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Writing the Thriller: How to Craft Page-Turning Suspense with Instruction from Best-Selling Authors
Skillman shows how to keep readers on the edge of their seats by defining suspense in clear terms writers can use to make their work tense, spine-tingling and unexpected.
275 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 17, 2020
I took this book out of the library and read it because I'm in the final stages of editing a children's book I've been writing, and I wanted a reminder of some of the things I should look out for in editing. I say this as a warning, because if you are setting out to write a thriller from scratch, my review will probably be less helpful to you than those of some other people, because the things I was looking for in the book would be different from yours.
The book begins by defining the genre: the thriller or suspense novel is primarily about danger to characters in the story. It also defines several sub-genres of the thriller: (1) action/adventure; (2) Legal thrillers; (3) Medical Thrillers; (4) Political Thrillers; (5) Romantic relationship suspense; (6) Women or children in Jeopardy; and (6) Techno-thrillers.
The focus is entirely on the USA, so it will be most helpful for people writing stories set in the USA which will be submitted to US publishers and intended for readers in the USA. This doesn't make the book useless for writers in other countries, though there are some things that they will need to be aware of. For one thing, publishers and booksellers in different countries have different ideas about the boundaries of genres and though there is probably a large overlap in the case of thriller/suspense novels in different countries, they don't always overlap completely. The same applies to the tastes and expectations of readers in different countries.
The book also makes the point that thrillers are commercial fiction, as opposed to literary fiction, and so the primary concern is that it should entertain readers, fulfil their expectations of the genre, and sell well enough to turn a good profit for the publisher and author. These considerations for outweigh the literary quality of the work in question. The advice given on writing, editing and preparation for publication is therefore given with these considerations in mind. Some of the advice will be different, or at least differently weighted for other genres.
The second part of the book is devoted to interviews with some successful published authors of thrillers, explaining how they write and what works for them, and recommendations of things to emulate or pitfalls to avoid. The main body of the book also contains examples from the writings of these and other authors. I found these useful because I had read some of the books mentioned, and thus could see how it works out in practice. Among these authors are Clive Cussler, Tess Gerritsen, John Gilstrap and Richard North Patterson.
The book will therefore be most useful to those writing thrillers for the US market, but it is still useful generally and has a lot of good advice, even though it may need some adaptation for other circumstances.
The book begins by defining the genre: the thriller or suspense novel is primarily about danger to characters in the story. It also defines several sub-genres of the thriller: (1) action/adventure; (2) Legal thrillers; (3) Medical Thrillers; (4) Political Thrillers; (5) Romantic relationship suspense; (6) Women or children in Jeopardy; and (6) Techno-thrillers.
The focus is entirely on the USA, so it will be most helpful for people writing stories set in the USA which will be submitted to US publishers and intended for readers in the USA. This doesn't make the book useless for writers in other countries, though there are some things that they will need to be aware of. For one thing, publishers and booksellers in different countries have different ideas about the boundaries of genres and though there is probably a large overlap in the case of thriller/suspense novels in different countries, they don't always overlap completely. The same applies to the tastes and expectations of readers in different countries.
The book also makes the point that thrillers are commercial fiction, as opposed to literary fiction, and so the primary concern is that it should entertain readers, fulfil their expectations of the genre, and sell well enough to turn a good profit for the publisher and author. These considerations for outweigh the literary quality of the work in question. The advice given on writing, editing and preparation for publication is therefore given with these considerations in mind. Some of the advice will be different, or at least differently weighted for other genres.
The second part of the book is devoted to interviews with some successful published authors of thrillers, explaining how they write and what works for them, and recommendations of things to emulate or pitfalls to avoid. The main body of the book also contains examples from the writings of these and other authors. I found these useful because I had read some of the books mentioned, and thus could see how it works out in practice. Among these authors are Clive Cussler, Tess Gerritsen, John Gilstrap and Richard North Patterson.
The book will therefore be most useful to those writing thrillers for the US market, but it is still useful generally and has a lot of good advice, even though it may need some adaptation for other circumstances.
October 24, 2012
This is an excellent book for novice writers interested in the finer points of creating suspense fiction. The author breaks the genre down into 8 different categories and methodically addresses specific points about each style.
There was excellent fundamental information on topics such as style, tone, POV and similar mechanics. In addition there were plenty of practical examples of each sub-genre.
While there was a lot of valuable information within the book, I felt it spent too much time dwelling on chapter-long examples of topics which held little interest for me.
If you need to brush up on the basics and are interested in learning how other authors approach their work, you'll get value from this book.
There was excellent fundamental information on topics such as style, tone, POV and similar mechanics. In addition there were plenty of practical examples of each sub-genre.
While there was a lot of valuable information within the book, I felt it spent too much time dwelling on chapter-long examples of topics which held little interest for me.
If you need to brush up on the basics and are interested in learning how other authors approach their work, you'll get value from this book.
October 5, 2012
The opening and the interviews are somewhat interesting, but everything in between isn't. Those chapters are more about categorizing thrillers and don't include much insight that you couldn't glean from a better book.
July 22, 2008
Part of my crash course in thrillers. Provides some useful advice, but nothing particularly eye-opening. Recommended for the interviews with published well, and not so well known, thriller writers.
February 6, 2021
Lots of great advice in this book. My favorite part was the author interviews.
June 22, 2015
Great book for insight on writing thrillers and how they succeed, with excerpts and examples. Explains why things work and why they don't, how to tackle things like pacing and dialogue, etc. Includes author interviews.
September 8, 2022
Save a few inappropriate references and unnecessary words, this book was very helpful. Loved the tips and explanations and would recommend this book to anyone, (with a level of discernment, that is) trying to write a novel.
December 25, 2014
Good solid advice, but most of which I already know...
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews