Whether you are writing your first mystery/thriller or have become a seasoned veteran, one thing remains true. Writing in this genre is hard! It’s work. That’s also why it so satisfying. According to the old adage, if it were easy, everyone would do it. Statistics tell us that many people have a desire to write a novel but doing it can be more elusive. Mysteries and thrillers can be doubly hard to write.
Here’s a look at why.
A story without a mystery element can go any direction based on the character’s choices. A mystery/thriller, however, enters the world of deceiving, convincing, and fooling, running parallel with the story. As the author, you must both engage and outsmart your worthy opponent. No, it’s not the villain. It’s the reader! Too easy, and you’re judged as not challenging for the discerning sleuth who bought the book. Too hard or not plausible, and you’re deemed as esoteric and unrealistic. You have to find your Goldilocks moment and get it “just right.”
More hard work?
You are tasked with becoming an expert about things you probably know very little about. Speak in the voice of a medical specialist? Sure. A government bureaucrat, a judge, a forensic pathologist? All on your plate. Temptations abound. You may be tempted to overshare based on your research simply to impress your readers. Your brain is muddled with anguish, wondering if that red herring is too obvious or oblivious. Will no one figure it out?
Will everyone figure it out?
If your book turns into a series, even more is asked of this world you have created as a basis for mystery, suspense, and thrills. Your characters start to have expectations beyond what you’ve envisioned—instead, your readers call for actions based on their interpretation of the characters. The challenge grows while giving enough background information for a newbie to your series while not boring your existing readers. Because of boredom and a desire to do something outrageous, you can be tempted to cause things to happen. Your readers aren’t having it! They demand your people stay “in character,” or you have to good a darn good reason why this or that was allowed to happen.
While every novelist’s goal is to move a story forward, mystery/thriller/suspense writers know that each scene is a piece of a maze of detection in addition to the baseline story. Bottom line? You’ve chosen to write in a genre that often asks you for double duty.
So, yes. Writing a mystery/thriller/suspense novel is hard. But really, why does anyone do it? If it’s your thing, you already have an answer. There’s that moment when reader feedback lets you know they didn’t see that twist or turn coming, they couldn’t put the book down, and they were surprised by the ending. Getting it just right is a very satisfying goal. Those Goldilocks moments are priceless—enough to make you go out and do it again.
Michele Olson writes stories set on Mackinac Island in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan filled with suspense, romance, friendship, faith, and quirky characters. A top seller in Mackinac Island Fiction to the million people who make a trip to the island every year to experience life with no cars, amazing scenery, and the glorious Grand Hotel, she enjoys opening up this incredible island to even more visitors. Incorporating her work as an artist and a voice professional into her writing whenever she can, she enjoys creative endeavors of all genres and fueling faith with fiction.
Michele lives in the shadow of Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI with her husband and thoroughly enjoys being a wife, mom, and “Gee Gee” to two adorable grandsons.
Good plot twists can make or break our story. While twists are important to all fiction writing, they are key to the mystery, suspense, and thriller genre. Let’s make our novels an enjoyable journey where nothing is as it seems, no thread is easily untangled, and no question conveniently answered
What is a Plot Twist?
According to Goodreads.com, “mystery-thrillers are stories with twists and turns that keep you on your toes guessing about the truth, the POV’s truth, and about what will happen next.”
Literaryterms.net describes plot twists as an unsuspected occurrence or turn of events in the story that completely changes the direction or outcome of the plot from the direction it was likely to go.
Twists introduce unexpected change. Great ones make excellent page-turners worthy of our readers’ time and money. They push the predictable and formulaic novel into the innovative realm, sparking imagination and interest.
Plot Twist Examples
Even though Agatha Christie died in 1976, her great use of plot twists contributes to the continued popularity of her 66 novels and 14 short story collections.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926), Christie’s breakout novel, adds twists to the previously accept ‘rules’ of writing fiction. The results revolutionize mystery writing. She includes the narrator committing the murder, and makes the least likely person into a criminal. A range of meek and mild characters may all be hiding a mysterious past or dangerous secret.
Murder on the Orient Express (1934) uses the environment, a train trapped in a snowdrift, to make her twist work. She limits the number of potential suspects. Spoiler! The reader eventually discovers almost everyone aboard the train plays a part in the murder.
In And Then There Were None (1939) an island provides the setting where the group of characters are trapped together. They all hold secrets and everyone supposedly dies. Spoiler! One of the victims actually fakes their death and is the murderer.
Why are Plot Twists Important?
Twists push away the predictable aspects in our chapters and reel in the suspense. They keep our mysterious murderer or evil antagonist undetected and the tension high until the final page.
According to Rachel Poli in her June 2017 blog post, The Importance Of Plot Twists, good ones reveal something big. They allow something unexpected to happen, and expertly use foreshadowing and red herrings. Twists keep the story full of tension, suspenseful, shocking, and revealing without appearing random.
Readers of the mystery, suspense, thriller genre love the challenge of solving our novel’s puzzle. Surprise turns keep them sitting on the edge of their seat, turning pages, immersed in the plot. Never give them a reason to close the book and walk away.
Conclusion
Plot twists can determine the success or failure of our story. We want reader satisfaction, positive reviews, and book sales or the eye of an agent or publisher. Incorporating this literary device is a skill we can learn and enhance with each manuscript we craft. Readers will reap the benefits, and gladly dive into the delightful read you and your stories provide.
Embrace the twist!
Write well, my friends.
PJ Gover
PJ Gover encourages her readers to live the thrill one story at a time. She wrote her first thriller at age nine, all of six pages, but only returned to creating suspense/thrillers years later after unearthing her deceased father’s secret work designing missiles for the government. After fifteen writing awards her high school English teacher must be shaking her head in disbelief. A ranch in Texas serves as home base. Offer her well-crafted chili rellenos or anything gluten-free and you’ll have a friend for life. Jim Hart of Hartline Literary represents PJ.
What’s the secret of using others’ stories to beef up our own without plagiarizing?
I’m always looking to craft my suspense/thriller manuscripts into something that’s worthy of publication. I find reading a well-crafted novel in my genre is one of the best ways to improve my own writing.
Recently, I finished one of the many suspense novels by an author I enjoy, but I wasn’t keying in on any kind of errors (there were none to my eyes) in order to dash off a negative tweet or post, or to simply lose myself in the story, but to learn.
So, I studied how this author assembled everything throughout her book. It’s harder than it sounds because I kept getting lost in the story and characters, but I forced myself to maintain my scholarly approach and stay in critique-mode. I even jotted down actual notes. (A great way to make sure your Comparables and their summaries in a proposal aimed toward traditional publishing are accurate.)
I noted the following:
What was the author’s first sentence, first paragraph, first page? How did she end the first chapter?
How did she make use of the second chapter? Did she introduce the antagonist or the love interest with a second Point of View? If so, how often did she bring it in? Every other chapter? Every few chapters? Did she give each POV several chapters in a row before changing POVs? Did she bring in more than two POVs?
I made special note of how she ended the third chapter because the first three chapters are included in a book proposal and potential publishers base acceptance or rejection on these. From these chapters, I tried to figure out what drew this particular manuscript to the publisher when it was just a few pages within the author’s proposal. Hint – end the third chapter with a tasty cliffhanger, something to encourage the acquisition editor to ask for a full manuscript!
In what ways did the author end the first quarter of the book? Was there a transition in the main character’s journey?
What about the midpoint of the book? Was there a ‘pow’? A major main character realization? A big reveal? An unexpected twist? Some authors do a big midpoint and the reader can actually turn to the middle of the book and find it exactly on the page half-way through the book. Dean Koontz is big for his midpoint ‘pows’. And yes, my ‘template’ author provided one as well.
At the start of the second half of the book, what happened in the plot? What did the characters do differently?
Did the second half build toward the climax in a logical way? Did the climax keep the reader turning pages?
How was the denouement handled? Did the story answer all the questions the author presented? Did it set up a second book in a series? Even if the book is part of a series, it should still end with all loose ends neatly knotted.
Finally, was the ending satisfying and did it make sense? There’s nothing worse for a reader than to lose themselves in a story only to slam against an ending that leaves them hanging. Don’t be that author.
I also studied details––word choice, sentence structure, paragraph structure, use of phrases versus full sentences, dialogue, character description and development, scene description, and cliffhangers. What were the mood, tone, and pacing, and how did they create the feeling the author was trying to portray?
I use books from my favorite genre––mystery, suspense, and thriller––as a sort of textbook for crafting my own stories. But don’t get me wrong. I often just read to lose myself in the author’s fictional world and escape my own for a few hours.
“As writers, our greatest instructors will always be other stories. Novels, television, movies, graphic novels, video games — anything that tells a story is our mentor and our muse.” John Matthew Fox
Every story can serve as a catalyst for ideas and a conveyer of information to guide us.
It’s good to know we have multiple ‘craft’ books at our fingertips with every novel we read. In fact, they hold important secrets for our own. It’s best we mine each one.
Write well, my friends.
PJ Gover
PJ Gover encourages her readers to live the thrill one story at a time. She wrote her first thriller at age nine, all of six pages, but only returned to creating suspense/thrillers years later after unearthing her deceased father’s secret work designing missiles for the government. After thirteen writing awards, including five for first place, her high school English teacher must be shaking her head in disbelief. A ranch in Texas serves as home base. Offer her well-crafted chili rellenos or anything gluten-free and you’ll have a friend for life. Jim Hart of Hartline Literary represents PJ.
