Characters Form the Heart of Suspense/Thriller Fiction

If you are like me, the first time through a suspense/thriller novel, you’re focused on the action of the story, also known as the plot. Along the way, you are well aware of the characters and the issues the characters are dealing with because, let’s face it, there is no way to separate plot from character.

You may not want to read every thriller twice, but the ones you enjoy the most are worth a repeat visit. The second time around, focus on the characters rather than the plot. You already know what happens next. Now, you want to go deeper into how the characters are impacted by the action.

Start with the main character
What is the main character’s big problem at the start of the story? In my novel Fulfillment, Mary is a happily engaged teenager with no problem to deal out of the ordinary, thank you very much. But then Satan intervenes in her life which leaves her wondering why so much evil is out to get her? The answer comes from an angel visit, also early in the story. How Mary grows through her experiences on a journey that is both physical and spiritual is at the heart of her personal story. In my forthcoming novel, Faerie Tale, the main character has to fulfill a quest which forms the main action for the story while also growing my main character as a human being. But the supporting cast also grows. For example, Peevy begins the story as a man-hater. Watch how she changes through the story when I release the novel later this spring.

As the story you are reading progresses, look for how the characters solve their problems. One challenge is the main plot in which someone or something is out to cause harm. Look beyond this main plot. What else is an issue for the characters? How does each character deal with their issues? How do they grow or mature as the story progresses? How are the characters different at the end of the story compared to the way they were at the beginning?

In some suspense/thriller stories, the characters don’t go through much of a change. The author is telling a simple action story in which some people have to deal with a monster. That’s it. Story over. This approach is used in some series novels where the main character remains pretty much the same from novel to novel.

The second time you read a novel that is part of a series, look for subtle indications of change. You won’t find many unless the author plans to “grow” the character over the course of the series. Stay alert for mention of things that happened in the main character’s past life before the story began. These little insights tell you more about why the main character behaves the way she or he does.

The novels you really enjoy reading work so well because the author has built more into the story than the plot. By paying close attention to the characters on your second read, you’ll begin to see how the author builds a story that has an appealing complexity to it. This complexity is often compared to an onion where once you peel away one layer of the story, you discover another layer underneath. The more layers you peel off, the more you discover. Look for this depth as read and re-read the book.

To learn more about my novel Fulfillment, click here for Amazon or click here for paperback.

Here’s another novel idea…
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Reading for Plot

If like me, you’re hardwired for suspense/thriller stories, then you want to know what happens next. Sure you care about the main characters. Will she live or die? Will the boy marry the girl? But that first time around, we’re focused on the monster. How are they going to kill that thing?

Plot-driven fiction concentrates on the action, usually because the action is bigger than life. But all stories have action. All stories have plot. The difference when you read a plot-driven story is your satisfaction comes primarily from the action of the story rather than the changes the characters may undertake during the action.

In suspense/thriller genre fiction, the story opens with something bad happening but the reader isn’t clued in yet as to what the terror is. As the story continues and more bad things happen to good people, the reader realizes who or what the monster is. The characters in the story figure out who the monster is usually about one-third of the way through the novel. Once they know who is doing it, they go about the business of killing the beast. This journey or quest leads to a climactic battle in which the forces of good triumph over evil in the traditional suspense/thriller.

In more recent stories, the “monster” turns out to be not so bad after all. So the author lets the vampire off the hook in Twilight and the space monster gets his space ship back and leaves the earth unharmed in the film Super8. The real "monster" in Super8 isn't the monster at all. It's the air force officer who abuses the monster. But the space monster ends up killing his share of good guys as well as the evil air force officer.

This shift away from good versus evil reflects today’s culture where morality has degenerated into a philosophy based on “it’s all good.” In traditional storytelling, it ain’t "all good." There are good guys and bad guys. The main character’s job is to stop the bad guy. While it's important to understand we are all capable of good and evil actions, suspense/thriller stories work best when the forces of good battle the forces of evil with a clear victory for good. Otherwise the quest fails. Keep in mind suspense/thriller stories are bigger than life with no need to muck around in the depths of sloppy morality.

