Writing Thrillers: The Writer's Guide to Crafting Tales of Suspense

by Michael Newton

In this invaluable guide, thriller master Michael Newton shows you how to develop compelling plots and intriguing characters that grab readers from page 1 and won't let them go. You'll learn how to craft heroes and villains that are both believable and original and ground them in situations that push them to the limits of physical, emotional, and mental endurance. You'll also find details that will imbue your thriller with authenticity, from the specifics of using guns and knives to the inner workings of secret government agencies. From global conspiracies and knife-wielding psychopaths to ruthless cults and political schemers, Writing Thrillers will give you the tools you need to keep pulses racing, palms sweating, and readers on the edges of their seats.

Genres: Writing, Reference, Nonfiction

169 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 3, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

From Wikipedia:
"Michael Newton (born 1951) is an American author best known for his work on Don Pendleton's Mack Bolan series. Newton first began work on the Executioner series by co-writing "The Executioner's War Book" with Don Pendleton in 1977. Since then he has been a steady writer for the series with almost 90 entries to his credit, which triples the amount written by creator Don Pendleton. His skills and knowledge of the series have allowed him to be picked by the publishers to write the milestone novels such as #100, #200, and #300.

Writing under the pseudonym Lyle Brandt, Michael Newton has also become a popular writer of Western novels. He has written a number of successful non-fiction titles as well, including a book on genre writing (How to Write Action Adventure Novels). His book Invisible Empire: The Ku Klux Klan in Florida won the Florida Historical Society's 2002 Rembert Patrick Award for Best Book in Florida History. Newton's "Encyclopedia of Cryptozoology" won the American Library Association's award for Outstanding Reference Work in 2006."

Pen names: Lyle Brandt, Don Pendleton, Jack Buchanan

Bibiliography available here.

Reviews

[Jenny Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm torn between 4 and 5 stars. This is an excellent resource for writers. He offers clear explanations and a lot of great examples. At the end of each chapter are suggested further readings and some of the books may already be on your bookshelf.

I had several aha moments while reading this. Sometimes when we read for pleasure, we get so caught up in a fiction book that we forget to put on our writer's hat and pay attention to how the author got us caught up in the book. I've always loved the endings in the movies The Sixth Sense and The Others, but until I read this book, I didn't exactly know how the writer created these twist endings. You'll learn exactly what's going on after you read this. You'll learn other things such as plot twists, red herrings, and using false protagonists. If you're interested in learning about Stephen King's cliffhangers, or how Tolkien and Rowling end their novels, this is for you.

I wish this was available in print. When I read writing advice books, I like to mark favorite sections. Highlighting an eBook just isn't the same.

[Matt Reno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to digest advice for thriller writers

I generally liked the broad overview of the considerable breadth and historical scope of the thriller genre. This author brought up authors and titles of which I was not familiar and plan to check out soon. There were a couple of list dumps in the book that padded the book length but overall a practical broad survey of the thriller genre and a reminder that when It comes to intelligence organizations, combat techniques, gun attributes, and projectile physics, details matter; a useful book to put on the reference shelf.

[Brian Hagerty · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very bad. This book has no useful craft advice. It is basically just a mildly annotated list of thrillers. It should be called "Here Are Some Thrillers: A List."

[Paul Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good tool

I am pretty happy I read this. It not only gives me great ideas, but it helps me understand what should and should not work. I will read it again, probably several times to make sure I got it all in.

[Brenda Clark Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good book that gave lots and lots of resources. I highly recommend this book.