How to Write Crime Fiction: Suspense and Thrillers

In this video, we begin discussing thrillers by talking about suspense. How do we create suspense? How does it work within a crime novel to create a satisfying experience for readers?
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[@thepopculturebuff5080]

I’m thinking of applying these to a screenplay. I’ve written a horror script, so I want to do a Crime thriller in the vein of Zodiac, Prisoners, or Blade Runner. Sort of Action/Noir with just a hint of action to keep people interested and add weight to emotions.

[@morganjones6401]

I like the differentiation you have between mysteries and thrillers. Reminds me of Alfred hitchcock, specifically North by Northwest. A brilliant thriller but no mystery...just action and suspense.

[@mikeolley7354]

I never really got this the first time, however there was something in this that drove me to run the video a second time. Delighted I did, for me this was invaluable. Double thumbs up :) and thank you.

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

Glad it helped. Thank you for watching!

[@imnotgoodatguitar7012]

I like writing stories, I’m in the middle of writing but after I’m finished I’m gonna do a story about a lone investigator

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

Keep on writing!

[@Brembelia]

And keep on playing your guitar; you can't help but get better the more you do something.

[@ruhaanchopra8878]

I kinda want to write something like sacred games.

[@vikasgaur1086]

Ask from Nawazuddin sidiqque

[@origaminoh8995]

Love your VOICE! Thank you for great lessons.

[@gen-x-zeke8446]

I am writing a good one, but now I am torn because the story is taking on more of a crime drama/thriller/suspense/ dashes of terror. *How do I introduce a character as the killer to the reader but make it so the detective in the story doesn't know who it is? I don't want to write a crime mystery right now, but it's in the works in my head. But here I want the main character to shove his way into the reader's minds. But, the reader becomes torn between detective and killer because they both have an highly intriguing life story.

[@abhijeetsinghyadav527]

Make him committ a crime, the audience knows but since the detective comes to know of it after it is reported, he doesn't know who the killer is.

[@888Angelgreen]

Thank you for this, currently working on a mystery novel, your tips help

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

Glad they've helped. Keep on writing!

[@haruhichan1660]

That really helped a lot 😭❤❤ Thank you you re amazing

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

Thank you for watching!

[@raynecalmese4416]

You're Amazing!!

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

Thank you for watching!

[@wagstaffe7]

EXCELLENT!

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

Thanks for tuning in!

[@emmanuellaeledu]

Thank you!

[@boyslove9489]

You deserve more subs...

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

Thank you! Tell your writer and reader friends about the channel :)

[@boyslove9489]

Your take is right..

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

Thanks for watching!

[@meepmeep4665]

I want to write a book that's a mix between crime/science fiction. Idk how to mix the two well making it happen naturally bc it's a crime on the top but with science and SECRET advance technology involved. Idek how to make my main character do her job as a new detective.

[@ARAllen-cb6ly]

What's important is that readers feel that the mystery isn't unsolveable as a result of the sci fi elements. e.g. If the killer was that guy with the alibi the whole time but we find out in act 3 that he duplicated himself, or it was a hologram or something. This can be done by having firm rules about the science, and either establishing it early or have it be part of the mystery. The first one might be a mystery that takes place in a futuristic world but we understand the limits of the tech. So instead of guns there are lasers, instead of cars there are hovercars. We know the world and we can try to solve the mystery ourselves despite those changes. The sci-fi is mostly flavouring. The second, well, it's like Fringe, where solving the crime requires the detective to uncover the secrets of one particular advance in technology. They'll spend one episode on telepathy, or on human metamorphosis, and how it's done is just part of the bigger story behind it (and isn't a surprise solution).

[@barchetta575m]

Look at the film Dredd (2012). It's a crime film while at the same time the setting takes place in a futuristic dystopian future.

[@abhishekbiswas2267]

You can watch Minority Report the Tom C movie.. The best recommendation for your intended genre

[@wordofgod5787]

It was very helpful brother

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

Glad I could help. Thanks for watching!

[@amxn4688]

I'm your 1000th Subscriber😁

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

Thank you for subscribing and getting the channel to 1000!

[@one_st1787]

greatly helped me with my exam👍

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

Glad it helped!

