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KEEP ME IN SUSPENSE
Y O U R D O O R I N T O T H E W O R L D O F W R I T I N G I N S P I R AT I O N A L S U S P E N S E A N D M Y S T E R Y
While there are many masters to learn from, I’ll choose from my PREVIOUS POSTS
favorites in future posts as well. Fortunately for us, many of the
Interview with Ed Horton!
masters are more than willing to share words of encouragement and
The Forbidden Article
tips on writing techniques. If not, then we can always go straight to
Point of View (POV)
their book and dissect that. I’ve done it.
Interview with Jill Nelson!
Once. Show vs. Tell
Writing With Abandon
If you’re like me, it’s difficult to name only one favorite book. I have So You Want to be a Lawyer? Post
several favorites. One of them has withstood the test of time, One. . .Vocabulary
meaning that I’ve read it again after several years, and it’s almost a Interview with Dana Mentink!
whopping one thousand words. That novel is Pillars of the Earth by What's your formula?
Ken Follett. Fascinating work. In another lifetime, I traveled back LOST IN CHARACTERIZATION
and forth between Seattle and Dallas, and someone offered Pillars to
me as a good, long read to keep me occupied during the four and a
half hour flight. Fifteen years later, I’ve read it again only for vastly
different reasons—to study the work of a master.
I’m being “transparent” here when I tell you that my own writing is
far from clear—it doesn’t always go down like honey. I’ve heard that
Dean Koontz will rewrite one page forty times to get the correct
rhythm. How many of us are willing to go that far?
Next Ken talks about writing an outline. Now I know this is a matter
of personal preference and half of all writers do not write an outline
but merely write SOTP (seat of the pants).
I learned this the hard way when first attempting to write a thriller.
After writing half of the book, I scratched everything and started
over—with an outline. I wholeheartedly concur with him about
correcting all of those mistakes. When I began to look at the big
picture that was my novel, I became overwhelmed at the thought of
fixing all of the plot holes. SOTP may work in other genres, but
complicated thrillers require an outline up front.
There is a rule, which says that the story should turn about
every four to six pages. A story turn is anything that changes
the basic dramatic situation. It can change it in a little way or
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09/05/2021 Keep Me In Suspense: Learning from the Masters
Blessings!
Beth.
3 COMMENTS:
I'm not necessarily a thriller writer - I'm a horror author mostly - but
should I adhere to these rules? I mean, I like fast-paced stuff, but I
write things that unfurl instead of explode.
7:41 AM
The rules of good fiction apply no matter what genre you write in.
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09/05/2021 Keep Me In Suspense: Learning from the Masters
answer that, aside from a tiny handful of things that are specific to
the speculative genres, the principles of good fiction apply to weird
fiction, too.
Jeff
1:26 PM
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