How to Write A Damn Good Thriller - A Step-by-Step Guide for Novelists and Screenwriters
James N. Frey
St. Martin's Press | March 2010 | ISBN-10: 0312575076 | PDF | 304 pages | 15.7 mb
http://www.amazon.com/Write-Damn-Thriller-Step---Step/dp/B007PM0498
A quick look at any fiction bestseller list reveals that thrillers make up most of the titles at the top. HOW TO WRITE A DAMN GOOD THRILLER will help the aspiring novelist or screenwriter to design, draft, write, and polish a thriller that is sure to grab readers. Frey uses examples from both books and movies and addresses the following hot topics:
* Germinal ideas
* Breathing life into great thriller characters
* Crafting a gripping opening
* Maintaining tension
* Creating obstacles and conflicts
* Writing a mean, lean thriller scene
* Adding surprise twists
* Building a smashing climax
and many more.
In his trademark approachable and humorous style, Frey illuminates the building blocks of great thrillers and gives the reader the tools to write his or her own.
The author’s fifth guide to writing “damn good fiction” offers a useful and entertaining look at the process of writing a thriller. Some readers may be confused, at first, by his seemingly overbroad definition of a thriller (the Iliad? Miss Congeniality?), but thrillers, Frey argues, should be defined by their key elements: heroes with impossible missions, theatrically extreme villains, a series of obstacles, a rousing climax. The author leads us through the process of putting together a thriller by creating several stories and then showing us how to elaborate their plots and how to design their characters. It’s an interesting approach, sort of a hands-on seminar. He also refers frequently to various well-known thrillers (The Boys from Brazil, Jaws, The Day of the Jackal, etc.) and explains why they work the way they do. By adopting a practical approach—showing us in specific terms how to build a character, for example, rather than simply giving us general pointers—Frey makes the prospect of writing a novel feel considerably less daunting.
About the Author
James N. Frey is the author of internationally bestselling books on the craft of fiction writing, including How to Write a Damn Good Novel, How to Write a Damn Good Novel II: Advanced Techniques, and The Key: How to Write Damn Good Fiction Using the Power of Myth. He is also the author of nine novels, including the Edgar Award-nominated The Long Way to Die. He has taught at the University of California, Berkeley, Extension, the Squaw Valley Community of Writers, and the Oregon Writers' Colony, and he is a featured speaker at writers' conferences throughout the United States and Europe.