Behind The Mask

IV. Political Thriller

╔═════ ▓▓ ࿇ ▓▓ ═════╗
Political Thriller
╚═════ ▓▓ ࿇ ▓▓ ═════╝

There are many things that can be said about political thrillers. Primarily, they give the readers interesting insight into local, national, and more often than not, worldwide politics. Secondarily, they remind the readers that no matter how crazy the recent headlines might seem, things could always get worse - especially beyond the surface.

As such, the political thriller genre is one of the most exciting genres out there, where the stakes can encompass the whole world, thereby making the fate of the world depend on a single character's actions - most often, the protagonist's, either directly or indirectly.

Political thrillers offer a world of intrigue, excitement, action, and danger, all wrapped up in, and intertwined with, a political plot; or set against the backdrop of a political struggle. It's one of the most intense genres, even more so than the psychological thriller and horror genres, because while reading a psychological horror might scare the readers, political thrillers make them think - what if this happened in our world? And while that makes for an exciting read, it also makes political thrillers very difficult to write. Difficult, but very rewarding, in the end. So, without further ado, let's dive into the world of political thrillers!

════════ ××× ════════

PART 1: STORY & CHARACTERS

1) Defining the political thriller novel. The basic elements of a political thriller are: a political struggle or intrigue, and an element of danger. The political struggle can be a public one: it can involve media presence, reaction from the masses and the world, and a lot of news manipulation. Or, it can be a subtle struggle between individuals - in this case, individual organizations or characters, depending on the plot and the story, of course. However, if you only have the political intrigue part without the danger, then you will have a political novel, rather than a political thriller novel.

The thriller aspect comes from the danger: personal or general. The best political thrillers will, of course, have both: the protagonist will risk his life and wellbeing (and often, the wellbeing of his or her family too) for the sake of saving a town, a city, a building, or maybe even the world, especially if weapons of mass destruction are afoot.

Depending on the story you are telling, there are a few different paths you can take. Many political thrillers these days come in three different types of novels: standalone, continuous series, or isolated series.

Standalone novels tell a story with a very defined beginning, middle, and end. The protagonist and the characters can be either directly involved in the political plot and the danger (political figures or their assistants), or, they can be loosely related to it and almost stumble upon it by happenstance (in which case, at some point, the stakes have to become personal). Both options offer the chance to continue the story in self-sustained isolated sequels.

Continuous series are a series of novels that tell an overall story, either through episodic installments that, while self-sustained in terms of the plot, have an overarching plot that spans through all of the novels. More often than not, these novels focus on characters and protagonists that are directly involved in a political plot or have a political position, like for example, the protagonist of House of Cards by Michael Dobbs.

Isolated series differ from continuous series only in the overarching plot. These novels are all standalones, and they can often be read out of order. The overarching plot that connects the novels is often more related to the protagonist, or a mystery surrounding the protagonist, rather than a continuous political plot. It is these types of series that often have the most genre overlaps.