Suspense. Mystery.
Romance.
There's
something about those words that stir the imagination. Being able to craft a story filled with the
right elements, a blending of all three, reminds me of baking. All the ingredients have to be added in
exactly the right amounts in order for your delicious confection to come out
perfect (and in my case hopefully edible).
I
love layering in all the nuances to my stories, adding a dash of mystery to
keep the reader turning the pages. Did I
write enough intrigue and danger within the world I've created that the reader absolutely,
positively, unequivocally cannot stop reading when they reach the end of the
chapter, and must turn the page to find out what happens next. Don't you love that feeling?
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There are differing techniques I use while I'm writing. If it's a mystery, the reader can't know whodunit until the very end—the big black moment. I'll feed little hints and clues along the way, but I never come right out and say Mr. X is the villain. That's left up to the reader to figure out and if I've done my job right they'll admit they never saw the ending coming.
Now
suspense for me is a totally different mindset.
I've got no problem telling the reader right up front who my bad guy or
gal is and the horrible things they've done to earn that moniker. Then it's up to the hero and/or heroine to
not only catch the evil-doer, but stop whatever nefarious scheme they've
concocted and foil it, making sure that evil is denounced and trounced and
everybody lives happily ever after.
But,
and this is a big one for me—there always, always has to be a romance in my
books. Romance is my passion, for both
writing and reading. I don't want to
read a book that doesn't have a good solid romance as a cornerstone of the
story, and my romantic suspense writing needs that touchstone not only for my
readers but for my own satisfaction.
Besides, watching the sexual tension ratchet up between your hero and
heroine while they're running away from the maniacal mobster bent on their
immediate destruction gives me a vicarious thrill. (Hey, if I'm the heroine and I'm gonna be
chased by some crazy guy determined to end my life, I darn well better have a
handsome hero beside me, although hopefully I'm kick-ass enough to save myself
when the situation arises.)
Suspense. Mystery.
Romance. My ingredients for a
truly good book.
12 comments:
I love the combo. I often read novels with a little bit of romance and a bit of suspense and mystery and when done well, it's one of my favorites. Thanks for the post.
Patti
Hi, Kathy! this is a wonderful post. I think having romance and mystery or suspense goes hand in hand. And you do it well!
I couldn't agree more. Love combo books like this, it always has just what I needed. Even when I didn't know what I was looking for ;)
Hi Patti
Thank you so much for stopping by. So glad you love mystery/suspense and romance. It's one of the things I love writing, so wanted to share a bit of the way my mind works and sees things in that genre. But I can't do any of it without knowing I'm going to have a happily-ever-after at the end.
Hey Vicki, thanks so much. I heart you very, very much!
Hi Karla
I think that's why I love adding a bit of suspense to my stories, I always want to throw in the unexpected, turn the story a bit away from the straight line from beginning to end. Gotta have some curves along the way. LOL
Thanks so much for all your support. I truly appreciate you and your friendship.
I LOVE romance and mystery or suspense or all together! So much fun to read!
Romance + Mystery + Suspense = Great Book!
I love the way you explain the difference between suspense and mystery. I hadn't thought about how different they really were.
I love that combo and I love your books! You do that combo well.
I like it!
Thanks Red, Angela, Melissa, Karilyn and Phyllis! So glad you all stopped by and read my post today. Got dragged back into the day job so couldn't get back on line. But as always, the Plotting Princess supporters are the best. Love you all so much!!!!!
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