Ever heard someone say, “I love a good mystery!” That’s more likely than hearing “I love a good suspense story.” What they may mean is they love a good thriller. It turns out the technical definitions of what makes up a story categorized as mystery, suspense, or thriller can be way off from a reader’s understanding of the words.
So, who cares?
All authors should! A greater understanding of what your book means in the eyes of the greatest number of readers can make a significant difference to your sales.
From the industry and technical standpoint, each term has a definition, albeit not agreed upon by everyone. Here’s a stab at the definitions.
Mystery has a main character who may not realize there is danger ahead at first. Once they sense something, they are preoccupied with getting to the bottom of the truth about an event. This can be a murder, but not always. The reader is exposed to the same information as the detective or crime solver.
Thriller’s cause what the names says- supplying a thrill to the reader because the protagonist is in danger, usually from page one.
Suspense has the main character possibly unaware of the danger in the beginning, but the reader is clued in on things that are unknown to the protagonist. The reader may know someone is lurking in the home or see a bomb planted and live with the suspense of wondering what will happen. The argument could be made that suspense must be an element in most books, so the reader doesn’t close the book with a yawn!
After reading those simple definitions, you may strongly agree or disagree. Why? Your preference as a reader is bubbling to the top!
And, what about when the genres cross? This is especially true in mystery and suspense.
Another authority in the book world may have a different definition – the library. Some books with word counts under 75,000 automatically go to the mystery category.
What if you were forced to describe each category in six words or less?
Mystery: Solve the puzzle of what’s happening.
Thriller: Keep the heart pounding on high.
Suspense: Creating tension of what could happen.
What would your six-word description look like for each category?
The truth is, people read books because they like them, not because they understand the genres assigned by the publishing industry. One thing every author and reader can agree on is the need for pacing. Too fast, and you could lose your reader. Too slow, and you could lose your reader! Hooking and keeping your reader is crucial. Definitions become problematic when you think you’re one genre, but your readers use a different moniker to describe your books. This is more common between mystery and suspense. When that happens, readers rule!
To further complicate the genres, sub-categories such as the cozy mystery are a big hit. Usually more light-hearted, involving a small town and an amateur sleuth solving the crime opens up the door to more personal definitions. You know what that means. Soon there will be another new sub-category that doesn’t exactly fit the mold. Readers have a love-hate relationship with genre deviation, but when done well, they will get on board.
So, where are we left when it comes to solving the mystery of mystery/suspense/thriller writing? Right back where we started with everyone having their own opinion.
Here’s what we know for sure:
The industry can make definitions, but none of them is the definitive answer for everyone.
Be sensitive to what your readers are telling you are the “descriptive words” they like over time and adapt to what they say.
Good pacing, hooks, and writing will always keep readers reading no matter the category or labels assigned to a book.
So, go ahead, how would you describe these genres?
Michele Olson writes stories set on Mackinac Island in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan filled with suspense, romance, friendship, faith, and quirky characters. A top seller in Mackinac Island Fiction to the million people who make a trip to the island every year to experience life with no cars, amazing scenery, and the glorious Grand Hotel, she enjoys opening up this incredible island to even more visitors. Incorporating her work as an artist and a voice professional into her writing whenever she can, she enjoys creative endeavors of all genres and fueling faith with fiction.
Michele lives in the shadow of Lambeau Field in Green Bay, WI with her husband and thoroughly enjoys being a wife, mom, and “Gee Gee” to two adorable grandsons.
Somewhere along the way doubts may have bubbled up and spilled over. Is the mystery, suspense, thriller genre still the best course for me as a writer? After all, it’s not romance which always seems at the top of book sale charts. Will my mystery sell? Will my suspense catch the attention of an agent? Will my thriller be picked up by a publisher?
As a writer, what drew you to this category?
Perhaps a special book, a captivating movie or TV show, or teacher, parent, friend launched your interest.
Whatever avenue our genre took to travel into your life, you fell, as my grandmother used to say, hook, line, and sinker. When you stepped into writing mystery, suspense, or thriller stories, it felt like comfortable jeans on a lazy spring day, fuzzy slippers on a chilly evening, steaming vanilla roast as the golden glow peeked over the horizon. By now, you’ve either whipped out your first manuscript or are trying to craft something spectacular. Something different to merit a second look from agents and acquisition editors.
But the question arises, am I wasting my time?
When you first jumped into our special pool of intrigue, I imagine you had confirmation of some sort. It came from your personal interests, a trusted friend or family member, or winning a contest. You may have invested hours and energy into designing charming clues, crafting the unexpected, or storyboarding global conspiracies. You’ve plotted, developed character arcs, delved into inner and outer journeys. You’ve created realistic settings and back stories. Each chapter ends with a compelling cliffhanger, and each incident raises the stakes.
Don’t give up now. Go back and find what first drew you to this genre. Reread those early books that captured your heart and mind. Watch that favorite movie you couldn’t stop talking about. Pick the brains of those who know you best.
Read the latest releases––general market and inspirational. What is selling now? Peruse authors and their books at your favorite publishers’ websites. Scan bookseller catalogues. For the Inspirational market, Christianbook.com offers titles and brief synopses of its latest and upcoming releases. Know what compares to your work. Know what is selling.
Maybe you’ve had enough of the writing world and its technology. Take a break, take a breath. Change your surroundings. Go for a walk, explore a park, or take a drive around the city or into rural areas or through wide open spaces. A place where you draw strength. Bask in solitude or in the bustle of high energy.
Embrace free-range writing. Write whatever comes to mind. Something for your eyes only. No goals, no deadlines, no pressure.
Visit with or read about inspirational people.
As I’ve learned from English mystery shows, you can always put the kettle on. As you wait for the water to boil, let your mind wander and guide you back.
Failure is not final. Failure in a chosen genre is not final either.
The fragrance of the lowly rosemary bush, native to my part of Texas, is enhanced when pressure is applied by rubbing the stalk between warm hands. It’s most useful when crushed for the oils or dried for cooking. Heat ramps up its use and flavor.
Channel the pressure you feel into perfecting your craft, and creating the best plot and characters ever. Better days are ahead!
Let me know how it goes. You’ve got this.
Write well, my friends,
PJ Gover encourages her readers to live the thrill…one story at a time, whether through her devotionals or thrillers. She has received eleven writing awards including first place in the Write-to-Publish and North Carolina Christian Writers contests and a two-time winner in American Christian Fiction Writer’s First Impressions contest. Her one-year devotional book, Celebrate Thee Date, can be found at 4homestore.com/devotional-books.
A ranch in Texas serves as home base where she is currently working on a suspense novel. Offer her Mexican food or anything gluten-free and you’ll have a friend for life.
Jim Hart of Hartline Literary Agency represents PJ.
Battered fingers dig into the edge of a balcony on the twentieth floor of a New York apartment building. The murderer smiles and steps closer. Dangling over a deep gorge and swift-flowing river, sweaty palms grip a fraying rope, muscles stretched to the max. Two miles from shore, a speed boat rams the trawler. The victim jumps free, but ocean waves swell and they spot a shark’s dorsal fin.
“Suspense is the lack of certainty . . . leaving the reader to wonder what will happen. It draws the reader into the story and creates a sense of momentum to the plot.”
Lori Jordan
Suspense is critical for our mystery, suspense, thriller genre. We want our readers to feel, taste, touch, smell, and hear uncertainty in our plot, from our characters, and within our dialogue. Make our readers care about our characters. Make them worry and fear the worst by ratcheting up the tension. The worse it is for our character, the more our readers worry.
Dictionary.com defines suspense as a state or condition of mental uncertainty, excitement, insecurity, or anxiety, the state or condition of being suspended.
To flesh out the meaning, consider these synonyms: confusion, doubt, insecurity, tension, dilemma, worry, and expectation.
Confusion – Two suspects seem innocent. A third looks guilty, but their alibi checks out. Could another suspect be lurking about or are one of the first two the culprit? Or perhaps the third one?
Doubt – The evidence appears solid, the suspects obvious, but a niggling in the back of the brain screams things are not as they seem.
Insecurity – In his last case, your character sent an innocent man to his death. The next step seems clear, but your character fears pushing forward with an accusation.
Tension – The stalker emerges from the shadows. Thunder explodes in the night sky and lightning reveals a face in the window. Communication from your Confidential Informant ceases. Are they deep undercover or have they been eliminated?
Dilemma – Your brother-in-law dines with another woman at a table for two in a dark corner of a high-end restaurant. Do you tell your sister? Wait for the police to arrest him for embezzlement? Allow the authorities to sort it out and let the truth slowly emerge?
Worry – The airplane should have landed by now. Your reliable friend is two hours late for the appointment. As the storm approaches, the phone lines are down and cell services cease. The tide rises and laps at the front steps.
Expectation – After giving a clear description, the police should make an arrest, but they don’t. Your friend must turn himself in, but they cross the border instead. Your co-worker swears he’s telling the truth, but you learn it’s a lie.
“Think about an expected outcome and flip it around. Maybe something bad happening ends up being a blessing in disguise. If you mix positive and negative foreshadowing, you will keep your readers on their toes, wondering what will come next and surprised by whatever it is.”
Bill Powers
But what if we incorporate these ideas and our story still seems to drag?
“The solution isn’t more action or violence. Action doesn’t create suspense, it resolves it, and excessive violence quickly becomes numbing. The solution is to rack up the tension and suspense by making more and bigger promises about problems to come – disasters that will devastate the hero and his allies, shatter his plans and bring him so low that he might never recover.”
Ian Irvine
Good mystery, suspense, and thrillers share a common trait––uncertainty. Weave it into our story and keep your readers turning pages. Let me know how it goes!
