Author Spotlight: Ted Galdi

Readers first need to care about a story’s characters. Even if they dislike a certain character, like a villain, they still need to be interested in what that character is up to. The “edge of their seats” thing happens when characters readers care about are put into situations that have important consequences and uncertain outcomes.

For example, readers care about a character named Michelle, and Michelle happens to be dangling off the side of a skyscraper.

In thrillers, which I write, I feel realism is important for names. I think about a character’s age, cultural background, birthplace, and parents’ socioeconomic situation. With nicknames, you’ve got a lot of other directions you can go in.

I like giving characters a lot to personally lose if they don’t accomplish something they’re after in the story. A lot to lose can obviously refer to a character’s life.

However, even if the stakes aren’t life or death, they can still feel high if a character’s inability to do something would result in the loss of something important. This potential loss may not be significant to other people, however, if it matters to the character, the stakes are high.

For instance, a character may really care about an old baseball glove, which nobody else would pay much attention to, because his late father gave it to him. If the glove went missing, and the character, devastated, goes out looking for it, you’ve got high personal stakes.

I like when readers understand why the character is making a harmful moral decision, even if readers don’t agree with that decision.

A villain could be planning on robbing a bank and taking innocent people inside hostage. It would be good to get across why the villain needs the money, and ground that reason in something understandable. Maybe the villain, who’s poor, has a newborn baby who needs food.

Certain thriller subgenres call for different balances. An action thriller should have several action scenes, however, not every scene should be one. Quieter, tense scenes help create suspense between the action, plus offer opportunities for readers to see different sides of characters’ personalities.

A psychological thriller should have plenty of quieter, tense scenes, however, these can certainly build toward an action scene at the climax, be set in motion by an action scene earlier on, or both.

Whatever a story’s subgenre, each of these scene types can enhance the other. In an action thriller, a quieter, tense scene can help readers care about a certain supporting character. Later, when that character’s life is on the line during an action scene, readers will be more into what happens.

In a psychological thriller, an action scene might lead to a traumatic event, like the death of the protagonist’s spouse. This trauma can cause psychological problems for the protagonist, which make quieter interactions with other characters later in the story more volatile and suspenseful.

While I’m actually writing, I don’t eat or drink anything. But, in general, chips and salsa is a great snack.

Tension and suspense can cross over, but they’re not the same thing.

Tension refers to any tense moment in a story. I like every scene to have an element of tension in it. This can be subtle, like two friends arguing over what to watch on TV, pronounced, like someone trying to escape an armed killer’s house, or somewhere in between.

Suspense refers to delaying telling readers something they want to know. It can happen over the course of a single scene. I like putting these scenes in stories.

In the example I gave of someone trying to escape an armed killer’s house, readers would want to know if the potential victim gets to safety. In this scene, if you had the killer searching inside while the other person snuck from room to room, you could create a lot of suspense.

Suspense can also be extended over the course of various scenes, which I like putting in stories, too. For instance, readers might know that a teenage character has a secret past as a thief. He tries to change and is taken in by a wealthy family who thinks he has potential.

Readers will want to know if he will steal from the unsuspecting family while living in their mansion.

He can be in many scenes, around valuable belongings, with the suspense growing over time as he becomes more tempted to betray the family who helped him.

I like when they tell me they’re excited about a book of mine that’s coming out. I guess you couldn’t have done that bad of a job with the last one if they’re willing to read the next one.

Aethon Editor Note: You can follow Ted via Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and official website, and we suggest you do!