If you are thinking of writing suspense novels or thrillers, you are entering a very broad category of fiction with many sub-genres.
There is a difference between suspense fiction and thrillers (which I will talk about lower down), but for now I will treat them as being more or less the same type of novel.
They are both characterized by tension and excitement and a sense of impending tragedy if the hero or heroine should fail in their quest.
They are much more dependent on action than mystery fiction, and are usually densely plotted with many clever twists and turns along the way.
(It goes without saying, therefore, that if writing suspense novels and thrillers is your thing, you will need a rock-solid grasp of how to write a gripping plot.)
Typically, these novels feature a protagonist, male or female, battling a villainous enemy, and their own safety, and perhaps the safety of civilized society in general, depends on their success.
Thrillers and suspense novels tend to be longer than mysteries and feature more involved and complex storylines, often told from the viewpoints of several characters. They frequently take place in exotic settings, such as foreign cities or the high seas.
Some of the many sub-genres include...
You will notice that some of the novels listed above were ones I mentioned as being crime or mystery novels. That is because thrillers are notorious for overlapping with other genres.
For example, are the legal novels of John Grisham or the police procedurals of Patricia Cornwell mysteries or thrillers?
Are the spy novels of John le Carre thrillers?
Grisham and Cornwell are usually categorized as thriller writers, but not le Carre. Why? Essentially because of their mood or tone. Grisham and Cornwell place a great deal of emphasis on action, le Carre less so.
If a novel's overriding purpose is to thrill and excite, it is probably a suspense novel or a thriller. If the pace is more sedate and there is an important puzzle element, it is mystery fiction.
So is writing suspense fiction the same as writing a thriller?
Suspense is usually mentioned in the same breath as thrillers, though the pace in suspense fiction tends to be less intense, and the threat or danger tends to be directed solely at the protagonist and not to the wider community.
In some ways, suspense novels are closer in style to mysteries than thrillers - and indeed many mysteries are tagged as suspense novels - psychological suspense, for example.
Confused?
Mystery fiction, crime fiction, thrillers, suspense novels - if you plan to write a novel somewhere in this field, you will probably find that your book contains elements of all of them...
If that leaves you unsure how to categorize your own novel, then here are some rules of thumb...
If you are confused (and you probably are, because most of the publishing world is confused about the fiction genres), don't worry too much about precise labels. If you think you have written a suspense novel but your publisher tells you it is technically a thriller - well, so what?
The important thing is that you know the "conventions" of the type of book you intend to write - and you will know that from reading novels similar to the one you have in mind.
But if these similar novels are called one thing by one publisher and something else by another, don't worry about it. Simply call your novel what you believe it is - a "crime novel" for example - and if the publisher wants to market it as something slightly different, that is up to them.
Next Step: If writing suspense novels or thrillers isn't for you, perhaps you might be interested in Horror Novels...