“Uncertainty is the lifeblood of suspense. . . .The longer we keep our reader guessing, the more attention they will pay to what they are reading.”
Writer’s Digest
Write well, my friends.
PJ Gover encourages her readers to live the thrill…one story at a time, whether through her devotionals or thrillers. She has received eleven writing awards including first place in the Write-to-Publish and North Carolina Christian Writers contests and a two-time winner in American Christian Fiction Writer’s First Impressions contest. Her one-year devotional book, Celebrate Thee Date, can be found at 4homestore.com/devotional-books.
A ranch in Texas serves as home base where she is currently working on a suspense novel. Offer her Mexican food or anything gluten-free and you’ll have a friend for life.
Jim Hart of Hartline Literary Agency represents PJ.
Patricia Bradley, an award-winning author who writes page-turning suspense, was my first Novelists Unwind guest…way back in August 2017! We’ve been friends since before either of us were published. Her newest novel, Standoff, is the first book in the Natchez Trace Park Rangers Series. During our chat, Patricia reveals her favorite way to kill a character!
Suzanne Woods Fisher, best known for her award-winning Amish fiction, returns to Novelists Unwind to talk about her shift to contemporary romance. The second book in her Three Sisters Island Series, On a Coastal Breeze, released earlier this year. Among other topics, we chatted about the name of her male protagonist, Rick O’Shea, which has a fun insight to his character. (Say the name three times fast.)
Linda Shenton Matchett writes stories about “ordinary people who did extraordinary things in days gone by.” Her primary interest is World War II history, but she also writes novels set in other eras. In one of my favorite Novelists Unwind moments ever, Linda shows us a notebook her parents gave her when she was eight or nine years old with instructions to write stories and amuse herself.
The next Novelists Unwind Giveaway will be announced on Saturday, July 4, 2020 at http://www.johnnie-alexander.com/. Be sure to enter for your chance to win an inspirational novel.
Your opening scene has edge-of-your-seat tension, your characters are witty and full of life, the description of your setting is amazing, and your villain has just the right amount of evil. Your manuscript is perfect. Now, it’s time to win a contest and become an award-winning author. Right?
Unfortunately, new writers can be unaware that contests
are prickly little things. Kind of like a cactus. Standing on a sidewalk
admiring a cactus garden can be an amazing thing. All the beautiful shapes and
blossoms. But as we all know, they are pretty from a distance, but up-close they
can be brutal.
Many writers submit to contests and have their hopes and dreams trampled on when they don’t win or the comments received are disheartening. We’ve all heard it said that you need a thick skin to be a writer. There is no doubt about that, but part of the contest world is how you view it. Pretty or prickly. So, the question is, should you enter contests? It all depends on your purpose.
I’ve entered multiple contests. Some I’ve won,
others I didn’t make the finals. And that was with the same manuscript. That
can be frustrating to say the least. But I’ve learned a lot over the last few
years.
Enter a contest for feedback, not to win. Being a finalist or winning is an added bonus, but it’s the judges’ feedback that will help your writing.
Enter
in the appropriate category. Suspense authors usually judge suspense.
Therefore, you are getting feedback from someone who’s in the publishing
trenches of your genre. Who better to give suggestions on your suspense
elements than someone who writes suspense?
Not
all judges will like your writing. Similar to when we read novels, we have our
favorite authors and authors that we just don’t care for. Judges are like that
too. Don’t get discouraged if your entry comes back marked up by the red pen of
death. Read through the comments and pick and choose what is important. However,
if two judges tell you the same thing—It’s probably important.
Don’t
take it personally. Yes, your manuscript is your baby, but the judges aren’t
insulting you. They are trying to help improve your chances of becoming
published.
I highly recommend contests. They
can be a great learning tool. But check your reasons for entering before
hitting send. That way you won’t be disappointed with the results.
It takes courage to put your book baby out there.
So, breath deep and go for it.
What’s your biggest fear or best advice about
entering a contest?
Sami
Abrams
grew up hating to read. It wasn’t until her 30’s that she found authors that
captured her attention. Now, most evenings you can find her engrossed in a
Romantic Suspense. In her opinion, a crime and a little romance is the recipe
for a great story.
Sami has finaled 15 times in writing contests, including receiving first place in American Christian Fiction Writer’s Genesis Contest in 2019 and Faith Hope and Love’s Touched By Love Awards in 2018. She lives in Northern California, but she will always be a Kansas girl at heart. She has a love of sports, family, and travel. However, a cabin at Lake Tahoe writing her next story is definitely at the top of her list.
Why do you write fiction? Why cloak your
story in the mystery, suspense, or thriller genre?
The right answers enhance your writing and
create a dynamic relationship between writer and reader. The wrong answers,
well…
Fiction writers need to tell a story. We do so by expressing both the tangible and intangible of our imagined world through words––the perfect verb, an engaging phrase, a well-designed sentence. Perhaps we write for a sense of fulfillment or to work out a problem. Is writing a way to relieve stress or collect your thoughts? Maybe you’ve always considered yourself a writer or others tell you you’re a natural storyteller. Or you view yourself as a Wordsmith and simply desire to express your creativity through nouns and verbs. Do you want to relay a message, share an idea, or push an agenda? Be careful. I give a fat thumbs down when agenda-driven messages rise above a plotline.
Consider the quotes of famous authors of
why they write.
“…to rephrase the world, to take it in and
give it back again differently, so that everything is used and nothing is
lost.” Nicole Krauss
“I write because I
don’t know what I think until I read what I say.” Flannery O’Connor
“Any writer worth his
salt writes to please himself…It’s a self-exploratory operation that is
endless.” Harper Lee
“Life never works
except in retrospect. You can’t control life, at least you can control your
version.” Chuck Palahniuk
“I write because I love
writing. I think I became a writer in order to explore my ideas and responses
to the world around me…I liked my autonomy, and a writer can choose his or her
own working hours…if you’re a writer you don’t have to retire….” Alex Miller
“Writing is a great comfort to people like me, who are unsure of themselves and have trouble expressing themselves properly.” Agatha Christie
As I wrote my first thriller, I
discovered it was one way to unravel the mysterious, untimely death of my
father. Plus, his adventures as a rocket scientist during the height of the
Cold War, a time when the threat of Soviet (Russian) communism marched as a
formidable threat through Eastern Europe, made for a fascinating read. Encasing
his account in the thriller format provided the perfect fit.
Why do you package your narrative as a mystery,
suspense, or thriller?
Perhaps you grew up reading Nancy
Drew-type mysteries and the genre stuck. Are you unraveling a private issue? Do
you simply enjoy reading and creating confounding puzzles, wild adventures, and
compelling quests? Or is it because our chosen genre is popular, usually in the
top five of most sales charts.
“We write thrillers because we want to
prove to ourselves and to our readers that right will win out over might, good
over evil.” Peter Pollack
“I write thrillers
because they’re the only stories I know. If I exorcise a few demons in
the process, that’s okay, too.” John Gilstrap
Perhaps Octavia E. Butler best expresses
why you write mystery, suspense, or thrillers. “I
just knew there were stories I wanted to tell.”
Once we discern the why of our story––provided
our personal agenda slides under the obvious goal of a solid plot, interesting
characters, exciting cliffhangers, and a satisfying ending––our words can resonate
with our readers’ deepest emotions. They identify with our characters and our tale.
Our depth of expression offers the “aha” and the “I love this book” moment, touching
the innermost part of our readers’ life-story. This connection strengthens
their commitment to our stories, our voice, our message. They share our books. Word-of-mouth
spreads our message, sells our books, but more importantly, can change lives.
Why do you write fiction and wrap it in the mystery, suspense, thriller genre? Your answer can either enhance your literary influence or destroy a promising career.
It’s the personal depth we’re willing to
reveal that keeps readers coming back for more and winning fans for life.
Write well, my friends.
PJ Gover encourages her readers to live the thrill…one story at a time,
whether through her devotionals or thrillers. She has received eleven writing
awards including first place in the Write-to-Publish and North Carolina
Christian Writers contests and a two-time winner in American Christian Fiction Writer’s
First Impressions contest. Her one-year devotional book, Celebrate Thee Date, can be found at 4homestore.com/devotional-books.
A ranch in Texas
serves as home base where she is currently working on a suspense novel. Offer
her Mexican food or anything gluten-free and you’ll have a friend for life.
Jim Hart of Hartline
Literary Agency represents PJ.
Almost an Author is pleased to announce the recent release of Border Breach by Mystery/Suspense/Thriller columnist Darlene L. Turner.
Border Breach. A new title from Love Inspired Suspense
When drugs are smuggled across the border
it’s their duty to stop the culprits…at any cost.
Forming a joint task force, Canada border officer Kaylin Poirier and police constable Hudson Steeves have one objective: take down a drug-smuggling ring trying to sell a new lethal product. But when the smugglers come after Kaylin and Hudson, this mission becomes more than just a job. Can they live long enough to solve the case?
Darlene L. Turner is an award-winning author and lives with her husband, Jeff in Ontario, Canada. Her love of suspense began when she read her first Nancy Drew book. She’s turned that passion into her writing and believes readers will be captured by her plots, inspired by her strong characters, and moved by her inspirational message. You can connect with Darlene at www.darlenelturner.com where there’s suspense beyond borders.
Darlene is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.
Without a perfect bait a fisherman loses their chance in
catching a fish. They must take their time and ease that wiggly worm onto the
hook before lowering their line into the water. It’s just as important for a
writer to do the same with a novel. Forget the worms and the book will fall
flat. How can we do this? Here are some important areas we should reel in on in
order for our mystery/suspense/thrillers to be noticed and not cast back into
the lake.
