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Step 1
Start with an outline so you have an idea where you're going. It doesn't need to be detailed. A short, stepped outline touching on the major turns in your story will do. The finished novel may not go in the initial direction you plan, but having an outline gives you a grounding point and something from which to build.
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Step 2
Define your characters. Know the background of each main character, especially on an emotional level. This is a psychological thriller, which means the emotional history of each of your characters will be essential to how they interact with one another throughout the story.
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Step 3
Always keep emotional stress at the forefront of a psychological thriller. The emotional stress is the driving force of your story. Usually, the antagonist places the emotional stress on the protagonist, who must battle to overcome it before he can defeat the antagonist.
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Step 4
Tie your protagonist and antagonist together emotionally. Learn to write cat-and-mouse scenes in which the antagonist exploits the emotional weakness of your protagonist. Then, have your protagonist turn it around at the end of the story by overcoming that emotional weakness and using it against the antagonist. Another effective technique is to find an equal emotional weakness in your antagonist and have your protagonist use that to her advantage.
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Step 5
Take advantage of internal writing as opposed to external. Internal writing allows you to dig more deeply into your characters' minds than a story that's primarily external, or action oriented. If you keep these thoughts in mind, your psychological thriller can have the same edge-of-the-seat effect on readers as a story driven by intense action.
