This week: Recipe for a Thriller Edited by: Carol St.Ann  
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| “If a thriller doesn't thrill, it's not doing its job.” — James Patterson |
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Earlier this month, I outlined the primary differences between the mystery, thriller, and suspense stories.
The focus of the mystery is the how and why of what has already happened. The main focus of the thriller is what can, or is likely to, happen.
We’ll tackle mystery next NL, but for now, let’s examine the main elements - the recipe, if you will, of a riveting thriller.
•A crime or developing crimes readers are aware of, but the characters often have no idea of until well into the story.
•A victim who may or may not know they are in grave danger.
•A master antagonist devoid of reason, due to a mental or emotional issue or trauma that has developed into anger, obsession, derangement, revenge, or irrational hatred.
•Clues & red herrings: We all know what these are. Use them sparingly and strategically. Just be sure they work.
•A conversation in praise of the villain’s cleverness or brilliance typically by detectives stalking the case, or the unwitting victim.
•Antagonist’s object of desire: The real or imagined reason for the antagonist’s obsessive behavior. (A romantic obsession or in some real masterpieces the object gets the title: The Ring, The Maltese Falcon, Mysery)
•A shapeshifter: The antagonist can easily fool other characters and sometimes the reader by morphing into (faking) whatever s/he has to be to manipulate and bend them at will to accomplish his/her goal.
•More than one life at stake: As the stakes rise, characters who are getting too close to the answers are, themselves, in danger of becoming the next victim.
•The ticking clock: (Something) has to happen within a specified time frame, or else.
•A false ending: Once the antagonist is revealed and all seems well, readers take a deep breath and relax only to find it’s not over yet! Something still lurks, unresolved.
Thank you for reading!
Think of your favorite thriller. Can you spot all these elements?
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One Last Thing!
Remember to nominate great mysteries!
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If you’ve got a mystery in your head:
Try out your mystery chops here:
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Flesh out your mystery story here:
or here (coming soon):
Workshop it here with dedicated, in-depth reviews:
Enjoy these great reads and consider sharing your thriller with this newsletter!
| |  | Wolves (E)
A young man is followed home by a pack of wolves. Or is he?
#2273286 by Vampyr14  |
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What was the best thriller you’ve ever read? Share its best moment. |
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Mystery: March 22, 2023 Issue [#11872]
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