Great first lines – Most readers will shop for a book by reading that
very first line. It doesn’t matter if the next chapter is amazing. If the opening
doesn’t hook, the reader will go fishing elsewhere. This is especially true for
works of suspense. We want to set up the mystery right from the first sentence.
Every word needs to be carefully chosen. We must edit and re-read the beginning
over and over until we get it right. Think about these openings. “Once upon a
time…” or “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”—Charles Dickens,
A Tale of Two Cities. These are first lines we’ve remembered over the
years. They stood the test of time and caught the reader’s attention. Let’s do
the same.
Inciting incident – What exactly is this? It’s the event that the
character is thrust into that shatters their world and changes it forever.
Doesn’t necessarily have to be action-packed, but it has to be trouble for the
main character. Loss of spouse, fired from their job, news of a health condition.
Of course, for suspense writers it could be the character is kidnapped, witnessed
a murder, found out their identity was stolen. The problem must not just
scratch the surface but be a story that is sustainable as well as develop the
character’s arc. It has to be resolved by the end of the book. Create an
inciting incident that will sink your reader into wanting more.
Introducing characters – Just like in an interview, first impressions are
extremely important. We need to give the reader reasons to like them. What
should we consider to set the hook? Descriptions are important. We don’t want
them to appear mousey or brazen. Give small snippets of personality and appearance.
The mystery will leave the reader turning the pages to find out more. How does the
character talk? What sets their dialogue apart from secondary characters? These
are areas we need to think about so the hero and heroine will stand out on the
page and make them believable.
Backstory – This is the character’s past. How did they grow up?
What traumatic event happened that affects the way they deal with the inciting
incident? Backstory is important, but we need to know the right timing of when
it should appear. Not too much in the first fifty pages—just snippets to lure
the reader. Then as the story progresses more backstory is given. However, do
it carefully. We don’t want to take the reader out of the story. Weave it in and
it will create a powerful tale.
Foreshadowing – This can be done effectively or totally fizzle in the
beginning chapter. We need to be careful how we foreshadow upcoming events.
Giving away too much robs the reader of the joy of figuring out the clues of
the thriller. They like to be surprised. However, if we don’t give at least a
hint of something to come, the reader may be disappointed and stop reading. Reel
them in with the mystery!
These are just some areas to consider in writing the first
chapter. Ending chapter one with an unanswered question will intrigue the reader
to turn that page to find out the answer.
Baiting the reader at the beginning will ensure a great catch!
Let’s get our lures right the first time by setting the hook with a powerful suspenseful
opening.
How do you set the hook? Share your thoughts on what works for
you.
Darlene L. Turner writes romantic suspense and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. She won the 2019 and 2016 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense contest. She was a finalist in the 2019 ACFW Genesis contest and won in 2017. She lives with her husband in the Forest City of London, Ontario. Darlene’s debut novel, Border Breach, will release in April, 2020 and is now available to pre-order. Click here to order.
Visit Darlene at her website, where she believes there’s suspense beyond borders
I started out wanting to write another
Christmas story and the plot of Stranded
for the Holidays evolved from there. The
standalone novel is part of an ongoing series set in the Blue Ridge Mountains
of North Carolina. The fictional town is Truelove—Where
True Love Awaits. And three elderly matchmakers take the town motto a little
too seriously. They’ve made it their personal mission to help everyone find
their happily-ever-after. Whether the recipients of their efforts want them to
or not!
Here’s a short blurb:
Running away led her right where she belonged.
AnnnaBeth is running away from her own wedding when her car breaks down in the middle of a snowstorm on an isolated mountain road. And of course, who happens along to rescue her? A handsome cowboy and his young, mini-me cowboy son, Hunter, who’s wishing for a mommy for Christmas. As the storm clears, city girl AnnaBeth will have to decide: does her heart now belong in the country?
AnnaBeth’s character type is one of my favorite to write. The banter and chemistry between the never-met-a-stranger, social butterfly and the pay-for-every-word, stoic cowboy was fun to create. When the town matchmakers get a hold of these two—by novel’s end, snowflakes aren’t the only thing falling between AnnaBeth and Jonas
I hope you’ll be on the look out for the fourth book in the Blue Ridge Matchmaker series—A Mother’s Homecoming—which releases June 1. I’m currently writing #5—also a Christmas story.
Why
do you write? Do you have a theme, message, or goal for your books?
My
ultimate desire is to proclaim the truth of God’s Word, His redeeming love as
seen in the life of Jesus Christ and to help readers know for themselves this
great, awesome God of all comfort and wisdom. He is enough for every need.
I hope
my books will make readers laugh. And perhaps make them cry. But most of all, I
hope my stories will warm their hearts with the greatest of loves, God’s love
for each of them.
How
long have you been writing?
I come from a family of storytellers.
My mom used to entertain my brother and I on long road trips by inventing
adventures featuring us as the hero and heroine. I told myself stories as a
child to fall asleep at night. I thought everyone did this until I discovered
in elementary school this might not be perceived as normal for the rest of the
school population. But during summers, I became the neighborhood child who
entertained my friends and organized epic retellings of prairie schooners in
space, aka whatever I had watched on television lately—Daniel Boone, The Wild
West, Star Trek (the original), or Gilligan’s Island. Yeah, I know I’m dating
myself.
It was only after my children were in
middle school that I got serious about pursuing a career in writing. My first
novel was published in 2013. Twenty-five novels and counting, it’s been a
whirlwind of adventure ever since.
And
how long did it take you to get your first major book contract? Or are you
published non-traditionally? How did that come about?
In 2009, God laid a story
upon my heart and a compulsion to write it down that wouldn’t go away. I’d
written for myself, as a freelancer, and for church organizations most of my
life. But during this season in my life, God literally compelled me that now was
the time to get serious about my secret dream of writing down the stories
swirling in my head and that these stories were to be used for His glory. I
wrote the story that became my debut, Carolina
Reckoning, and God led me to a
person who suggested a writing conference.
I attended the conference
and God led a multi-published romantic suspense author to take a mentoring
interest in me. I attended several more conferences, and God was always
faithful in leading me one step further along the road to publication. I wrote
three other manuscripts; I listened; I studied; I learned more about the craft
of writing and the publishing industry. In 2011, I received the call from
Abingdon Press regarding my Aloha
Rose proposal. But Carolina
Reckoning actually became my first
published novel, releasing in August 2013.
Which
of your books is your favorite?
Usually the one I’m currently writing
is my favorite. We’re not really supposed to have favorites among our
“children”. But if you’re going to make me say it, I guess Under
a Turquoise Sky. That entire project was such a
joy. I may never write another book like it, but the story was a gift to me as
an author. It also won the Carol Award for Inspirational Romantic Suspense that
year.
Do
you have a favorite character or scene in one of your books?
I’ve written three dual timeline
romantic suspense novels, which is my favorite type of story to read and write.
But my favorite character is probably Aaron Yazzie in Under
a Turquoise Sky. There was such brokenness in him
at the beginning but by the end, his character arc went through such an amazing
transformation. Readers tell me that his journey touched them in a profound
way.
How
long does it take you to write a book?
I love to have eight months to write
one of my suspense novels. I don’t always get that, however. I’m usually
writing one book, editing another and often marketing yet a third novel. With
the smaller Love Inspired novels three-four months is about average.
What’s
your writing work schedule like?
I am a morning person so I do my best
writing early. My day usually begins at the computer by eight a.m. I don’t have
daily word count goals. My goal each day is to write the next scene or chapter.
When I finish the scene or chapter, I stop for the day. Usually, I’m
done—creatively, mentally and physically—by three p.m. I may tackle other tasks
like marketing or business-related obligations for a short period. Or, I have
tea and watch the next installment of one of my favorite British mystery
series.
Do
you have an interesting writing quirk? If so, what is it?
I like to read over the
last scene I wrote the day before to plunge myself back into the novel moment.
Then, I’ll go for a walk or bike ride, allowing the stream of my unconscious to
flow and work it’s magic on the chapter or scene I know I need to write that
day. I get into the shower and literally and figuratively allow the stream to
continue. By the time I’m ready to sit down at the computer, I’ve actually
visualized entire scenes and segments of dialogue in my mind and the words
“flow” onto the screen.
What
has been your greatest joy(s) in your writing career?
Getting to know other Christian authors
has been one of the greatest blessings during my writing journey. I also love
when readers contact me and tell me how God has used my stories to impact their
lives for His glory. Winning the Carol Award in 2015 and the Daphne du Maurier
in 2017 was such an affirmation to me to persevere in writing. In 2019, His
Secret Daughter and Stranded
for the Holidays, part of the Blue Ridge Matchmaker
series, both made the Top 25 best-selling lists. I got to see my name on the
same list as Nicholas Sparks and Debbie Macomber. How fun was that!!!!
What
has been your darkest moment(s)?
As my father’s primary caretaker, the
last three years of his life as he battled Alzheimer’s were extremely difficult
for me. My own family responsibilities didn’t stop. Deadlines didn’t stop.
Just before his death in 2016, I hit a
“wall.” I was physically, emotionally, creatively and spiritually drained. And
yet through it all, I can testify of God’s faithfulness to me as I walked to
the other side of the “valley of the shadow of death”.
My editor and agent would tell you that
I did some of my best and most powerful writing during that period. It was
during this season of pain and suffering that I won the Carol and Daphne for
two of my romantic suspense novels. And I encourage other writers to not be
afraid of the pain, but instead to embrace it.
