An Interview With Victoria Howard

Suspence Writer Reveals Process For Creating Suspense in Novels

Mar 19, 2009

Victoria Howard, based in South Yorkshire talks about why she chose to write suspence thrillers and how she develops the suspense in her novels

Suite101 writer, Lynne Cobine, talks to suspence thriller writer Victoria Howard, on why she chose to write suspense thrillers and she creates the suspence, character development and other suspence writers she enjoys to read.

Why did you choose suspense thrillers to write?

I’m an avid reader, and I’ve always enjoyed reading books in the romance genre. I also enjoy mysteries and thrillers. When I started writing seriously it seemed logical to combine both genres, and write something which I enjoy reading myself.

I also wanted to write a novel that had a strong story line, which hopefully would leave the reader wanting more, and which would leave me with the option of writing a sequel.

As suspense is an important element in your writing – how do you achieve this?

Any successful mystery or suspense novel relies on the author seeding clues throughout the plot. I undertake a great deal of research when working on a manuscript to ensure that the plot is believable. Once I have my basic outline, I start writing the first draft – the basic story of how the characters meet, and what challenges they face.

Throughout the whole process I keep copious notes, both handwritten and on my computer, so that I can refer to them at anytime. Occasionally the unexpected happens, and the plot and characters take off on a tangent I hadn’t previously explored. When that happens, I tend to sit back and read what I’ve written so far, to ensure that I haven’t placed my characters into a situation they have no way of surviving!

When that’s finished, I leave the manuscript alone for a week or two before going back and looking at it again. The second draft is an edit for content – my chance to make sure that the plot flows and the scenes work. It’s at that point I’ll start adding more clues—not too many otherwise the reader will guess who the bad buy is before he or she reaches the end.

How did you develop your characters?

I use a character sheet. I cut out pictures from magazines of people whose features fit the profile of my character. I give them a name, hobbies, siblings, jobs, anything which helps me to visualise them in my mind. I need to know what makes them tick – how they would react in a certain situation. Quite often the name for a character will come first, then the plot or setting.

Who are your favourite suspense thriller writers?

I’m a fan of Mary Stewart, Elizabeth Alder, Jayne Ann Krentz, Linda Howard, Brenda Novak, and Linda Fairstein.

The copyright of the article An Interview With Victoria Howard in Romance Fiction is owned by Lynne Cobine. Permission to republish An Interview With Victoria Howard in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.