What is it that attracts you to writing and reading thrillers?
I love thrillers. That edge of your seat, nail-biting, suspenseful, almost anxiety inducing type of storytelling really gets my blood pumping, both as a writer and a reader. As with everything, character is at the heart of a good thriller. I like to get to know my characters, care about them, and then put them through hell. That’s the beginning of a good thriller. As a reader, I get drawn in by the character’s plight. As a writer, writing the characters in those situations is part of the fun. The other part is figuring out how to then get the characters out of the trouble they’ve gotten themselves into. Everything starts with character. Once I get to know and trust my characters, they will tell me how they want to handle a particular situation. That also opens up some cool story beats and plot twists. Sometimes my characters won’t do what I want them to do.
Another good thing about thrillers is that they mix very well with other genres. You can have a mystery/thriller, crime/thriller, sci-fi/thriller, political/thriller, medical/thriller, suspense/thriller, action/thriller, literary/thriller, pulp/thriller, and so on and on. Almost everything I write has a little bit of thriller in it.
What are the key elements of a thriller?
There are no hard and fast rules for writing a thriller. As soon as we put together rules, a writer will come along with a novel that proves the exception to them. In general, thrillers tend to include these elements.
A powerful antagonist (villain) who can challenge the protagonist (hero) is important. Thrillers generally need both. Most often, there is a personal stake involved or it becomes personal as you go along. A detective keeps interfering in the killer’s plans, so the killer puts focus on beating or taking out the detective. A stalker and their prey. Someone out for revenge. The villain needs a good motivation or presence. Character is everything.
Your protagonist is just as important as your antagonist. Character is everything. This is usually your point of view character for the reader as well. We get to know them, root for them, like them. Usually, though it’s not a requirement, the protagonist is flawed or under some pressure outside of the main story. It gives them one more obstacle to overcome. For example: Harry Bosch is worried about his daughter working undercover and meddles while trying to solve his own case. Tension and anxiety are traits used often in thrillers.
As your thriller moves along, the stakes should get raised. The killer fixates on a detective or the victim that got away, a tragedy separate from the main plot derails your protagonist, or something that raises the stakes as the story progresses. A ticking clock or deadline works well to raise the stakes. We have to catch the killer before he strikes again. We’ve got twenty-four hours to find the antidote before our poisoned protagonist dies. We have to get across town before the assassin finds his target. This keeps your story moving. Thrillers tend to move at a fast clip.
Thrillers often have twists. This is not always necessary, but as a writer, I love writing a good twist. Twists can elevate your story, but it’s important that the twist makes sense. It can’t simply happen. The twist needs to make sense and have things setting it up so the reader has that “Ah Ha!” moment when they realize why something that happened a few chapters back totally makes more sense now. Twists are tough but can be rewarding.
MacGuffins are also a staple of crime and mystery thrillers. Sending your readers down one path to think that the wrong character is the villain can be fun. Like twists, however, they can be tough to pull off. Make sure your clues are there so when we find out the MacGuffin character is not the villain, it makes sense. I sometimes struggle with this because when I write a clue, because I know it’s a clue, it feels supremely obvious to me even though it might not be to the reader. That’s where a good editor and beta reader can help. I was convinced that everyone would know the identity of the killer in my first published novel, Evil Ways as soon as introduced. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this was not the case.
Tell us a bit about your thrillers.
My first published novel back in 2005, EVIL WAYS, was a mystery/suspense/thriller with a bit of horror tacked on for good measure. It allowed me to mix together various story styles I wanted. I think it worked. It also made for a good elevator pitch: Die Hard’s John McClane finds himself in a horror movie. That was the pitch, and most people knew what to expect from that. The sequel, EVIL INTENT, was released last year. It too has a thriller vibe, but it’s more crime/thriller. The plot is less horror and more crime, but it still feels like part of the same series starring FBI Agent Harold Palmer.
DEADLY GAMES! was my second published novel. It falls into the action/thriller vein. I love writing action and adding the thriller elements allowed me to tell a suspenseful story and still ramp up the action. Deadly Games! is a revenge story. The villain of the piece has plans for his enemies. Can they survive those plans? Homicide detective John Bartlett and reporter Benjamin West are the main protagonists in this one. The action and thriller tropes blend well together. I’m working on the sequel, DEADLY DEALS! now and it is also an action/thriller. The main characters return to face off against a new foe. Can they catch a killer before the next victim is discovered?
The SNOW series mixes thrillers and action, but also brings other genres into the mix as needed. One book is all action. Another is a mystery. Yet another is a crime story. The thriller part ties the series together and connects each book. Abraham Snow is a former undercover government agent when his cover is blown, and he is shot and left for dead on a South American airstrip. He survives but is forced to retire as his injuries make him unable to perform undercover. Still, Snow can’t help himself. He tries to help others, becomes a private investigator, and is still trying to find the man who shot him while trying to build a normal life for himself. I’m currently writing book 7 of Snow’s adventures.
The TOM MYERS series is a mystery/thriller series set in the small town/county of Sommersville, Georgia and starring Sheriff Tom Myers and his deputies. Sommersville was created for Evil Ways and also appears in Deadly Games! and the Snow series so the potential for crossovers is there. Sheriff Myers appears in Evil Ways, Deadly Games!, and Evil Intent. The character connected with me so well that he kept reminding me that he deserved his own stories. It took a while, but I finally found the story for him. I’m currently working on book 3 of this series. I love playing with the crime and suspense of a small community. There’s a lot of room for thriller stories to be told in this setting.