How
many times in your career have you experienced rejection? How did they shape
you?
Rejection began early and
continues to be a regular part of my writing journey. But nothing ventured;
nothing gained. Writers must develop Teflon-coated skin. One of the most
encouraging pieces of advice I ever read came from best-selling novelist,
Elizabeth George. She said, ”You will be published if you possess three
qualities—talent, passion, and discipline.”
And the most important of
these? Not talent, or passion. But discipline—perseverance. The ability to keep
on keeping on. Writing one word after the other. Never quitting. Never giving
up.
Where
do you get your ideas?
My story ideas come from everywhere—my
past, my friends and their past/current experiences, and the news.
Who
is your favorite author to read?
It depends on the genre. I read widely.
And as soon as I name favorites, I realize I’ve left someone out. But initially
in my career, I was inspired by Catherine Palmer’s romantic suspense adventure
series, Treasures of the Heart, set
in Africa. I still love those books. I continue to re-read them over and over.
What
advice can you give aspiring writers that you wished you had gotten, or that
you wished you would have heeded?
Read. A lot.
Write every day.
Every year attend the best
conference you can afford.
What
are common mistakes you see aspiring writer’s make?
Don’t listen to the lies of
the Enemy. Don’t listen to the nay-sayers. Don’t give up.
Where/How
do you recommend writers try to break into the market?
The key to my publication journey has
been about building relationships—
1. With God foremost—a conscious choice
to pursue His leading.
2. With others in the publishing
industry.
3. And, to pursue relationships over
pursuing contracts.
Multi-published author Lisa Carter likes to describe her romantic suspense novels as “Sweet Tea with a Slice of Murder.” A Vast and Gracious Tide released in June 2018. The Stronghold won a 2017 Daphne du Maurier. Under a Turquoise Sky won the 2015 Carol Award. Beyond the Cherokee Trail was a 4½ star Romantic Times Top Pick. She also has two contemporary romance series with Love Inspired. Lisa enjoys traveling and researching her next fictional adventure. When not writing, she loves spending time with family and teaching writing workshops. A native North Carolinian, she has strong opinions on barbecue and ACC basketball.
How do mystery, suspense, and thriller writers produce an authentic novel and achieve believability?
Consider the seven “R’s”.
Ready an
organizational system for the material you gather, whether it be an online file
or old-school file folders. Utilize whatever makes sense to you.
Restrain from spending too much time on research.We’re fiction
writers, not Ph.D. candidates working on dissertations.
Restrict your focus. Is your setting real or
fictional? Is it set in the city or country, suburban or rural, present-day or
historical? Determine key locations and the world beyond.
Readers bring no preconceptions to a fictional site. The author
breathes life into the narrative by creating everything. Customs,
history, climate, natural surroundings, people, food, the hobbies and jobs of the
characters, maps, and even language must emerge from your imagination.
If your setting is a real place and
you’ve failed to do the work, an agent, editor, or a reader who knows the area
may label your book as implausible. Or worse, toss it onto the rejection pile.
“Stories set in real locations, then, demand detailed local knowledge and/or meticulous research of the setting.”
Harvey Chapman
Read magazines, journals,
and books on your subject and in your genre. Learn the occupations of your
characters. Dig into past events, the natural surroundings, and the latest news
from the area. Make your backdrop as familiar as your own living room. Make the
details as accurate as an FBI manual.
Utilize the resources of libraries,
colleges and universities, museums, or law enforcement. Maps give us direction
and perspective, and the placement of landmarks, roads, stores, houses,
schools, and cemeteries. Data from contracts, marriage and birth licenses, and
census records add authenticity.
Record observations. Watch others who are similar to your characters to
see how they talk and behave. Visit places that serve the same food your
characters would eat and places they might frequent.
Often a visual image will spark ideas. Watch videos on YouTube,
catch documentaries, or even cruise Pinterest for ideas, inspiration, and
information.
Road trip.
The journey may be as close as the local library, or as far away as a
long-distance car ride or flight. If you’ve never been to your novel’s
location, consider discovering the area with a hands-on approach.
Notice details as you travel. These can contribute
to your characters’ motives and choices.
Once there, talk to the locals. Discover
the area’s activities, customs, traditions, where people shop, eat, go to
school, and even select where your characters might live.
Walk the area and feel the ambiance. Use your senses. Find out what things taste like, smell
like, feel like, sound like.
Research for my latest WIP required an
eleven-hour road trip. Even though I was familiar with the area, I hadn’t
visited in years. The lonely two-lane highway leading to my destination was now
bustling with oil-field trucks, pump-jacks, new refineries and hotels, and
clouds of grey haze. But fortunately, my ideal locale was as I remembered––
craggy mountains graced by long stretches of prickly pear cactus and mesquite
scrub, remote and raw. Perfect for a mystery or suspense.
Once there, I bee-lined to the local
diner and feasted on the house special, green chili burgers and thick-cut fries.
I chatted with the owner and her employee. (Yes, just one.) They shared how the
clear night sky bursts into sparkles of light, where one gets mail and
supplies, and how chili cook-offs and cow patty throwing contests are a
‘thing.’ Of course, Elizabeth and Debbie will find a place in my book’s
acknowledgments!
Roadblocks. No one likes a data dump. Weave your discoveries into
the novel and never let it rise above the plot, characters, and setting. A bit of true-life
flavor goes a long way
Don’t use fact-finding as a means to delay writing.
Complete your searches ahead of time. If you need to add a detail
later make a note, but keep the writing flowing.
Let research inform the story, not smother it. Do the work. It may be the difference between a book contract and a rejection letter.
“Though we invent tales that didn’t really happen, we drape them over a framework of real-life facts.”
PJ Gover encourages her readers to live the thrill…one story at a time,
whether through her devotionals or thrillers. She has received ten writing
awards including first place in American Christian Fiction Writer’s First
Impressions contest, the North Carolina Christian Writers, and the
Write-to-Publish contest. Her one-year devotional book, Celebrate Thee Date, can be found at 4homestore .
A ranch in Texas
serves as home base where she is currently working on a suspense novel. Offer her Mexican food or anything gluten-free and you’ll
have a friend for life. Jim Hart of Hartline Literary Agency represents PJ.
Voice and style can make or break an author’s novel, so how can we
make it stand out from all the rest? Style is the technical aspect of the
story while voice relies on character, point of view, and attitude (can be referred
to as tone). How can we give the reader a voice they’ll remember or a style
that will keep them reading?
The following are aspects of voice and style I’ve been learning
about from other authors. Every writer should think about these before they
start to plot their novel.
Voice
The challenge can be to write in a voice that comes across as
unique and authentic. Let’s think about the following.
Character and attitude – The tone of your story will set your novel apart if
done correctly. Your characters need an attitude as it can add emotional stake
and give the reader what they want—a cleverly woven story. If they don’t have
attitude the tale will fall flat. The author needs to show how the character is
going to deal with the issues that plague them. How will their attitude show?
It will become their distinctive voice.
POV – Most thrillers are written in first-person past tense or
third-person past tense POV. Why? Some feel first-person reads well and is a
friendlier voice. Normally first-person is the voice of the hero. Think Patrick
Bowers in Steven James’ series. He puts the reader right into Patrick’s life.
Is there a downside to using first-person? The author must stay in
that person’s POV for the entire novel, so it’s hard to show scenes with other
characters. Also, the reader may get tired of all the “I’s” throughout the
chapters.
What about third-person? Seeing the events through the eyes of a
character is like a movie camera rolling while reading. It puts the reader
directly into the story. They feel what the character feels, sees what they
see, etc. Usually in a mystery, the sleuth narrates most of the story.
Which POV is right for the author? Why not try both out on some
beta readers? Give them a snippet in both POVs and have them decide which they
like better. Once decided, the author can better plot their novel as it will
come naturally.
Style
How can style work hand-in-hand with voice? These are technical
choices authors make to weave their tale. Here are some examples of how style
can enhance your story.
Flashbacks/Background – They can add suspense for the reader. However, use
these sparingly. Too many flashbacks or background information can pull the
reader from the story, but placed in the right spot can have them turning the
pages. We’ve been told not to include background info in the first fifty pages.
If it’s necessary to add them early, just give hints to entice them.
Setting – Every suspense/mystery/thriller needs a powerful
setting. Perhaps it’s a sleepy town now plagued with intrigue or a supposed
haunted mansion. The setting is a character of its own. To see more on this
subject, see my previous post here.
Dialogue – This can make or break a novel. Dialogue needs to be
authentic, but we also don’t want to include hum-drum snippets of a conversation—for
example: “Hi. How are you?” “I’m fine, thank-you. You?” We know these types of
questions are in our everyday conversations, but they will bore the reader.
Keep dialogue snappy and moving the plot forward.
Rhythm — The use of short and long sentences can enhance the pace of a
novel. Need suspense? Use short, choppy sentences to thrust them right into the
action. Need to give the reader a break? Use longer sentences and paragraphs to
slow the pace, giving them a chance to think through all the clues. However,
don’t add too much detail. You know what they say—less is more.
These are just some areas to consider when writing a novel. Practicing
in different POVs and using the above information can make the author’s style
and voice authentic. Why not try this today?
What are your thoughts on voice and style?
Darlene L. Turner writes romantic suspense and is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. She won the 2019 and 2016 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence contest. She was a finalist in the 2019 ACFW Genesis contest and won in 2017. She lives with her husband in the Forest City of London, Ontario. Darlene’s debut novel, Border Breach, will release in April, 2020 and is now available to pre-order. Click here to order.
