When is a thriller not a thriller?

Oh, man. I was thrilled when I came up with my idea for a story. I was thrilled when I was writing it. I am thrilled when I read it.
Does that not a thriller make?

I guess not, when my protagonist has time to:
1) have dinner with his wife
2) be intimate (many times) with his girlfriend
3) play a few rounds of golf with his best friend

all while trying to figure out his internal and external conflicts.

My protagonist is in danger, because he sets himself up for it by trusting the wrong people. He is not constantly running from danger, but finds himself in it, and has to figure out how.
His past actions catch up to him, and there are repercussions.
In the first thirty pages, of a 400-page ms, I introduce the protagonist, the antagonist, and the situation that triggers the danger he's in for the remainder of the story. At the end of the story, he has to make a decision, which is a result of the initial situation.

Suspense??? Seems like this would be the correct genre.
I used this as a reference:
http://www.dailywritingtips.com/is-your-novel-mystery-thriller-or-suspense/


I never considered changing genres of a nearly-finished ms, but I guess it's possible...

JulianneQJohnson said:

It does sound more like suspense. Suspense often starts with the MC unaware that he's in danger, and follow the MC as they find out about the danger. The reader often finds out about some of the danger before the MC does.

In a thriller, while the MC might have time dinner with his wife, is in danger from the get go.

That's how I understand it, anyway. Deciding between Mystery/Thriller/Suspense can get boggy.

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Yes, thank you. The genres seem to blend together, and I too am thinking Suspense.

Thanks for the reply!

blacbird said:

When it doesn't thrill readers. Simple as that. For me, as reader, I like suspense. Lots of action, explosions, etc., tend to bore me rather than thrill me. My all-time favorite "thriller" novel is the disturbingly quiet and nasty suspense novel Watcher in the Shadows by the mid-20th century British writer Geoffrey Household. You want to get a feel for writing suspense, read that one.

caw

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Thanks! I'm adding that book to my reading list...

Namatu said:

A few years back when I was researching genres, I came across something (can't remember where) that noted in thrillers, the stakes are often very high. Not just the MC's life, but the fate of the country/world/other big what-have-you. Which, thinking back on many thrillers I've read, seems apt. An accurate measurement? No idea. Just my faded memory's $0.02.

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Makes sense. And that means my story is a... Suspense story. Not a thriller. Thanks!

cbenoi1 said:

Thriller vs Suspense as story structures (as opposed to marketing genres, which can often be arbitrary):


Thrillers are gut wrenching personal; a cat & mouse mind game, threat of death at every corner, rarely violent.

Thriller movies: Basic Instinct, Panic Room, Michael Clayton, Fatal Attraction, Firewall, Sea Of Love.



Suspense is more your cop & robber or spy story; equal foes at opposite ends, a battle of wits & fists, a series of attacks and counter-attacks, pursuits.

Suspense movies: Shooter, Heat, Ocean's Eleven, Ronin, Speed, Swordfish, Now You See Me.



Hope this helps.

-cb

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Thank you, this paints a better picture.