The Heartbeat of Suspense: Mastering Pacing in Thriller Writing
rollingstone.com – Friday November 1, 2024
In the pulsating world of thriller fiction, pacing is the silent conductor, orchestrating a symphony of tension and release that keeps readers perched on the edge of their seats. It’s the art of manipulating the reader’s pulse, accelerating it with bursts of action, then allowing brief moments of respite before plunging back into the maelstrom. This delicate balance is what transforms a good thriller into an unputdownable page-turner.
The Anatomy of a Thriller’s Pace
At its core, effective pacing in thrillers is about managing the ebb and flow of tension. It’s akin to composing a piece of music, where crescendos of intensity are balanced with quieter passages, each enhancing the impact of the other. This rhythmic variation is crucial in maintaining reader interest and engagement throughout the narrative.
Hooking Readers from the Start
Many successful thrillers begin in medias res — in the middle of the action. This technique immediately immerses readers in a high-stakes situation, grabbing their attention and setting the tone for the rest of the novel. The opening pages serve as a promise to the reader, a taste of the thrilling journey that lies ahead.
Inside the writers’ room
artshub.com.au – Friday November 1, 2024
Getting a toe in the door of the writers' room can be challenging, but these successful writers share some tips.
A writers’ room is something like the nerve centre of a scripted drama or comedy, a place where some combination of writers, producers, editors and developers come together to brainstorm the overall arc of a series and flesh out the plot of each episode.
Many playwrights, comedians and filmmakers aspire to break into the world of writers’ room, but they present challenges in adapting to someone else’s voice and working in a newly collaborative way. They can also be mysterious to the uninitiated and are notoriously tricky to break into.
Here ArtsHub talks to four writers who have worked in a range of rooms, and who have taken different paths to these writing gigs, to discover how they found their way in and what they’ve learned.
‘Dark things can be quite illuminating’
news.harvard.edu – Friday November 1, 2024
Horror writing instructor defends prestige of ‘genre that bites back’
Self-described “former spooky kid” Katie Kohn teaches the class “Advanced Fiction: Writing Horror” at Harvard Extension School. The Gazette interviewed Kohn, a doctoral candidate in the Art, Film and Visual Studies program, about people’s fascination with scary stories, the difference between bad and good horror, and what the genre can teach us about ourselves.
What makes horror stories different from other stories?
All stories are rooted in conflict; they promise us that things will go wrong. But horror stories do two things that I truly think are unique. For one, horror tends to destabilize the very binaries out of which other stories source their tension. It’s not just about playing good against evil, the familiar against the strange. Horror complicates. For instance, we use the term “uncanny” to describe a breakdown between something we recognize and something we don’t. It’s neither simply familiar nor strange; it’s somehow both. Horror loves to take us to these places where nothing is certain, where it feels like the rug is always about to come out from under us.
That’s the other effect horror stories promise: uncertainty to the very end. Horror asks us to accept the prospect that things might not turn out well. If other stories overcome challenges or resolve tensions, this one might be as raw and as confrontational as life can be, without curation or niceties. For instance, there are points at which we no longer feel safe reading a horror story or watching a horror film, that moment when we want to look over our shoulder or check under the bed. All stories ask that we suspend our disbelief. Horror exploits that basic instinct to give ourselves over to stories. Horror is a genre that bites back.
Who’s Really Writing Celebrity Novels?
vulture.com – Friday November 1, 2024
The writers and agents working behind the scenes tell us how it actually works.
Celebrity memoirs are a dime a dozen, but there’s a smaller cohort of stars who have tried to add “novelist” to their résumés. This includes Kylie and Kendall Jenner, who wrote the 2014 YA novel Rebels: City of Indra; Carrie Fisher, author of the deeply autobiographical Postcards From the Edge; and Tyra Banks, whose 569-page Modelland is about a girl named Tookie De La Crème. In early October, Reese Witherspoon announced she was collaborating with the best-selling thriller author Harlan Coben. But what does it mean when a celebrity decides to write fiction?
