Writing Stack Exchange
Writing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [thriller]

This tag should be used for questions about the genre of thriller, which is defined as trying to elicit suspense and anxiety in the reader, such as questions about phrasing something so that the reader will feel "on edge".

This tag should be used for questions about the genre of thriller, which is defined as trying to elicit suspense and anxiety in the reader, such as questions about phrasing something so that the reader will feel "on edge".

You should mention who your target audience is and what characterizes them, as well as what you are trying to achieve and why you didn't succeed in it so far.

24 questions
20
votes
5 answers

How to include deliberate inconsistencies without it seeming like lazy or bad writing?

I'm writing a thriller (scifi/supernatural) and have a race of characters who can bend reality. They've come to earth with the intent of purging humanity. They can do it, but they have limitations. The limitation that's relevant to my question…
aurorajack
  • 607
  • 6
  • 12
12
votes
4 answers

Antagonist lacks motivation - where do I find it?

My triller has an Antagonist who is classified as a sociopath and narcissist. He becomes infatuated with my MC who is an Ex-Army sergeant making a living in close protection services. He sees that they have both been treated unfairly by the "system"…
Karma
  • 121
  • 6
8
votes
3 answers

How to exclude swearing from my thriller novel?

I'm working on a psychological thriller. I know that most books in this genre use at least some profanity. But I, myself, don't swear. I never have. Sometimes I let one slip, but other than that I don't swear, and I don't want to include swearing in…
Kailah
  • 285
  • 2
  • 8
7
votes
4 answers

What makes "thrilling" writing?

I am writing a thriller, but even though it is filled with exciting events, it is starting to feel boring to me. My Scenario: This girl (Freya) has amnesia and the doctor that is helping her(Lana) who is also a single mother has a lost daughter who…
Yass Meen
  • 370
  • 1
  • 6
7
votes
3 answers

Can a mystery novel have more than one mystery in it? And does it have to be a "who dunnit" concept?

I am writing a novel and it goes something like this: In the first half of the novel, the protagonist knows who is doing the killing, but they are trying to make sense of it as in "how are they doing it?" and "why are they doing it?" In the second…
Kora Middleson
  • 71
  • 1
6
votes
3 answers

What is the difference in pacing between thriller and mystery genres?

I know mystery novels focus on unraveling a puzzle and something unsolved, and that thrillers are more about heightened excitement and suspense. I'm curious what the difference in pacing is. If you have written/read for either or both genres, what…
lilytun
  • 71
  • 2
5
votes
4 answers

Best way to write chilling, short thriller/horror without getting gory in a natural setting?

What are the tricks to writing short, chilling stories that don't resort to blood or cliched monsters, in a setting in nature of hunter/hunted? EDIT: While this edit isn't meant to invalidate any of the (interesting, good) answers below, I do think…
FoxElemental
  • 663
  • 1
  • 5
  • 18
3
votes
5 answers

How do I create tension around a threat which isn't immediately, personally harmful?

I'm at the end of chapter 1 of my book, where the protagonist (a cyberterrorist) commits his first terror attacks by attacking the servers of a power plant and a government at the same time. My problem is, these kind of attacks aren't as exciting…
DarkYagami
  • 1,005
  • 9
  • 20
2
votes
3 answers

In a thriller, should my famous cities be familiar, or fresh?

The bigger, and more famous, a city, the more it tends to show up in thrillers. The biggest ones - New York, London, Paris, Tokyo - have been set-pieces in any number of thrillers, and I can assume most of my readers have read other novels using…
Standback
  • 28,354
  • 7
  • 57
  • 140
2
votes
2 answers

How to add the “thriller” in a supernatural thriller?

I’ve had this idea for awhile now and would love to start planning and writing it but I don’t know how to make it a supernatural thriller. I know how to write the supernatural part. Basically, the main thought I’ve had is a family that fights…
Kailah
  • 285
  • 2
  • 8
2
votes
3 answers

Is inconsistent tone in a thriller always a bad thing?

I've heard that changing tone is a bad thing, because we're expected to remain consistent in tone, but I am wondering if this is really true and if there can be exception to the rule. For example, in my thriller, the story starts off as a slow-burn…
user36239
2
votes
1 answer

What is the average word count for a scene in a chapter?

Does the average scene-word-count lessen for a YA/children's novel and increase for, say, an adult thriller?
Frank Feldman
  • 21
  • 1
  • 2
1
vote
2 answers

How can I learn to write thrillers?

I'm newbie in writing books. How can I learn to write thrillers? There are books to learn how to write, and other resources. But how can I learn to specifically write thrillers? What skills do I need to learn, compared to writing in more general…
Prabhu Natarajan
  • 165
  • 6
1
vote
2 answers

If one is in a hall of mirrors, at a carnival for example, would this sentence make sense, or is kaleidoscope incorrect (Also Me's?)

I have this sentence in a flash fiction. My alpha/beta readers are unsure if the wording is correct, and I am starting to doubt myself. As I entered, I picked a mirror ahead of me and locked eyes with my reflection, ignoring the infinite…
Mikayla
  • 11
  • 2
1
vote
1 answer

How to accurately write a post-nuclear winter novel in which supplies are limited?

The story I'm writing is a post-nuke winter novel in which the MC is born into a "safe dome" where the resources are limited. They have no animals for food and the only crops they have are cotton, sugarcane, mushrooms, and rice. They survive off of…
Confusing Fungus
  • 11
  • 2
1
2