main character will be aware of their actions and how they impact others, but that’s not always the case. Sometimes you can trust the main character to tell you the truth of what’s going on. But beware, dear reader, often a thriller’s main character is an unreliable narrator.
More than other genres, say romance or high-octane action stories, characters in a thriller novel need to have depth. If they’re unbelievable or one-dimensional, readers won’t be compelled to tag along on their dark journey.
Slow beginning
This one is a bit controversial and, honestly, not a hard and fast rule. I intentionally wrote the beginning of “A Killer Secret” with a slow, methodical pace. I did this for two reasons. 1) I wanted to have time to develop my main characters and for readers to get to know them on a deeper level and 2) I wanted to lure the reader into a sense of calm so that once the action took off, it would be a thrilling jolt that fueled their journey through the rest of the story.
Some readers loved this, but others told me in reviews that they thought the beginning dragged on and they almost gave up on the story. Obviously that wasn’t the effect I was going for, so when it came time to work on my next novel, I tried something different. If you’ve read “The Fall of Faith,” you know the action starts in chapter one and just ramps up from there.
So which is correct? For thrillers, it really doesn’t matter. Some readers love a slow burning mystery while others enjoy a fast-paced, action-packed story. And me? I’ve discovered I enjoy writing both.
Building tension
The creation of tension in a thriller novel is key. As the novel gets closer to its climax, a good thriller will throw in a new element to build tension. This can be anything from a new character introduction, an unexpected event or anything else that drives the plot forward.
The goal is to create a story that is so thrilling, so unexpected, that the reader can’t put the book down. This sounds simple, but believe me when I tell you it is not. It’s hard to be original when so many good thrillers have already come before yours. And today’s readers aren’t naïve. They expect the unexpected.
Smooth plot
A thriller novel should have a plot that flows smoothly from one chapter to the next. If readers get confused or if they spot holes in the plot, it won’t matter how magical your prose is. It sounds easy to construct a solid plot, but even if you have everything mapped out before you start writing, your characters have a way of messing things up.
Humor
If there is one characteristic that consistently separates good thrillers from the crowd, it’s their level of humor. Thrillers can be very serious, with deep emotional connections between the reader and the characters. When there is no sense of humor to balance out the tension, a novel can get really boring.
Humor is hard. I mean, how do you write something that a large swath of the population will find funny? You can’t. So, as an author, you simply must be true to yourself and your voice. That said, a majority of thriller novels I enjoy as a reader include some form of humor.
Memorable scenes
This is another feature of a thriller novel that I think is very subjective. If we’re talking about a spy thriller or action thriller, the author might string action scene after action scene, which makes if very difficult for a reader to remember everything they just read.
This often results in a book that captivates you, but that quickly fades from your memory once you’ve finished. I’m not saying this is necessarily bad. If you enjoyed the reading experience, the author did their job. My personal goal as an author is to write stories that will stay with you long after you’ve read the last page and set the book aside. Am I successful? That’s for you to decide.
Realistic characters
Oh look. We’re back to characters. For me, characters are more important than the plot. Blasphemy, you say? I think it is the characters that propel the plot and not the other way around. I’ve already talked about how complex characters are important. But they also have to be realistic.
I don’t mean that they can’t be over the top. In fact, I like to create super crazy characters with exaggerated characteristics. I simply mean that they have to seem realistic within the story. If they do something out of character for them or something no person on the face of the earth would ever do when faced with a similar situation, it will ring false to the reader.
Shocking twists
This is why you read thrillers in the first place, isn’t it? It’s certainly why I love to write them.
Shocking twists can be narrative or dramatic. A dramatic surprise is when your expectations as a reader are met after a sudden change in plot. If done right, you realize that even though it seems like a twist; the novel was heading that way the whole time.
A narrative surprise is when the reader is surprised by an unexpected detail in a character’s story. This is when the clues were there throughout the novel, but they were crafted so subtly that it isn’t until you reach the end that you realize their relevance and importance to the plot. Those are my favorite!
Suitable ending
The best thriller novels have an interesting and satisfying ending. This doesn’t mean you’ll get a Hollywood happy ending or that you’re guaranteed to be in a good mood when you finish. It simply means that the ending is right for the story you just read.
If you’ve read either of my books, you know I don’t do happy endings. I write dark, twisted novels. I want my endings to be satisfying but in a dark way that is still realistic to the rest of the story. In fact, I labor over the beginning and the ending of my novels because I want the entire experience to feel right within the context of the world I’m creating. No easy task that.