[@nxn8148]

I feel like mysteries tend to be more character-driven and thrillers tend to be more driven by external events.

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

It can definitely work out that way. Really just depends what an author's strengths are and whether they start their planning with characters they want to write about or a plot they want to explore.

[@49joshua33]

Very helpful

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

Glad to hear it! Thanks for watching!

[@johnpauldagondong2720]

what about Romantic Suspense? How do we balance the two elements together? As far as I know, this should have A HAPPY ENDING.

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

Romance is a fun genre to work with because it goes well with every other genre. It can be the main plot, with another genre (like crime, sci-fi, fantasy, historical, etc.) as the subplot and also the context of the characters' romance, or it can be the subplot for another genre (like a crime novel with a love story). Biggest thing when I balance 2 genres is determining which needs to be the main plot (note: this is a creative decision during the writing process, but later on it will direct much of your marketing) and which needs to be the subplot. It is common for romance novels to have a happy ending, but it's not required.

[@murrik]

External conflict drives the situations Unpredictable worrying narative kind of story. Every plot point makes you ask now what, fear the bad ending hoping for the good, thats suspense

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

Exactly! Great description of how your external conflict should work. Meanwhile, the internal conflict should make the reader empathize with and become attached to the character(s), which will heighten the suspense of the external conflict and situations.

[@sidharthsn6211]

Some mystery story narrative are so slow....thus we cant conclude all are thriller

[@guilden4170]

What is the difference between mystery and crime?

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

A mystery has a puzzle for the reader to solve, whereas crime doesn't have to have a puzzle. A lot of mysteries are also crime stories, but not all crime stories are mysteries.

[@abhishek11910]

Hello, can you tell me how to start a thriller so that the audience is hooked?

[@maungsoe5297]

I'm going to write a thriller novel. So Can you help me? What kind of books movies would you like to recommended?

[@krishnakishortiwari8724]

Hey..I wanna write a crime genre Tell me some books from which I should inspire

[@abhishek1978]

Read books like "gone girl " "i let you go" "i see you" and agatha christie's books there are a lot of them please check them in google

[@krishnakishortiwari8724]

@@abhishek1978 okay dude thanks for your suggestion I've also ordered this book

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

Good suggestions so far. Some of my personal favorites for influence/inspiration are: "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" by George Higgins; anything by Elmore Leonard; anything by George Pelecanos; the heist novels of Richard Stark. If you like more procedural stories, Michael Connelly is my go-to.

[@coolmusicbeats6592]

Bro how to contact you

[@fatima-ij5cw]

شكرآ شكرآ جزيلآ❤❤❤❤

[@chrisfletcher5762]

*I want to write about a serial killer story I have an story but I can't figure out the killer's past which made him a psycho can you please help??*

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

Best pieces of advice I have on this (and this is just my take on it) would be: 1) don't make the character "psycho," but rather think through the reasons someone might decide that violent behavior is a "rational" response to the world around them. To me, what makes a serial killer villain scary/dangerous is their distorted sense of logic, which provides more motivation for their violence than just "they're crazy". And 2) don't worry too much about having a plot yet, but rather start with this character, flesh them out, and then let the plot come from who they are, what they want, and how they react in the situations they face. Hope this helps!

[@jaythom1985]

Bigg Brother just say he got his wanker touched by a clown and it drove him mad bruv

[@sidharthsn6211]

Think about what is the physco condition of your physco character then think what will make a normal person physic and then create a sequence that is fresh and not a cliche

[@folkloricmoon]

Psychopaths are born the way they are. In other words, they have no emotions from day one to their death. If your character wasn’t born with it and was then influenced by something in their life, they are a sociopath. Being a sociopath typically stems from being abused as a young child, but other instances of trauma can happen that cause the same thing. The mains difference is some sociopaths can have emotions while psychopaths never do. Perhaps what you are looking for needs to be an instance of trauma from a young age. Example: a family member abusing them verbally or physically, being in a car crash or accident, etc. Hope this helped! Good luck!

[@dilshad4587]

I have a story line of psychological crime story where a murder will be investigated by the victim's father but I can't complete the investigation part. I figured out the rest of the plot. I desperately need a suggestion.

