M/T/S-- Definitions and Word Counts

emeraldcite

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Although, maybe this info has appeared in other threads in M/T/S, but I couldn't find it with a quick browse through.

So how about throwing out some definitions of Mystery, Thriller, and Suspense, and even maybe some of the subgenres, and the average word counts.

I'm off to do some research. I remember reading a really good article on this one time, but it doesn't appear to be listed in my favorites. Maybe I can dredge it up.
 

Linda Adams

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Thriller

Thriller itself is hard to define, partially because of a lot of the definition comes from the individual subgenres--plus the fact that a lot of people get it confused with mystery.

But here's some basics that are pretty consistent across all Thrillers:

Thrills: Thrillers are exciting, dangerous, with unexpected twists and turns. The reader never knows what will happen next--only that something is going to happen.

High stakes: While money might work as a motivation in a mystery, it isn't high enough stakes for all the things that the bad guy is going to do in the book. They have got to be big stakes. *** Note: This is a very common problem when trying to write a thriller.

Complex plots: Thrillers also have very complex storylines. Because the stakes are so high, a complex storyline is needed to pull it off. Unfortunately, the minus of this is that storylines can get overly complex very easily.

Stories aren't always what they seem: A thriller may start out appearing to be one way and take a complete left turn into something entirely different--and it may take 2/3's of the book for all the elements to come together and everyone to figure out what's going on!

Credibility: Thrillers also push the credibility, partially because the stakes need to be so high. However, it also easily plays up very nicely with elements that we all think, "I know that can't really happen, but what if it did?" What if someone found the Elixir of Life? Or a dinosaur bone with flesh on it? Or found the Alexandria Library?

Action: A thriller isn't a thriller without action. Where in a mystery, your basic action is the detective getting hit over the head, a thriller has far more action and also tends to be far more violent.

Technobabble: A lot of Thrillers--not all though--will be based on some form of technobabble. That is, the readers of the particular subgenres will be expecting to see the appropriate lingo that goes along with the subgenre.

And if a writer can come up with a new subgenre that catches on, it can go to blockbuster. Many thrillers have been used for movies.

Subgenres (Thrillers may fall into more than one subgenre):
  1. Medical Thriller (Tess Gerritsen, Robin Cook)
  2. Techno-Thriller (still selling, but not as hot as it used to be; Clancy)
  3. Action-Adventure Thriller (Clive Cussler; Preston/Child--Jaws was an action-adventure Thriller. This is one of the hardest subgenres to write because so much action is required)
  4. Serial Killer Thriller (James Patterson, Jeffrey Deaver; the goal of these books is pretty much to kill lots of women in horrific ways. This is easily the most popular of the subgenres. It's very hard finding a thriller that doesn't deal with a serial killer.)
  5. Legal Thriller (John Grisholm; note--these are actually not realistic if you look at the legal system, but if they tried to be realistic, the stories would be be boring)
  6. Renaissance Thriller (my term for it; this is popularized by Dan Brown. I have since seen a number of books based on things from the Rennaissance)
  7. Eccesiastical Thriller (this came from my library actually; Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code also falls into it)
  8. Political Thriller (Vince Flynn; politics drive the story)
  9. Romantic Thriller (M.J. Rose, Holly Lisle--has major romance between the lead characters; storylines usually revolve around serial killers)
  10. Military Thriller (W.E.B. Griffin, Dale Brown--anything Special Ops or submarines, military aircraft)
  11. Literary Thriller (can't give any examples, but I have seen books listed in PW as this; I don't think there's a lot)
  12. Historical Thriller (again, can't give any examples, but I have seen books in PW as this; I don't think there's a lot)
  13. Forensic Thriller (Patricia Cornwall; this is a sister to the Medical Thriller, but the focus is on forensic technology)
Word Count: For a first time writer, 90K-120K.
 

Linda Adams

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Suspense

Since no one tackled suspense, I'll try it, though I know far less about it than thriller. Unfortunately, there really is little information on the genre; the only two books that even discuss it treat Thriller and Suspense don't do the genres justice.

Suspense is more violent than a mystery, but far less violent than a thriller. Less blood and gore, and it's generally not shown on the page. Where a mystery is intellectual--a detective picking through the clues to solve the crime--a suspense is more emotional. Some action, but stories will focus more on the emotional side of things than the action. Crimes are involved in the stories and are likely to include serial killers, stalkers, etc. Suspense is generally for women readers. You will usually find a woman character as the lead, and they are likely to have a romantic element.

Very common storylines are a woman having a bad experience and resettling in another place to escape from it--only to find it again; stalkers; serial killers (far, far, far less violent than what we see in Thriller). I've seen the amnesia story turn up here, too. Story structure is very different than Thriller or Mystery. Both those genres tend to start with having the hero go in to fix something; in suspense, trouble finds the heroine or she stumbles into it.

Subgenres:

Paranormal: I've seen a lot these out, so they're pretty popular. Authors include Kay Hooper. Nice article in Romantic Times recently.

FemJep: Stands for Females in Jeopardy. Mary Higgins Clark.

ChildJep: Children in jeopardy. I believe Mary Higgins Clark may have also written in the subgenre.

Romantic: The difference here between this and the romantic thriller is the amount of violence. Story structure will also be different--the lead character will stumble into the crime as opposed to going in to fix the problem.