Should I worry about
trends? Do I write what I want and hope it sells? Is the mystery, suspense,
thriller genre still marketable?
“When we look at the NYT and USA Today bestseller lists, one genre that has surged in popularity is mystery and suspense/thriller.”
Jennifer Silverwood, NQD (Book Designs), 4.25.19
“Psychological Thrillers and True Crime are Taking Over Not Only Literature, but: Movies, Podcasts and TV Shows.”
Columbia.edu. 3.5.19
As of late September
2019, Goodreads.com reports two of their top five bestsellers are in the
mystery, suspense, thriller genre. Amazon.com boasts two thrillers in the top
six of their bestsellers.
Our genre continues to
shine in the big leagues, encouraging news for those of us crafting puzzling
mysteries, intriguing suspense, and fast-paced thrills.
Even though our genre remains desirable and marketable, awareness of specific trends in our industry guides us as writers.
Before we draft one
word, trends help us select our book’s premise and plot, driving the attention we
receive from agents and editors. Eventually, it aids in determining our success
in book sales. Don’t waste time pouring our hearts into dead trends like
vampires, so popular years ago.
Basic interaction
between parent and child, man and woman, humans and natural elements doesn’t
change, but specific circumstances do. Instead of placing teenage angst in the
midst of vampires and werewolves, repackage the drama in an updated scenario.
Remember, “…the universal theme of “good versus evil” will always be a draw.”
Bestselling author M.J. Rose
If we write based on what’s popular now, our book’s thrust might be irrelevant when our work comes into print, often a year after a negotiated contract with a publisher.
“My suggestion when it comes to writing what you “want” to write is don’t narrow yourself to such a small hook. Authors who fall in love with a genre and then continually explore new and different ideas to write in that genre are far more successful than those who narrow their writing to one simple subject matter.”
Literary Agent Jessica Faust, 8.13.19
What about specifics
for your novel?
In perusing top-sellers
in our genre, recent ones utilize family drama as their core focus––missing spouse,
child, or teens, unexplained illness of a child, domestic violence.
Interpersonal trauma informs the plot of other recent bestsellers––disappearance
after an internet-arranged date, an avenging sociopath, an apartment complex
killer, a corporate killer at a team-building retreat.
What common threads
continue in our genre? Great surprises, and good twists and turns keep the
reader guessing. Interesting settings, and in some, the location serves as much
of a character as the protagonist. Themes rooted in psychological pain,
betrayal, and intrigue where no one is who they seem inhabit recent
best-sellers.
In fact, one of the
most publishable genres today is the psychological suspense thriller.
“Thrillers, by definition, are escapism. There’s a suspension of reality that the reader expects and which allows them to immerse themselves in the thrilling aspects of the story. To leave their troubles for a little while and enjoy the ride. And thankfully, that never gets old.”
Liz Berry
As always, a
well-crafted plot with unique premises keeps readers riveted to the page.
What about our
industry’s trends as a whole?
According to The Independent Publishing Magazine,
people still want paper-in-hand traditional books versus e-books, which as of
early 2019, were purported to be on the decline. Good news for those of us who
yearn to see our book on the shelves of book stores and libraries. However, we
live in a digital age and e-books are here to stay. We do well to offer our
books in both print and digital format.
As audiobooks gain in popularity, the Big Five Publishing Houses
see them becoming a large part of their digital revenue. For both traditional
and independent publishers, the big investment pays off.
Marketing and self-promotion
are also a reality. Even if traditionally published, a strong social media
presence is vital. Agents and publishers not only note the number of likes our
posts receive, but also our level of engagement. Social media includes blogging and podcasting,
even for those beginning a writing career.
Promoting
is not just about the book, but about you as the author. Be certain what’s on
your social media is who and what you want to represent as a writer.
“People follow you, then your book.”
Scott Mathews
A well-written book will find an audience, but research market trends before recording your first word.
Write well, my friends.
PJ Gover encourages her readers to live the thrill…one story at a time,
whether through her devotionals or thrillers. She has received eight writing
awards including first place in American Christian Fiction Writer’s First
Impressions contest and the first place Tar Heel Award
from the North Carolina Christian Writers. Write to Publish recognized her
second novel with their first place Blue Seal Award. Her one-year devotional
book, Celebrate Thee Date, can be found at 4homestore.com. She is represented
by Jim Hart of Hartline Literary Agency.
A ranch in Texas
serves as home base where she is currently working on a suspense novel set in
west Texas. Offer her Mexican food or anything gluten-free and you’ll have a
friend for life.
Everyone
uses body language in one way or another. Talking with a friend, in a business
meeting, or at a ball game, the gestures, postures, and movements of our bodies
and facial expressions are telltale signs of who we are, our mood, how we feel
healthwise or about an issue, and what we think.
We form tightened lips, narrowed eyes,
make fists, throw hands in the air, and shuffle our feet. We talk with our
hands, cover our face, rake fingers through our hair, etc. We are human, and we
are constantly expressive.
In real life, if more than fifty percent
of non-verbal communication is through body language, then it goes to reason
that when we write our protagonists and antagonists should do the same. How dull
would a book be without noticing shifty eyes, crossed arms, or flared nostrils?
By using body language in writing, we
are more likely to show and not tell, thus giving readers a more accurate
picture of the character’s state of mind and the tension taking place. We draw
the reader in when we use realistic and believable behaviors, just be sure to
use them in moderation. Too many will slow your story down.
Example of overuse:
Roy’s face reddened, lips tightened, his knuckles whitened in clenched fists, and
he gritted his teeth when his boss gave the promotion to his partner. He
stormed from the room and slammed the door, remembering the pistol in his brief
case.
Better:
Heat rushed into Roy’s face when his boss gave the promotion to his partner. He
clenched his jaw to keep from saying too much and left the room. The door
slammed behind him as his focus lands on the briefcase under his desk, housing
a Glock.
Roy’s body language describes his attitude
and mood. The tension thickened, and the stakes rose the moment a weapon was
mentioned. Most readers can tell something bad is about to happen; thus, the
suspense intensifies. Let them bask in the non-verbal clues the character reveals
and keep them turning the page.
Using body language sounds simple, but it’s
not as easily written. Here are a few more examples of suspicious, angry, or
aggitated body language. We must avoid repetition of the same gestures in our
writing to avoid losing the readers interest.
Crossed the arms Tightened lips Straddled a chair
Narrowed eyes Twisted lips Looked away
Jutted chin Clenched fists Lowered eyebrows
Crouched down Confrontational Rolled eyes
Darting glance Grimacing Shaking fist
Twitching trigger finger Lying Sneering
or Smirk
Remember, use body language where it will pack a punch in the story and add depth to the character’s dialogue. Most importantly, keep the reader turning the page, or their body language will toss the book aside.
Loretta
Eidson writes romantic suspense. She has won and been a finalist in several writing contests, including
first place in romantic suspense in the Foundations Awards at the 2018 Blue
Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference, a finalist in ACFW’s 2018 Genesis,
was a finalist in the 2018 Fabulous Five, and a double finalist in the 2017
Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence.
Loretta
lives in North Mississippi with her husband Kenneth, a retired Memphis Police
Captain. She loves salted caramel lava cake, dark chocolate, and caramel Frappuccinos.
Suspense is what keeps readers turning
the page but writing a story without it can leave them feeling jilted. Your plot must be realistic and gripping and your
characters well developed and relatable.
When writing a suspenseful scene, the
description of your setting should add to the intensity and danger of the
action taking place. Develop scenes in a way that your readers get a feel for
the character’s fears and anxieties.
Choose your words wisely. It’s not the
length of your descriptive words that make
a scene suspenseful. It’s in the power of
the words used. Here are some examples of different scenarios and questions
readers might ask:
Light from a single lamppost was absorbed by the thick haze hovering over the park, causing inky darkness along the path. An eerie silence sucked the breath from her lungs. Hair prickled and her palms grew sweaty. Terror twisted knots in the pit of her stomach.
Why was she in the park after dark? Was she being followed? Had she escaped an attacker and didn’t know which way to go? Did the anonymous call give orders to come alone or her child would die?
Angry voices echoed from the depths of the abandoned corridor. A door slammed. Someone screamed, metal clanged, and a distant thud brought an abrupt silence — heavy footsteps, then the jarring sound of a chainsaw.
Who was arguing? Who was hiding in the shadows listening? How many people were behind that closed door? What caused the thud? Had a body dropped to the floor? A chainsaw inside the building? Why?
The crumpled note drifted to the floor like a feather, but its message stood out like neon lights. You’re Next.
What happened and why had she received a threatening note? Was someone watching her? Would she call the police? Was there anyone she could trust?
I’m sure you can imagine other scenes, and you have already written them into your
manuscript. Which word choices did the best job of creating the scene and
presenting the tension needed?
In the above scenarios, most readers
would have an idea of what’s going on, but it’s hard to avoid the questions
that pop into their minds while the action’s taking place. At the same time,
you’re allowing readers to experience the building tension as they grow
concerned for the safety of the characters they’ve connected with and care about.
Suspense
can be built slowly by allowing it to offer a sense of foreboding or the author
can jump right into action like the scenes above. Regardless of the pace, your
story will grow more intense as imminent danger approaches, and you’ll deliver a quality suspense scene
your readers can devour.
Loretta
Eidson writes romantic suspense. She has won and been a finalist in several writing contests, including
first place in romantic suspense in the Foundations Awards at the 2018 Blue
Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference, a finalist in ACFW’s 2018 Genesis,
was a finalist in the 2018 Fabulous Five, and a double finalist in the 2017
Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence.
