How to write a psychological thriller novel

Ever wondered how to write a compelling psychological thriller novel? While there's a lot of general information out there, I wanted to share my experience and top tips from writing my thriller, and give you some practical craft tools to write your own.
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Chapters
01:01 What is a psychological thriller?
02:27 Maintaining the balance between internal and external conflict in psychological thrillers
03:18 Start with familiar emotions
04:11 The biggest enemy is the self
04:49 Use the unreliable narrator
05:59 Every character has secrets
07:01 Walk the tightrope between two questions
08:18 Plan your reversals
09:33 How to end a psychological thriller novel

[@quantumperception]

You're close so far, lol. I searched "psychological horror writing" because I am writing a horror gaming campaign that I am writing, and I could use ideas. I don't generally like horror, but people in my D&D group want it, so I am giving it a try. Hopefully these techniques will be applicable. But you nearly nailed me on that first part, lol.

[@KatClay]

Yeah I write games too, so a lot of these techniques could be used to write a game for your players. Would be interesting to see them applied to D&D - I'm more of a CoC player where the thriller aspect definitely applies.

[@tevinaponsu9418]

Well i typed the exact same thing lmao

[@UN1VERS3S]

@@KatClay hello ma'am. Can you tell me where do you get your inspiration for your thrillers?

[@_Bleh_83]

I’m making my phycological story in a fantasy setting and this video is helping me a lot

[@KatClay]

Thanks Lily, good luck!!

[@thelaziestbee]

Imagine? Me too!!

[@daddycosmic291]

Thanks , Kat ..im gonna write physchological thriller ...wanna be a great author .. im 14 but not small my story was good and after this video it became great

[@daviduprexler6753]

Exactly what I need, right now, to complete a psychological thriller. Thanks, Kat.

[@KatClay]

No probs David! Good luck 😃

[@Randoplants]

I did not actually realize I was writing a psychological thriller til watching this video, and now I can see why it’s been so hard to find the right advice for it! Thanks, this very helpful!

[@KatClay]

No problem! Glad it could help 😃

[@sophlinn]

i literally JUST finished watching the talented mr. ripley a few minutes ago 🤯

[@KatClay]

Wooooo the new tv show or the movie? I love the film.

[@JustinB_Oz]

Thanks for the useful tips Kat!

[@KatClay]

Thanks Justin 😘

[@trinahisler9775]

Just found this video. It's exactly what I have been looking for! Thank you! 🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@KatClay]

Glad it could help!

[@priscilandreza]

Loved this, so helpful. Thank you 😊

[@KatClay]

Glad it could help!

[@tampagirl7533]

This was fabulous!!! Just what I was looking for!

[@KatClay]

Glad to hear it! Good luck with your writing 😃

[@tomaria100]

Excellent, Kat! Thank you!

[@KatClay]

Glad it was helpful!

[@belletoro3100]

Love how you used classic examples from the Greats. Nice video. I wish everyone the best on their writing journey.

[@KatClay]

Thankyou! And best of luck to you too.

[@winterrenes1249]

Super helpful and enlightening, thank you!

[@KatClay]

Thanks so much!

[@viharim8513]

Great job. Please do more of this in as many genres as possible 😃

[@KatClay]

Thanks mate! I'll try my best :D

[@stefanienici]

This was a great video. I am Switching genres and working on a psychological thriller now. This definitely helped. Thanks!

[@KatClay]

Wonderful! Great to hear.

[@rizzierizriz]

You're awesome, thank you for this very insightful video, it will help me a lot!! ❤

[@KatClay]

Thankyou 🤗

[@kenward1310]

Great video. Thank you!

[@KatClay]

Thanks! Glad it could help.

[@hyspan1754]

Great video - thanks!

[@KatClay]

My pleasure!

[@aarchi89]

That was sucha good explanation

[@KatClay]

Thank you! ☺️

[@dennisgonzalez3363]

I am a screen writer and this video was incredibly helpful. Thank you so much!!!!!!!

[@KatClay]

Thanks Dennis! Glad I could help 🤗

[@Vivian_Alice]

Thank you this was VERY helpful!!

[@KatClay]

Glad to help Vivian

[@ronpitdis]

Hey! thanks for this video. I have been working on a psychological thriller with a friend of mine. We came up with this story just randomly on a night at Marine Lines (A location in Mumbai) within 2 hours and it really is a very good one, I decided to write it and give it a face. This video helped me understand few points better like every character having their own secrets, to balance between the information and how to keep the reader in doubt. It really helped, thanks once again.

[@KatClay]

Hey Ronnie, so great to hear that it was helpful for you. Best of luck with your story - Mumbai would be a great location for a thriller.

[@patbrumph6769]

Excellent video.

[@KatClay]

Thanks Pat!

[@NAMEREDACTED-lg4bw]

Good video, thanks!

[@KatClay]

You're welcome!

[@manniesreactionchannel3808]

I’m currently writing a psychological thriller. I think it’s a very intriguing genre.

[@KatClay]

That it is! Best of luck with your story.

[@manniesreactionchannel3808]

@@KatClay Thanks , I greatly appreciate it .

[@manniesreactionchannel3808]

Great information I’m soaking it in like a sponge.” 🧠👏🏾💪🏾

[@KatClay]

Thanks!

[@manniesreactionchannel3808]

@@KatClay you’re welcome!

[@WTFVexxi]

Very insightful tips! I'm currently trying to write a psychological thriller that crosses over into the surrealism/fantasy realm where the protagonist escapes into an alternate reality from the real world frequently, and has to stop the antagonist from the alternate reality from committing crimes in our world. It can be difficult walking that tightrope of the Thriller genre for sure!