SUICIDE BOMB was my attempt to work in a bit of sci-fi to a mystery/thriller. A mystery villain known as The Controller has developed a way to turn ordinary people into cold-blooded assassins who them take their own lives once the mission is complete. Homicide detective Catherine “Jacks” Jackson and Secret Service Agent Samantha Patterson join forces to stop him before he goes after his ultimate target, the President of the United States. This one is a stand-alone, but I would love to revisit these characters one day.
What are some of the techniques used to put thrills and suspense into a novel or short story?
Unlike movies and TV, my novel doesn’t have the mood music to evoke a reaction. I also can’t do jump scares or have odd camera angles and lights and shadows to heighten tension. There are still ways to evoke those type of reactions in prose. Even though readers do not all read at the same speed, the pacing of the action is mine to control. If I need to speed things up, short, choppy sentences are read faster, giving the illusion of urgency. To slow things down, larger paragraphs work well. Then, once your reader is calm and reading at the slower pace, you can throw the literary equivalent of a jump scare or rising music by switching back to short, choppy sentences to ramp up the urgency. Word usage also plays a role here. Big words slow down the action. Shorter, harsher words can propel it.
Action scenes are less descriptive. I’ve already set the stage before the action starts. You know the location and details about obstacles, colors of walls, other information about where things are happening. When the action kicks off, we’re running, jumping, but not describing. Here’s an example:
Officer Sean Taylor hated working security during tech conference weekends, but he drew the short straw and his captain had given him the assignment. When he was younger, crowds didn’t bother him, but these days, the thought of being shoulder to shoulder with thousands of people made him sick to his stomach. It wasn’t just the potential for catching something, especially in a world where pandemics seemed to happen on a regular basis, but after being trapped inside that hotel basement last year when the earthquake caused a collapse, he preferred to be outside where he could see blue skies and fluffy little clouds, not inside with the recycled air and piped in muzak.
The hotel might have been five stars all the way, but it still felt like a prison. Couches lined the lobby, soft and relaxing. The open floorplan offered wide open spaces with high ceilings where chandeliers hung freely, but it didn’t matter.
He still felt trapped.
“Get it together,” he muttered. “You can’t afford to lose this job.”
Before he could dwell on those thoughts more, he heard a familiar crack!
A gunshot!
He looked left, right, to the upper floors.
Nothing!
The first shot had been a surprise.
The second shot resulted in a dropped body.
Nearby, someone screamed.
Panic took hold seconds later.
Instinct took over and Sean ran toward the downed victim.
"Shots fired!” he shouted into the mic clipped to his collar.
He dropped next to the bleeding victim.
“Don’t move!”
“He… hel…” the bleeding man gurgled, drowning in his own blood.
“Don’t talk! Help’s on the way!”
Another shot echoed off the wall.
Realizing how exposed he was, Officer Taylor missed the crowd.
The scene starts out slow. You get to know the character, in this case one based on our host. You also get part of the setting. In an actual novel, you would probably get a bit more, but for the purposes of the example, it works. It’s a pleasant read. No urgency. No real anxiety, although I’ve placed the thought of it in your mind because he doesn’t like the crowd.
When the gunshot happens, the action moves faster. Short sentences then on to the next short sentence, etc. If I’ve done my job correctly, you feel that urgency start at this point.
What thrillers would you recommend outside of your own novels?
Michael Connelly’s Harry Bosch novels are a must read. Alex Kava’s Maggie O’Dell and Ryder Creed novels, Beverly Conner’s Lindsay Chamberlain novels, anything by Elmore Leonard or Stephen J. Cannell, Lee Goldberg, Paul Bishop, or Max Allen Collins. There are a lot of great thrillers out there to choose from.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I am a writer. I am not a hero. I am not an adventurer. I am not a detective (though I did play one on TV once). I am the guy who tells stories about these types of characters. I love getting to know characters and team up with them to tell stories that I hope readers will enjoy. I want readers to be entertained.
In addition to my own creations, some of which are mentioned above, I have been fortunate to write some tie-in fiction with amazing characters I did not create, but like. A few of these include Zorro, Sherlock Holmes, Domino Lady, The Lone Ranger, The Green Hornet, The Spider, The Avenger, and others. It’s fun to play with someone else’s toys from time to time. I just have to make sure I don’t break them. Ha! Ha!
I have been fortunate to win an award or three for my writing, which is always a tremendous bonus. You can check out all of my work at www.bobbynash.com and www.ben-books.com. Find me on social media and say hello.
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Bobby Nash is an award-winning author. He writes novels (
Snow, Evil Ways, Deadly Games!, Nightveil: Crisis at the Crossroads of Infinity), comic books (
Edgar Rice Burroughs’ At The Earth’s Core, Domino Lady, Operation: Silver Moon), short fiction (Mama Tried, Domino Lady, Yours Truly Johnny Dollar, The Avenger), and the odd short screenplay (Starship Farragut “Conspiracy of Innocence, Hospital Ship Marie Curie “Under Fire”).
Bobby is a member of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers and International Thriller Writers.
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