Loretta lives in North Mississippi with her husband Kenneth, a retired Memphis Police Captain. She loves salted caramel lava cake, dark chocolate, and caramel Frappuccinos.
Have you ridden a roller coaster and felt the exhilaration or fear of being tossed about while your feet dangled in the air? If so, then you’ve experienced some emotional elements beneficial to writing suspense. Readers don’t physically step into a metal seat and strap themselves in when selecting a suspense novel, but they still expect an adventure in which their emotions become attached to the heroine and the struggle she’s facing.
The opening sentence must capture the attention of your audience, but that’s not all. The story must continue to build with conflict and suspense, teasing your reader’s senses and emotions, and keep them wondering what will happen next.
Raise the stakes. Put your character in a situation where danger lurks and the threat of death hangs in the balance. How will your character handle imminent danger or death?
Allow your audience to feel your character’s uncertainty and fear.
Her car breaks down on a deserted road.
Imagine the bone-chilling emotion that grips her when a man’s silouette it appears across her window.
What about the horror of hanging on a ledge, fingers slipping, muscles cramping, and all hope of survival fading? Will she plummet to her death on the rocks below? Is certain death her only option or will the hero find her in time to save her?
As Lisa Betz stated in her 2018 December article for Almost an Author, “You must add tension by stretching the moment.”
Long moments of intensity builds readers’ emotions and sets their desire to keep turning the page.
Well-written suspense secures the audience’s attention and keeps them on the edge of their seats.
Unresolved tension keeps readers intrigued.
James Scott Bell states in his book Conflict & Suspense that there is more than one type of death that can happen in our novels.
Physicaldeath. Make sure your heroine wins in her conflict if she is going to die. Dragging your characters through a quagmire of near-death experiences may pique the reader’s emotions more than physical death. Some readers feel cheated when the main character dies. Physical death is not a requirement for mysteries, suspense, and thrillers. Sometimes other types of death are more frightening.
Professionaldeath. Your heroine may fail the test for her promised promotion and is fired instead. She feels all her experience is worthless. There must be something that could make or break your character in her line of work.
Psychological death. This type of death stirs an array of emotions for your audience since human behavior can be so irrational one can never assume what might happen.
If you successfully take your readers on an emotional journey all the way through to the last page, most likely they’ll share the experience with other potential readers long after they’ve put the book down.
Loretta Eidson writes romantic suspense. She has won and been a finalist in several writing contests, including first place in romantic suspense in the Foundations Awards at the 2018 Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference, a finalist in ACFW’s 2018 Genesis, was a finalist in the 2018 Fabulous Five, and a double finalist in the 2017 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence.
Loretta lives in North Mississippi with her husband Kenneth, a retired Memphis Police Captain. She loves salted caramel lava cake, dark chocolate, and caramel Frappuccinos.
Tension is the unresolved conflict in a story that keeps a reader turning pages. All scenes need tension, from edge-of-your-seat action sequences to gentle romantic encounters. How can a writer increase tension in her scenes, especially in those without life-or-death consequences? By stretching key moments.
Slow-motion
Consider what happens when a movie suddenly switches to slow-motion. A few heartbeats of action may be stretched into agonizing minutes, forcing the audience to wait, tense with anticipation, while things slowly crawl toward a resolution. Will he catch the ball? Will she walk out the door? Will they defuse the bomb in time?
A writer can use the same concept to slow the pace by stretching the moment. How? By padding strategic moments in scenes with a few additional details that force the reader to wait just a little longer to find out what happens. How long can you stretch things? It depends on the scene. Typically the more tension already present, the more the reader is hooked, and the longer a writer can stretch out the scene.
Where to consider stretching the moment
Scenes of exterior tension
When dealing with action scenes, look for places where the scene moves rapidly from stimulus to payoff. For example, “Sarah heard a key in the lock” is a stimulus. Something new is happening. It could be good or bad, longed-for or dreaded. Whatever the situation, the stimulus of hearing of the key will lead to a payoff of some kind. Someone is about to enter the scene and do or say something that will be the payoff.
If whatever is about to happen next is postponed by a few lines it will serve to increase the tension. Compare the two examples below:
Sarah heard the key in the lock. Liam threw open the door. “Thought you could hide from me, did you?”
Sarah heard the key in the lock. Could it be Pat? Did Pat still have the spare key? But wouldn’t he be at work now? She held her breath as the lock clicked. The door jerked open and Liam strode into the room. He looked down at her with a smug smile. “Thought you could hide from me, did you?”
Scenes of interior tension
Emotional tension can be stretched as well. Look for places where a discovery or realization (stimulus) leads to a strong emotional response and stretch the moment by inserting details or inner dialogue. For example, compare the shorter and longer versions below:
Aaron saw the note on the kitchen table. “I’ve gone for a walk.” A lump of fear settled in his stomach as he grabbed his jacket and raced outside.
Aaron saw the note on the kitchen table. Large letters written with red crayon in his little brother’s distinctive shaky scrawl. “I’ve gone for a walk.” Please no. Not today. The ground was a slippery mess with all the rain and the stream would be racing. If Jonny slipped… A lump of fear settled in his stomach as he grabbed his jacket and raced outside.
Your Turn
Choose a scene and look for moments where the stimulus is followed by an immediate payoff or response. Stretch the tension by inserting two or three sentences between them.
[bctt tweet=”By adding little snippets at strategic spots, you can increase the tension in any scene. #writetips #writers” username=””]
Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a story to tell the world. She loves to encourage fellow writers to be intentional about their craft and courageous in sharing their words with others. Lisa shares her words through dramas, Bible studies, historical mysteries, and her blog about intentional living. You can find her on Facebook LisaEBetzWriter and Twitter @LisaEBetz
Authors begin a new story by creating and building their characters—the hero, heroine, and villain, but shouldn’t we also consider the setting as a character? Furthermore, can the author use it to create suspense? How? Here’s what I’ve learned recently on this subject.
Setting is where your story resides. Could be a town, city, castle, beach, office, etc., and should be looked at in the same way as we do characters by using the senses and physical traits. We want to draw our readers in by transporting them to another world. The character of the Overlook Hotel in The Shining created suspense and haunted the reader. Middle Earth in the Lord of the Rings did the same. We want to learn more about the surroundings as it keeps us on the edge of our seats, turning the pages.
What can we use to formulate suspense in our settings?
Five senses – sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. The creaking of the stairs in a haunted mansion or the howling wind echoing in the corridor gives the reader goose bumps. How about the taste of coffee in our character’s favorite café or the smell of mildew in an old estate? The touch of a sharp knife as the killer holds it against his victim’s throat or the character catching a glimpse of the eerie castle blanketed in fog. The senses are powerful and ushers the reader into the story, capturing their attention.
Nature – Does the snow sparkle in the moonlight of the quaint small town or the fireflies flicker on a warm summer night in the campground? A slithering snake or an owl hooting in the middle of the night can create suspense in our settings.
Weather – It can form tension, but don’t overdo it. Picture how a stormy night in an eerie town could add angst to your character. Also, the weather can help solve the crime. Were there footprints in the mud outside the castle’s window or a trail in the snow leading away from it?
Parts of speech – Similes and metaphors are a great way to help describe your locale and enhance the suspense, but use them sparingly.
Powerful words – Pick the right words when describing the setting. Use strong verbs and nouns. The rain pelted or the trees swayed.
In the following scene, I used sensory plus a simile to produce tension and suspense:
The wrought iron gate creaked open, revealing the brick mansion in the distance. Ominous twin turrets towered at opposite ends while cypress trees lined the lane like sentinels protecting the property from outside forces.
Setting is a powerful character that can be used to create suspense and establish the mood the writer is trying to portray. Choosing the right one is the key and we must go beyond the obvious to describe it. When we do our settings will come alive and stay with the reader long after the story is finished.
Darlene L. Turner writes romantic suspense and won the 2017 Genesis award in the Romantic suspense category and was a 2018 finalist. She was a finalist in the 2017 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense contest and won in 2016 (Inspirational Unpublished). She’s represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency. Visit Darlene at darlenelturner.com where she believes there’s suspense beyond borders.
There’s nothing more satisfying for an author than to hear readers say they couldn’t put the book down. It captured their attention from the beginning and kept them turning the page. Why? First, the hook was well written, but more importantly, conflict arose and thrust suspense into the scene.
I met Lynette a few years ago at a writers retreat, and our paths have crossed again at other conferences. She’s a kind-hearted, humble, and talented writer. So it was a delight to chat with her about her latest novels in the Blue Justice Series. The first book in the series, Oath of Honor, is a page-turner with an intricate plot. And a cute little dog named Mozart.
Becky Wade
Becky and I discovered we have something in common—we’re both the oldest of our siblings. And so is her heroine in Falling for You, the second novel in the Bradford Sisters Romance Series. The paths of a famous model and a famous football player cross again when they’re enlisted to help a young girl solve a family mystery. Will the love they experienced before be rekindled? This story is a page-turner, too!
The next Novelists Unwind Giveaway will be announced on Saturday, October 6th, at novelistsunwind.com. Be sure to enter for your chance to win a print edition of an amazing inspirational novel.
Meet Johnnie
Johnnie Alexander creates characters you want to meet and imagines stories you won’t forget. Her award-winning debut novel, Where Treasure Hides (Tyndale), made the CBA bestseller list. She writes contemporaries, historicals, and cozy mysteries, serves on the executive boards of Serious Writer, Inc. and the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference, co-hosts an online show called Writers Chat, and interviews inspirational authors for Novelists Unwind. She also teaches at writers conferences and for Serious Writer Academy. Connect with her at www.johnnie-alexander.com and other social media sites via https://linktr.ee/johnniealexndr.
