MATERCLASS , PART 1

“Write as if nobody’s watching, because nobody’s watching.”

The Anatomy of a thriller

The 3 C’s

-contract

-clock

-crucible

CONTRACT

The promise you’re making to the reader (you never break it).

CLOCK

There’s always a time pressure

CRUCIBLE (something that holds things together)

 

Don’t let your characters run away, he/she has to face the villain. Give the hero nly one path he can't escape from, and that path is a miserable one. FIlled with danger, obstacles, monsters and personal challenges. 

 PACE, PROMISE, SUSPENSE

What makes a book a thriller is the pace it comes at you.

Thrillers ask lots of questions very quickly and therefore, give a lot of answers very quickly,  creating new promises and asking questions all at the same time as you’re answering the old ones.

Suspense is about telling the reader, “I know something you don’t know, but I promise when you turn the pageI’m going to tell you.”

FIRST READ CRITICALLY

Writers must read. 

Your job as a writer is to give the reader what they want in a way they don’t see it coming.

FINDING THE IDEA-

Trust your taste- Never chase after someone else’s taste. Find what you love, and what you would like to read. If you like it, someone else would like it too ( not everyone, and that’s ok too).

-Write what you want to know- Find what’s interesting to you and go research it. Choose a topic, a world that you’re excited about. Learn about the topics that interest you.

Writing a novel is a process that takes time, so choose a topic that keeps you excited through the whole process.

START WITH THE WORLD

- What is the world where I want to set my novel in? (eg, national security, mafia, magic realm, etc)

 

-From that world will come an endless number of more questions.Choose a world that can support the very old and very new, that creates an immediate point of conflict.

 

-Scan the headlines and stop at a story that interests you. If it’s in the news, it’s because there’s a point of conflict and you could probably argue both ways.

 

IDENTIFY YOUR SOLE DRAMATIC QUESTION

-What is my novel about?

-Will _________ find true love?

-Will _________ escape the law firm?

-Will _________ catch the thief?

 

This question makes the process seem manageable, it’s your north star!

 

FIND A MORAL GRAY AREA

 

When you’re trying to figure out what is the question around which this book circles, make it a question that is MORALLY AMBIGUOUS (where you can argue both sides and you will end up with a villain that is much more interesting. A hero that might say “I don’t know if I should be doing this because this guy (the villain) sort of has a point….

 

THINK LIKE A PHILOSOPHER< WRITE LIKE A THRILLER WRITER

 

What’s interesting about this world? Where are the questions? (Google the idea, talk to people) FInd gray areas, points of conflict in that world. Who’s my hero? WHat does he want? Why can’t he have it?

 

FOCUS ON THE “NOW” NOT THE “WHAT”

 

It’s not about the big idea (the what), it’s about the how, how it happens. He will get the girls, she will save the world etc. But how….?

Every idea has been done, the question is how.

How are you getting your character from point A to point B in the most fascinating way possible?

 

CHOOSING THE RIGHT IDEA

 

A- Write the prologue of all your different ideas and see which one flows and you want to write more about.

 

B- Which one can you write a 3 paragraph description of the book?

 

C-Which one do you personally want to read?

Subscribe to my newsletter to learn part 2 about what's next in the Dan Brown's MASTERCLASS on writing thrillers!