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.
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