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

Do you need info on police procedure to help with the investigation, or are you looking more for how the story should progress?

[@dilshad4587]

@@michaelsantosauthor1211 the father of victim is a ex police officer he takes the investigation on his own as the police gave up on him. I need a procedure of how a solo ex cop would do the investigation

[@JasonWilson-wd6ko]

Can sexual murder be a good opening for a crime thriller/ and how would you suggest a author would set the ball in motion for opening chapter

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

Sure, that is certainly a relevant type of crime. In terms of opening, I suggest starting in medias res, or right in the middle of a dramatic scene. The context for what's happening can come later, but drop your reader right into a situation with high conflict and high stakes.

[@cjtrent1969]

What writing app are U using here

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

The blackboard app is called Ink2Go

[@marajohnson1056]

I need to make a short crime story for my assessment but I don't really know how to start it because I never make a story

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

I like to start a story in a character's point of view in the middle of a problem that they face. For crime stories, that character is often (but not limited to) the perpetrator, the victim, or the investigator of the crime. The POV character you begin with will likely vary based on the type of crime story you're writing. Hope that helps!

[@marajohnson1056]

@@michaelsantosauthor1211 Thank you!!

[@marajohnson1056]

@@michaelsantosauthor1211 Can you give me some idea on what would gonna happen in a crime story?

[@getlitla]

You should post it.

[@jallenyrauda3048]

can you suggest some novels please?

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

What kind of novels are you looking for (mystery, thriller, mystery/thriller, etc)?

[@lucelenthawk3543]

Do you still reply to comments?

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

lucelenthawk354 when I can!

[@ericjardine8210]

Any questions you might have

[@Rokz_scribbles]

Can we follow Dan Hormon's story circle for these kind of stories??

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

Yes, you can. That and things like 3-act structure diagrams would work well.

[@Writing-With-Dyslexia]

I finished my first draft of my thriller novel. It's approximately 80,000 words and I am half way to completing the second draft. My question is, should I hire an editor after that or should I hire one before?

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

John Giovanni I’d say it depends on what kind of editing you want and what your publishing goals are. A developmental editor can help with story and characters. A proofreader will help polish the manuscript and the writing itself. Depends where you are in the process and what you think the book needs at that time - that’s how I look at it for my books, anyway.

[@Writing-With-Dyslexia]

@@michaelsantosauthor1211 Than it looks like a proofreader it is. I am sure I will definitely need an editer to clean up my manuscript, because catching spelling and grammatical errors is an area I struggle with. But it would be interesting to have a development editor give me their take on the story structure and character development. And any areas I need improving on. I'm sure it's not practical to use both because time constraints and price issues. Either way I loved the video and I subbed for the good content.

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

@@Writing-With-Dyslexia thank you for subbing and watching! Yes, time and price are often constraining. One thing I personally like to do in that case is use beta readers in place of a developmental editor (provided the book feels good enough at that point). But I don't ever publish without a copyeditor/proofreader's eyes on the manuscript, for the same reason you cited.

[@Writing-With-Dyslexia]

@@michaelsantosauthor1211 thanks for the reply. I'm going to look into that.

[@anonymous-zf1qm]

Do you know a crime that's good for a short story only?

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

I think any crime could work for a short story...all depends on how you approach telling that story. What I always advise is to start with a character and dive into their perspective. Regardless of the crime, the story will evolve from that person and they will shape how you approach the crime element.

[@518-bhanuprasad5]

I am going to write a story.now Uh oh,now what ?

[@kapkanyy8585]

h

[@romancleman7359]

Tell me worlds best short crime novel

[@michaelsantosauthor1211]

The Friends of Eddie Coyle, by George Higgins.

[@californic501]

You kinda sound like alpham

[@Womencontrol]

mmmmmmm scrummy

[@donkeymon]

Maybe you are a good writer, but you are not a good youtuber. Perhaps planning out what you want to say a little better, and then designing visuals to work with that information would improve your videos. Speaking more concisely would help as well; I watched this video at 1.7 X speed and it was still a bit slow. The content you are presenting was not bad at all, although I personally could use a few concrete examples of some concepts for reference. But I feel the presentation was really lacking.