 Mystery: April 29, 2020 Issue [#10142] |
This week: Medical Thrillers Edited by: eyestar~*  
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 Hiya Mystery buffs and those of your who dared peek over here in the the mysterious! I am thrilled to be your guest editor. The muse came up with this thriller topic: Medical Mystery Thrillers! Oh gosh, remember the Adromeda Strain? What defines them and who writes them!
"If a situation doesn't frighten me, it won't frighten my reader, either. I always try for the thing that's going to frighten me."
You never know where ideas are going to come from."
~Tess Gerritsen, a retried physician, writer of romantic and medical thrillers.
"Books aren't written - they're rewritten. Including your own. It is one of the hardest things to accept, especially after the seventh rewrite hasn't quite done it." ~ Michael Crichton |
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 What defines Medical thrillers?
"Thrillers are characterised and defined by the moods they elicit, giving viewers heightened feelings of suspense, excitement, surprise, anticipation and anxiety."
"Medical thrillers envision horrific scenarios where diseases become epidemics or villains use their medical training for more sinister motives or to save the world."
In my reading I found the key points about writing medical thrillers:
Know what you're talking about in an in-depth way. For example knowledge about medicine, viruses, anatomy, scientific possibilities and even its limitations so that the story can sound authentic and convincing. It is why doctors who write such novels become so popular. Research is vital.
While knowledge and believable environment is needed, one must be ware of using too much jargon, and overdoing technical explanation.
This calls for Understanding the audience who may read to escape, or be entertained and not want to be back in school trying to understand biology. To explain the science in human terms while engaging and building the medical element is the challenge.
Keep the story moving with a clear plot that is not too predictable or too convoluted but complex enough to keep us reading with ease and suspense.
Next, there must be relatable characters the reader will care about or feel some emotional reaction about.
Having originality is also a must and with medicine there are lots of uncharted territories to explore..as it is ever evolving.
And lastly, as with anything you write, have fun with it as that vibration will shine through and appeal to the reader as well!
 The genre is very popular and I was amazed to see how many Medical themed books are out there, covering all types of interesting themes from the typical plague to in hospital murders. Look at some themes of medical thrillers...
"The Adromeda Strain" by Micheal Crighton or "Pandemic" by Steve Sigler with its alien connection to outbreaks! 
"Coma" by the famous Robin Cook involved harvesting bodies for organs.
"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot which revolves around DNA and immortal Hela Cells!
How about the potential of a voodoo curse causing flu in "The Bone Curse" by Carrie Ruben.
Vampire patients are getting murdered in "A Strange Practice" by Vivian Shaw.
"Harvest" by Dr. Tess Gettison, was based on a research story of children being taken for organ harvesting.
Why do people read and write them?
 to experience the thrill of trying to outsmart and stop the villain before he or she commits a crime or as the protagonist tries to stop the spread of illness in the nick of time.
 for entertainment, excitement and escape from the daily routine.
 to learn about new topics, ideas, and to scare or be scared! 
to see that human kind is powerful and can overcome whatever happens.
 I even read it could be could for your health to release stress. Not sure about this one as I tend to be hyper! LOL
 What do you Think?
Thanks for reading!
eyestar
 Here are some cool links that assisted me in my discovery!
https://crimereads.com/9-great-medical-thrillers-chosen-by-a-physician/
http://penmenreview.com/spotlight/frin/
https://www.writersdigest.com/guest-columns/6-rules-for-writing-a-medical-thrill...
https://writingtipsoasis.com/how-to-write-a-masterful-medical-thriller-book/
https://www.thebigthrill.org/latest-books/medical-thrillers/
https://www.savannahgilbo.com/blog/thriller-conventions
http://writeonsisters.com/archive/guest-post-want-write-medical-mystery-thriller...
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 Thank you kind readers for your comments on my last newsletter "Mystery Newsletter (February 19, 2020)"
Quick-Quill 
"I'd classify my book The Vanishing of Katherine Sullivan as a cozy type. After reading your definition, it's more a cozy. I think they get a bad rap, mostly due to poor writing. You may have a great plot, but to write a cozy takes more than throwing clues at women and have a happy ending. I don't read them any more. Too many bad ones. I love the Aurora Teagarden mysteries written by Charlene Harris. We are talking good mysteries/movies. The same with the Garage Sale Mysteries and most of the other Hallmark type mysteries. They are cozy's on film. Why do they succeed when other's fail. I started a series about an Estate Sale mystery. By book three I hated the main character and and her sub characters were too weak to hold up the books. Then the plot failed. The craft of writing a mystery. Setting, characters, goals, conflicts and subplots crafted into a well written story. Now go write it."
BradJShaw ⚓
"Although I have read many cozies in my time, I find Lillian Braum's to always be a breath of fresh air. I personally have 15 of the 29 or 30 books she wrote, & have read them each I think maybe 2 or 3 times. Even though by now I know "whodunnit" in each of the 15 I have, it is still a joy to follow the antics of Quill, Koko, & Yumyum.
Thank you for this article on LJB. If I may request, the next time you get to do this, do you think you could research Sue Grafton. her passing was such a great loss to the mystery world."
LMs❤️BrewinMagic 
"What an awesome newsletter Eyestar. I enjoyed it immensely and will be looking for her books myself. ❤" |
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