Here, the writers and agents working behind the scenes on similar books tell us how it actually works.
New Literary Agent Listing: Julia Kim
firstwriter.com – Thursday October 31, 2024
Looking for literary fiction and select genre fiction (mystery, crime, horror, historical). She is also seeking a range of nonfiction topics including history, politics, current affairs, women's issues, biography and memoir, food and lifestyle, art and culture, film and TV, pop culture.
Suspense (A state or condition of mental uncertainty or excitement…)
By G. Miki Hayden
Instructor at Writer's Digest University online and private writing coach
firstwriter.com – Thursday October 31, 2024
Suspense, as a noun, may sound vague, but as an artful expression in film, on stage, or in novels, suspense is a fairly specific ingredient. Suspense can dominate the genre being presented throughout, or suspense can come to the fore for a scene or a moment at the height of the story, and then resolve. Suspense can be sprinkled in like a condiment, or it can relentlessly keep an audience on the edge of their seats for the entire piece.
No matter how suspense is used, in a mystery, ghost or horror story, in an adventure, or as part of a futuristic end-of-the-world drama, this chilling emotion will pay off its creator well, in dollars and in fame. However, real suspense can be hard to produce.
On stage or in film, suspense can be urged along by music, spooky shadows on the set, or an actor’s makeup; yet on the page, suspense can only be produced by… words. But ,as we writers all must know, the word is mightier than any other means of affecting human emotion. And thus words will certainly do.
So, how do we keep the reader in a state of mental uncertainty or excitement? By sleight of hand, of course, by suggestion, by both the usual means and the unusual.
Agony Editor: How to tell a fellow writer it’s time to move on
quillandquire.com – Wednesday October 30, 2024
Dear Agony Editor,
A guy in my writing group has been working on a short story for three years. Every time it’s his turn to submit work for the group to critique, it’s the same story with only minor adjustments. I’ve said everything I have to say, and truthfully, the story isn’t working. If I have to read it one more time, I’ll scream. I want to tell him to move on, but how do I do it delicately?
Signed,
Rinse and Repeat
Seven of the best UK retreats for aspiring writers
thetimes.com – Tuesday October 29, 2024
These weekends away will get your creative juices flowing with journaling workshops, special guests and, of course, desks with stirring views
Some say everyone has a novel in them — and the recent boom in self-published books suggests it could be true. According to the website Wordsrated, 300 million self-published books are sold each year, while the newsletter platform Substack has reported a 50 per cent growth in new writers over the past 12 months. But whether you’re writing for yourself or you have a three-book publishing deal, the hardest part of the process is often getting started. We’ve found seven retreats to help you to put pen to paper, each somewhere lovely.
New Publisher Listing: Oh MG Press
firstwriter.com – Tuesday October 29, 2024
Traditional middle grade publisher. No advance. High royalties. Welcomes submissions from authors based in the United States and Canada exclusively. Accepts early middle grade fiction between 16,000 and 30,000 words, and middle grade fiction between 30,000 and 65,000 words. Offers manuscript editing services for a fee.
Applications now open for George R.R. Martin Summer Intensive Writing Workshop
medill.northwestern.edu – Monday October 28, 2024
Applications are now open for the second George R.R. Martin Summer Intensive Writing Workshop at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications.
Taught by award-winning novelists and writing instructors, this seven-day, fully-funded writing intensive will support up to 10 mid-career journalists as they seek to publish their first novel. The workshop will take place in Evanston, Illinois, and will run from July 9-16.
“The story telling skills journalists employ every day can be extended into creative works,” said Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, Medill’s George R.R. Martin Chair in Storytelling, who will be leading the workshop. “In our first year of the program, we had 12 fellows who made great strides on their first novels after spending just a week at Medill.”
George R.R. Martin (BSJ70, MSJ71, ’21 H), author of the acclaimed “A Song of Ice and Fire” novels and co-executive producer of the Emmy award-winning “Game of Thrones” series, is generously funding the workshop with a $3 million gift.
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