[@KatClay]

Yes it can be very challenging especially with the added genre issues! I'd definitely check out Lauren Beukes' The Shining Girls as a great example of a cross genre thriller.

[@WTFVexxi]

@@KatClay Thanks, I'll be sure to check that out!

[@randomguy3000]

I've always wanted to write a short story (I'm not a writer or anything just for myself) about a killer and a detective and the cat and mouse atmosphere. The problem is I have no idea how investigations really work and I don't want to make any plot mistakes that'll make people say why didn't the protagonist just do this or that

[@KatClay]

There are definitely resources at hand to help you write accurate police work. In both the US and the UK police run workshops for writers which can be very helpful for understanding proceedural work. Other than that, a number of the crime fiction writing orgs such as the CWA run workshops on these topics.

[@randomguy3000]

@@KatClay that's awesome!!

[@PsychoAuthorIX]

Cool

[@manniesreactionchannel3808]

“This is a interesting genre I want to write a psychological thriller.”

[@KatClay]

Yeah I love psych thrillers. A lot of fun to read and write.

[@manniesreactionchannel3808]

@@KatClay yes very . It makes you use your creative mind .

[@cralston800]

Hi Kay! I am writing a psychological thriller and I was wondering if I can have some advice on my plot.

[@vennisan7268]

Hello! So, I'm currently writing a fanfic for a game that's already kind of a psychological thriller. It's not the main focus of it but it's one of the major factors, and it's very well-written. My gripe with it though was that the mc was ridiculously oblivious. She trusted what was essentially her kidnapper too much, and I wanted to fix that in my fic. I'm planning to write it in a way that derails a lot from cannon. Different scenes, different attitude from mc, but the main plot twists still remain the same because those twists are essential for all the core characters even in my story. I want to keep them in suspense even though they already know what's going to happen in my story since they've played the game. But how do I do that? How do I still make the reveal have great impact even though they already know the secret?

[@KatClay]

I think the best way to approach this is to look at media that does this already. The TV show Chernobyl is one of the best examples where we know the outcome, but the show works because that's where the tragedy lies. Likewise Titanic - it's tragic because we know what will happen, but characters we are invested in are still trying to survive despite the odds. And that's what makes it harrowing. So your audience might know the outcome, but if your character is fighting against it, that can make the story thrilling. Hope that helps!

[@Milan-tf5we]

Importants topics apart, u look like scarlett Johnson (or Johansson maybe)

[@KatClay]

Thanks 🤭

[@feraluwu9426]

These are such useful tips, but what if your writing dialogue in a videogame? I planned on using art in the background and also dialogue, but do you think there is anything else I can do to have an optimistic little kid take a sad twist?

[@KatClay]

I'd recommend looking at the work of Stephen King. He's got a few stories which feature children in a terrifying situation.

[@feraluwu9426]

@@KatClay awesome sauce! Thank you sooooo much, dialogue is so hard sometimes… especially with matches facial expressions 😂❤️

[@DreamingTruth.author]

That was very helpful. Thank you ❤

[@KatClay]

No problem!

[@sarahlouise5012]

I usually write my symptoms into fiction and I think it's decent and makes sense but when someone else reads it nothing makes sense... I guess I'm the unreliable narrator

[@KatClay]

That's very meta!

[@sarahlouise5012]

@@KatClay it's great, uni has figured out and called a meeting yay so fun

[@achristinaportillo3548]

Writing psych horror, I need guidance on writing hallucinations.

[@raghvendrasinghsengar8360]

Yep me too, here are some valuable tips I used that helped me to write hallucinations. •Research on disorders, especially those that are connected with hallucination. Example:- schizophrenia. •Use metaphors and a serious and real tone. Try to make it as real as possible while making a twisted reality. • Write, small, *impossible details* in your scene.

[@KatClay]

Thanks both! I would also recommend looking into automatic writing and stream of consciousness to give the work a hallucinogenic quality. Best of luck with your writing projects.

[@raghvendrasinghsengar8360]

@@KatClay Thanks! May please you elaborate what do you mean by automatic writing systems?

[@MuhammadDanyalKhan]

Did I see Frodo?

[@KatClay]

Maybe?

[@MuhammadDanyalKhan]

@@KatClay LOTR action figures?

[@KatClay]

My preciousesssssss (i love lotr and have a bunch of figurines on my desk including Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn, and Eowyn)@@MuhammadDanyalKhan

[@MuhammadDanyalKhan]

@@KatClay My friend... You bow to no one!

[@mohammedkuwajarwala]

What if the protagonist just die in the ending

[@KatClay]

I guess it's possible but there has to be a reason for it, and it needs to be meaningful.

[@misschocolates]

@@KatClay just like in death note

[@gianlucasoriani1]

Really useful tips.Thank you. I'm a film director and you can see (free of charge) my films thriller on my KZbin channel

[@KatClay]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

[@crabbearyscottage9899]

Thank you so much 💓 this is the best one so far and it helped me break down the structure to write my first story about a schizophrenic lady in the 1800's. I can't wait to get started 🤍⚜

[@KatClay]

So glad to hear it!! Good luck with your book ☺️

[@SaraMaria101]

Really helpful video, thanks a lottt. 🤍

[@KatClay]

No problem Sara, glad to help!

[@helenbucknall2317]

This was really helpful thanks!

[@KatClay]

Glad it helped!