How to structure your crime novel
How to structure your crime novel How to write a crime novel, episode 2 If you don’t take time to figure out the structure of your crime novel, …
thrillers
Guns in thrillers: Crime writers and gun control
Guns in thrillers shouldn’t glamorize violence–even when the hero is the best shot I’ve only fired a gun on a single occasion, though guns …
Write a thriller: Bad experiences make you a better writer
Remember how it feels to feel bad, endure it positively, and write it down When something bad happens to a writer, the experience is great material …
If you read only one Robert Harris thriller, read Archangel
The story of a Stalin bloodline is truly chilling What? Not Enigma? Not The Ghost? Right, not Enigma. Definitely not The Ghost. In Archangel, Robert …
If you read only one Lee Child thriller, read ’61 Hours’
Child’s evocation of the Dakota winter shows how well he writes Lee Child is justly famous for creating a compelling main character in the loner Jack …
Thriller plot: Figure out destination to build climax
Figure out the end of the novel before you start to write The great thriller writer Joseph Finder told me that figuring out the end of a thriller plot …
If you read only one Martin Cruz Smith, read Polar Star
Isolated on an arctic ship, Cruz Smith’s detective is even more heroic What? If you read only one thriller by Martin Cruz Smith, it’s not Gorky …
Write a thriller: How Don Winslow propels a plot around its Midpoint
The key to the pace of a thriller lies in the Midpoint The Midpoint is a plot point that lies, of course, at the halfway point of the book. What does …
Write a thriller: Find a good ‘What if’
A “What if” situation is a great way to start your plotting A “What if” question can spark your entire thriller. Try to imagine any …
Write a thriller: Plot a thriller with this diagram
Plot a thriller The diagram shows the major points in how to plot a thriller This diagram is a framework for writing a thriller. In particular, how to …
My voice and his voice: first- or third-person narrative in the novel
Robert Harris has been one of my favorite authors since I first laid hands on “Fatherland,” his “what if the Nazis had won” thriller. “Enigma” and …