Read it again, Sam
One of the joys of the second time reading an action-driven story is discovering the characters. For example, in my novel Fulfillment, which is about God versus Satan, Mary starts out as an innocent, fearful young teenage girl. By story’s end, she is a strong woman who protects her infant son from the vilest of evils. In my soon to be released novel, Faerie Tale, an ex-con who has been beaten down by life after a wrongful conviction, grows into the strong, forceful personality well able to take on demonic forces. So just to contradict myself a little bit, mucking around in the depths of sloppy morality can add to the character development in a suspense/thriller story, but the author should tell this story from a moral base firmly rooted in good triumphs over evil.

To learn more about my novel Fulfillment, click here for Amazon or click here for paperback.

Here’s another novel idea…
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New Series: How to Read Suspense

I'm launching a new series of short videos and follow-up commentary for readers of suspense or thriller stories.

Is this you?
You find a book you like. You read it. You enjoy it. You put it on a shelf, toss it, give it away, return it to the library or wrap the fish in it, but your rarely read the novel more than once. Why not? You can learn a lot by reading a novel for the second or third time. For example, you enjoyed the book so much, you couldn't put it down. Ever wonder how the author kept your attention?

Starting with plot and character
The first topic in my series on reading suspense fiction is character-driven fiction versus plot-driven fiction. What's the difference? Why should you care as a reader? Enjoy the video and comment below.

Teen Angst

His eyes slid down the front of her dress and laughed at her knock knees. Then catching himself in the cold stare of her eyes, he said, “I’ve seen that dress somewhere before.”

Caught off guard, she laughed. “You knucklehead, you’ve been going to Saint Philomena’s for eight years. Of course you’ve seen my outfit before. And it’s a jumper, not a dress.”

“Told you I saw it before. But you didn’t wear it like that in first grade.”

“And you didn’t look at me like that in first grade, Billy Branmower.”

“Where’d those little bumps there in front come from?”

Later, after picking himself off the floor of the middle school hallway, he figured he wouldn’t try that last line when he got to ninth grade.

Locked Out of the Car

There they are. Yep. Right there on the seat where I dropped them.

Again.

Okay, don’t panic. Call the wife.

Cell phone.

Well, looky here. Right next to the keys. On seat. The other side of the lock.

Pay phone.

Oh, yeah.

They landfilled them all.

Hello! Hey, lady, can I… Lady. Hey. Yeah. You. Can you help me. No. No. I’m not a pervert. I just want your cell phone. What? No, I don’t think it would fit and ladies shouldn’t talk like that.

Cold. Yep, there’s the coat. On the seat. The one next to the seat with the keys and the cell phone.

Wish that lady would have called a cop.

Store can help. No. Too late. All closed.

Cops patrol. Where’s a donut shop when you need one?

Check Out the Review of My Novel Fulfillment

Annie Parks wrote a terrific review of Fulfillment. Check it out by clicking here. Annie is a great young writer, so I appreciate her insights. Fulfillment is available on Amazon by clicking here.

As a reminder, here is a blurb about the book: Mary lived in happy ignorance. Then in the roar of the beast and the hideous faces of the angry demons scampering across her bedroom floor, she became the central figure in a drama beyond her understanding. Her engagement to Joseph should have been joyful, but instead the secret concerning the baby in her womb attracted evil spirits, a king, soldiers and a would-be lover all bent on destroying her. Mary’s journey, while steeped with betrayal and the foul stench of the ultimate demon, is a setup for an even bigger story. She discovers a lost love found, the promise of a newborn king, and a wealth of new friends from a dwarf with the heart of a warrior to the young mother whose husband and children are murdered in a bloody massacre.

Vampires on the Moon

“Take a deep breath. Okay, now swallow. Notice the difference?”
“Uhmm, we’re back in the caves?”
“Notice the sweet taste? It’s not there topside when we breathe from the air tanks.”
“Being the new guy, you probably don’t know that Matilda Langingfroth makes huge volumes of fudge for the black market.”
“It’s not chocolate you smell.”
“Oh crap. What is it? No, don’t tell me.”
“Vampires.”
“You’ve got to be kidding, right?”
“And you thought the moon was safe? I thought I was the new guy.”
“I didn’t know vampires smelled of chocolate.”
“Only on the moon. Something about the lack of oxygen. Vampires don’t need air, so they muck about over on the dark side. But the lack of oxygen affects their body chemistry. Comes out smelling like chocolate. That’s how you can tell if one is wandering about your human caves to feed.”
“Is that important?”
“It is if you smell chocolate, like now.”
“Why?”
“Vampires. Think about it.”