Once upon a time writers actually left their characters hanging from cliffs. In the early days of movies, when theaters ran serialized episodes of a story, a cliffhanger ending was a good way to ensure viewers would make the effort to come back next week. The same was true for serialized novels run in newspapers and magazines. Writers intentionally left characters hanging (not necessarily from a cliff) to entice readers to purchase the next installment.
Today’s readers and moviegoers may roll their eyes at Pauline hanging by her fingertips from a cliff, but the cliffhanger technique is still very much in use. If we change the definition of cliffhanger from:
a situation of imminent disaster usually occurring at the end of an episode of a serialized film
to the broader concept of:
a moment of unresolved danger or conflict
then a cliffhanger can happen anywhere a writer needs to crank up the tension. The key here is unresolved. Something is left hanging.
Consider the commercial breaks in a typical detective show. When do the breaks happen? Just after some new evidence is discovered that threatens to take the investigation in a whole new direction. Viewers are left hanging during the commercial, wondering what the hero will do with the new information.
In a similar vein, writers use the cliffhanger technique at the end of a chapter, scene, or beat to keep readers turning pages.
How to use the unresolved tension of a cliffhanger to increase suspense in your manuscript
End a scene in the middle of danger. The tried and true cliffhanger ending—a bad thing has happened and the character is left some kind of danger at the end of a scene. You might switch to a different set of characters in the next scene and leave the poor hero hanging for a scene or two, or you might continue the action in the next scene. Either way, the reader must keep reading to find out how the situation is resolved.
End a scene by hinting that a bad thing is about to happen. The doorknob turns… A shadowy figure appears in the window… The heroine hears the voice she’s been dreading for pages… This is similar to number one, except the danger is only implied, leaving the reader to imagine all sorts of horrible things that are about to ensue.
End a scene by hinting that a bad thing might be about to happen. A subtler variation of number two. Instead of the heroine hearing a voice she recognizes and dreads, what if she hears a voice she doesn’t recognize? Is it a friend or a foe? The reader doesn’t know until they read on.
End a scene on an ambiguous note. Instead of making it clear exactly what happened and how that affects the main character, try leaving things a little less clear. Sometimes a writer can accomplish this simply by backing up a few sentences. Instead of ending the scene with the sleuth deciding she needs to question the shop clerk, back up a few sentences and end with the information that could be interpreted to mean the clerk was guilty.
The cliffhanger technique isn’t just for the end of chapters or episodes, however. You can use subtle touches of cliffhanger anywhere in your story.
End a conversation with a tantalizing bit of information. Imagine the sleuth is talking with an informant who tells him about a new clue that’s come to light. But instead of giving all the details right away, the informant says, “I found something in the wall of the garage. You’d better come take a look.” The sleuth will naturally ask for details, but the if informant refuses to give them, both sleuth and reader will be dying to find out what’s been unearthed. Ratchet up the tension further by forcing the sleuth to finish his current task before he can go take a look.
Leave a character in a high emotional state. Tension is not only created by external danger. Sometimes the conflict is within a character. Examples: The hero gets word his wife has cancer while in the middle of a meeting, or the heroine has an argument with her fiancé but has to break it off to interview a key suspect. These bits of unresolved life issues can add tension even when they have nothing to do with the main plot.
Bottom line: Look for places in your story where you can leave a situation unresolved, however briefly. Closure is important at the end of story, but unresolved tension is what keeps the reader turning page after page to get there.
Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a story to tell the world. She loves to encourage fellow writers to be intentional about their craft and courageous in sharing their words with others. Lisa shares her words through dramas, Bible studies, historical mysteries, and her blog about intentional living. You can find her on Facebook LisaEBetzWriter and Twitter @LisaEBetz
Did you know there are conferences throughout the country that focus on the mystery / suspense / thriller genre? Some are primarily writer’s conferences, others are primarily conventions designed for fans of the genre. Both types are great places to learn, network, and enjoy the latest and best of the genre.
Here are some of the biggest conferences. If you love reading or writing mystery, suspense or thriller, you might want to check one out.
The granddaddy of all mystery conventions. Named for the mystery fiction critic, editor and author Anthony Boucher, Bouchercon is the world’s largest crime fiction convention. The convention’s goal is to bring all parts of the mystery fiction community together, from readers to critics to booksellers. It features a four-day weekend of panels, keynotes, and special events. The 2018 conference will be held in Saint Petersburg, Florida in early September. Next year it will be held in Dallas, Texas at the end of October.
This annual conference is for all genres that involve mystery, thriller, or suspense writing. Held annually near Nashville, Tennessee. The four-day conference features seminars, breakout sessions, agent roundtables, a mock crime scene designed by law enforcement professionals, and more.
This annual mystery convention is held in March somewhere in the western half of North America. The 2019 location is Vancouver, British Columbia, and the 2020 location is San Diego, California. A with other fan conferences, the purpose of Left Coast Crime is to connect readers, authors, critics, librarians, publishers, and other fans of the genre. The three-day event features panels, interviews, award presentations and more.
An annual mystery fan convention held in the Washington D.C. area that focuses on tradition-style mysteries (think Agatha Christie). Book signings, award presentations, panel discussions, and other events. The 2019 conference will be May 3-5.
The largest crime fiction writers’ conference in New England. Held every year over Veteran’s Day weekend in the greater Boston area. Crime Bake is so popular it regularly sells out. Seminars, keynotes, master classes, pitch sessions, networking and more.
This conference devoted to thrillers is held each year in New York City by the International Thriller Writers (ITW) organization. ThrillerFest is a writers conference and fan convention in one, offering three paralell tracks: CraftFest offers classes for writers, PitchFest gives writers an opportunity to pitch their work to agents, and ThrillFest is a fan convention featuring both best-selling authors and not-yet-famous ones.
For writers who want a hands-on experience to better understand law enforcement, fire-fighting, EMS or forensics. This event is held at a law enforcement training academy in Green Bay, Wisconsin. It features actual police, fire, forensics, and EMS training with top instructors. If you want to write with gritty realism, this is the conference for you.
There are plenty of smaller mystery conventions around as well. In Reference to Murder has a helpful page listing upcoming conferences with links.
Hopefully there is one near you.
Lisa E. Betz believes that everyone has a story to tell the world. She loves to encourage fellow writers to be intentional about their craft and courageous in sharing their words with others. Lisa shares her words through dramas, Bible studies, historical mysteries, and her blog about intentional living. You can find her on Facebook LisaEBetzWriter and Twitter @LisaEBetz
Are you writing a mystery or a thriller? Do you know how to tell the difference between suspense, thriller and mystery subgenres?
The three categories are related and often overlap. Mysteries often have elements of suspense and a thriller may involve a mystery.
However, experts advise writers to identify the primary subgenre before pitching a manuscript. A story may be clearly in one genre, or straddle two, but it can’t be all three.
The following descriptions will help you determine which category fits best.
A mystery is about solving a crime or a puzzle. The protagonist’s goal is to uncover the clues, solve the mystery and bring the antagonist to justice. Typically, the crime happens near the beginning of the story the identity of the antagonist (murderer) is not revealed until the end. See a list of common mystery subgenres below. Examples include Agatha Christie, Murder She Wrote and Psych.
A suspense novel is about suspense. The reader knows the protagonist is endangered from the start, but the protagonist may only gradually become aware of the danger. The suspense genre covers everything from romantic suspense to psychological suspense and horror. Examples include Nora Roberts, Lynette Eason and Alfred Hitchcock movies.
A thriller is about action and danger. The protagonist’s goal is to stop the bad guy’s evil plan from succeeding. The protagonist and/or others are in danger from the start. Thrillers come in a wide variety of subgenres, including: espionage, political, legal, eco-terror, disaster, treasure, and sci-fi. Big names include Tom Clancy, John Grisham, and Clive Cussler.
Common mystery subgenres
Amateur Sleuth—the protagonist is not a P.I. or employed in law enforcement, and he or she does not get paid for solving the crime. Examples include Dorothy Sayers and the Hardy Boys.
Cozy—clever sleuthing without the gore, violence or naughty words. Miss Marple is a classic example. Modern cozies often feature a theme like cats (Lillian Jackson Braun) or cooking (Diane Mott Davidson).
Hard-boiled/Noir—crime fiction with a dark tone, plenty of gritty brutality, and tough-guy protagonists. Most definitely not cozy. Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler are classic examples.
Historical—a mystery set in the past. The sleuth may be an amateur, a PI or a policeman. Examples include Anne Perry, Elizabeth Peters, and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.
Legal/Medical—the protagonist is a lawyer or doctor and the plot revolves around details of that profession. Usually written by medical or legal professionals. Big names include Lisa Scottoline and Robin Cook.
Police Procedural—the protagonist is a law enforcement professional, the solution involves detailed investigative techniques, and the story is more about proving guilt than discovering whodunit. Think CSI or Law and Order.
Private Investigator/Private Eye—the protagonist is a professional rather than an amateur sleuth. Like the police, solving crimes is how they earn their living. Think Sue Grafton, or The Rockford Files.
Psychological Suspense—these crime novels explore psychological issues, and typically feature a protagonist who is a psychologist or psychiatrist. Gillian Flynn and The Silence of the Lambs.
Romantic Suspense—a female protagonist is in danger, often while trying to solve a crime. In the end justice prevails and true love wins out. Authors include Terri Blackstock and Colleen Coble.
