  Mystery
This week: Thrillers as a Primary Genre Edited by: Jeff  
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"The possession of knowledge does not kill the sense
of wonder and mystery. There is always more mystery."
-- Anaïs Nin
Mystery Trivia of the Week: Saul Bellow's contributions to the literary world have earned him a Pulitzer Prize, a Nobel Prize for Literature, and a National Medal of Arts. He's also accomplished a feat no other author can claim, which is being a three-peat winner of the National Book Award for Fiction.
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THRILLERS AS A PRIMARY GENRE
Earlier this year, I talked a little about thrillers in "Mystery Newsletter (February 11, 2015)" . I wrote that newsletter from the perspective of trying to find thriller books in a bookstore, which often categorize them as a subset of other genres, relegating them to categories like "mystery/thriller" or "horror/thriller." This time around, I want to look a thrillers from a different perspective; that of a primary writing genre.
Over the past several months, I've been reading a lot about the topic of publishing, especially self-publishing. One of the marketing lessons that's emphasized over and over again is the important of your brand, your platform, and writing stories in the same genre, subject matter, etc. in order to fulfill audience expectations. If you write mystery novels, for example, suddenly publishing a science fiction story is typically a much harder sell because only a fraction of the mystery-loving audience is also science fiction-loving. Additionally, audiences have a tendency to set expectations on content creators. If you're the writer who does traditional soft romances with touches of PG-13 sexuality, a lot of them are going to be extremely turned off if your next romance book is really closer to graphic hardcore erotica. It's not that you can't write in more than one genre; it's just traditionally been harder to find and grow an audience if the types of things you write are all over the map.
Consider, then, the possibility of thrillers as a genre unto themselves. As I mentioned in that February newsletter, there's a difference between a dispositional genre (thriller, romance, horror, etc.) and a situational genre (mystery, fantasy, science fiction, etc.). Dispositional genres are based on elements that make the audience feel a certain way, while situational genres are based on a series of plot characteristics. It's why books like romances can have authors that write western romances next to authors who write regency-era romances. The prevailing element in a dispositional genre like romance is how the story makes the reader feel (i.e., that there's a focus on the romantic/physical relationships of the characters).
If you're the kind of writer that likes to write in different situational genres, consider finding an overall dispositional genre that all of your other works fall under. Stephen King, for example, is known as a horror writer, even though the situations in his stories range from drama to fantasy to science fiction. You can do the same thing if you have an interest in the conventions of the thriller genre. You don't have to be the guy (or gal) who writes in several disparate genres; you can be the thriller writer who happens to have works that range from sci-fi thrillers to mystery thrillers to romance thrillers to western thrillers.
I know that debating whether you're a "thriller" writer or a "mystery" writer is largely a matter of semantics for those who write with elements of both genres, but an author's brand and platform are important and each writer should carefully consider how they market themselves to audiences.
Until next time,
Jeff
If you're interested in checking out my work:
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I encourage you to check out the following mystery items:
EXCERPT: PaTok went directly home after a long hard day at the HalNa Weapon Manufacturing Plant. He tested each batch of weapons all day. It depended on what the weapon was, they created them all, as to how he tested them. PaTok was the only Tester. He put his life in danger every time he tested a weapon.
EXCERPT: It had been so long since the sun had its presence known in this land, as it had been replaced by a perpetual brew of dark storm clouds and snow. The leaves had fallen off the birch trees, yet they continued to grow and they never seem to stop popping out of the ground. Despite there only being a few hours of sunlight, the ecosystem had not seen any major damages; life had adapted well to living in the frost coated land. As the snowfall gently cascaded down from the heavens above, the isolated cabin in the woods quickly became coated in a fluffy blanket of snow. A woman stood alone with her ax gripped tightly in both of her hands, poised so that the tree before her would be felled in one swoop.
EXCERPT: It was a dungeon. Nicos Georgoz – Nick Farmer in the Common Speech of the Hellenized world, formerly a Spartan troop commander – knew it for what is was as soon as he was brought in, his red tunic torn, his mouth bleeding from his “interview.” Just as he knew he was being held beneath the grassy hill of the acropolis overlooking Pellas, the capital city of the kingdom of Macedonia to the north of Greece. His Macedonian captors had consigned him to this hellhole for interrogation because of his role in the recent uprising.
EXCERPT: Deep within the walls of Ambrose Sanitarium, in the blindingly lit common activity room, in the far corner, she sat alone. Images flashed through her mind. Images she had seen numerous times before, that never failed to make her uneasy. Her eyes darted around the room, desperately trying to get the images out of her head, looking for something - anything - to replace them. Sometimes she spoke out loud to no one. It was an ever-failed attempt to make herself think of anything else. She was speaking to herself now. Muttering about kittens - how small, cute, and fluffy they are. How innocent, playful, and loving.
EXCERPT: I hit play and watch myself in the recording. But what I see isn't what I remember. All I can remember is being knocked down after seeing a wide shouldered shadow following me. Was it a man or a woman? I can't even tell. I sit back in my living room, curled up on my couch, trying to catch my breath after what I just saw. I re-watch the video, hoping that it will help reality sink in. The video starts with my face, a faint smile lies over it that can barely be seen, but my eyes clearly show that I'm just not there. Then a little child comes into the picture, wearing ragged clothes. He hugs me and calls me Mama. And the video stops. But there must be a mistake because I'm no body's Mama! I've never even seen this kid in my entire life. But who am I to say what's real and what's not? Right now, I'm not even sure of my own name. I throw my phone away because this doesn't make any sense. Why would anyone claim that I have a child? What do they gain? I turn on the T.V and pretend everything is normal until I fall asleep.
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Mystery: November 18, 2015 Issue [#7330]
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