Thursday, April 25, 2013

THE THRILLER By Rita Karnopp


When it came time to write, I believe the best advice I ever received was given to me my international best-selling author Kat Martin.  She said, “Write what you love to read.”  That has been the most solid, singular, best writing advice I’ve ever received.  I love reading Indian historicals and suspense/thrillers.

Think about it, we are passionate about what we enjoy. Right?  So, if you absolutely get carried away with a thriller . . . you will most likely write with drive, excitement, eagerness, anticipation, and enthusiasm.

It all boils down to - a good thriller is the result of good characters, a super plot with a few twisting sub-plots, and a chill down your back.  The key to a gripping thriller is when the characters that take you with them, each terrifying step, into a life-threatening situation with fear as your companion.  The reader doesn’t want to go – but can’t stop.

Conviction in your abilities is crucial. Know what drives you – and take the reader along with you.  Don’t make it easy for the reader, they’ll see right through you.  You want them to keep guessing – right down to the last sentence.  If they figure it out, why finish reading?

But with thrillers, the process is more like a puzzle, and you need to make sure you have the entire picture before you cut it into pieces – waiting for your reader to put it all together.  Never start a thriller thinking you’ll figure it out when you get there.  A good thriller has foreshadowing, vision, forewarning, and even revelation.

Be careful of trends, they come and go like dress styles.  So what do you write?  Back to the ‘write what you love to read . . . and what you know.’  Write what you’re passionate about.

One final bit of advice – don’t quit.  Keep at it and when you’ve finished your book, you will get the thrill 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Romance Reviews

The Romance Reviews