ÿþ <html> <head> <title>John Baird, Author</title> <META http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1"> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="main.css"> <script src="../templates.js" type="text/javascript"></script> </head> <body> <table class="Global" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"> <tr><td height="127" colspan="3"> <!-- ============ Header section ============== --> <table class="Header" cellspacing="0" border="0"><tr> <!-- ============ Logo ============== --> <td style="background: url('head.gif') no-repeat;" width="100%" align="left"><div style="display: table; margin-left: 20px; margin-top: 20px;">&nbsp;</div></td> </td></tr></table> <!-- ============ Navbar Menu ============== --> <table class="NavBar" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"><tr><td> <table class="NavBarLink" border="0" cellspacing="0"><tr> <td class="LinkWidth" style="padding-left: 10px;"><a href="index.htm">Home</a></td> <td><img border="0" src="silverline-separator.gif"></td> <td class="LinkWidth"><a href="books.html">Books</a></td> <td><img border="0" src="silverline-separator.gif"></td> <td class="LinkWidth"><a href="http://www.calliopress.com">Publisher</a></td> <td><img border="0" src="silverline-separator.gif"></td> <td class="LinkWidth"><a href="http://johnbairdauthor.blogspot.com/">Blog</a></td> <td><img border="0" src="silverline-separator.gif"></td> <td class="LinkWidth"><a href="http://twitter.com/JohnBairdAuthor">Twitter</a></td> <td><img border="0" src="silverline-separator.gif"></td> <td class="LinkWidth"><a href="http://www.myspace.com/johnbairdauthor">MySpace</a></td> <td><img border="0" src="silverline-separator.gif"></td> <td class="LinkWidth"><a href="Q&A.html">Q&A</a></td> <td><img border="0" src="silverline-separator.gif"></td> <td class="LinkWidth"><a href="links.html">Links</a></td> </tr></table> </td></tr></table> </td></tr> <!-- ============ COLUMNS SECTION ============== --> <!-- ============ Left Column ============== --> <tr><td class="Left" width="150" align="center"> <!-- ============ Left Column ============== --> <tr><td class="Left" width="150" align="center"> <table cellspacing="0" class="BoxStyle" style="width: 120px; margin-bottom: 15px;"><tr><td style="padding: 10px;"> <div class="BoxStyle" style="width: 120px; height: 171px;"><img src="frontcover1.jpg" width="120" height="171" alt="skyscape (3K)"></div> <p align="center"></p> <p align="center"></p> <div align="center"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chasing-Shadows-John-Baird/dp/085778059X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1280170628&sr=1-1"><div align="center"><img src="amazonUK.gif"></a></p> <div align="center"><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/john+baird/chasing+shadows/7902723/"> <div align="center"><img src="waterstonesold.jpg"></a></p> <p align="center"></p> </td></tr></table> <!-- ============ Extra Block below Photo ============== --> <table cellspacing="0" class="BoxStyle" style="width: 120px; margin-bottom: 15px;"><tr><td style="padding: 10px;"> <div class="BoxStyle" style="width: 120px; height: 171px;"><img src="tellingtales.gif" width="120" height="171" alt="skyscape (3K)"></div> <p align="center"><font size="2" face="verdana"><b>An Anthology</b></p> <p align="center"><font size="1" face="verdana">Featuring a short story by <i>John Baird.</i></p> <div align="center"><a href="http://www.dscpublications.co.uk/10.html"><img src="dsc.gif"></a></p> <p align="center"></p> <div align="center"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Writers-Telling-Tales-Karen-Wright/dp/0955231574/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258986228&sr=8-1"><div align="center"><img src="amazonUK.gif"></a></p> <!-- ============ br tags below are just filler ============== --> <p><div align="center"><a href="http://www.newwritersuk.co.uk/"><div align="center"><img src="newwritersuk.gif"></a></p> </td></tr></table> </td> <!-- ============ Content Column (Middle) ============== --> <td class="Content Padded" width="55%"> <!-- ============ Page Heading ============== --> <font size="5" face="verdana"><b>Tips On Writing Thrillers</b> <hr/> <!-- ============ Begin Content ============== --> <p><b>Read, Read, Read.</b></p> <p>To be able to write well you need to be well read, at least in the genre at which you’re writing. Analyse the novels you read, especially the good ones. This isn’t easy on a first read so revisit books, looking for patterns that emerge. <i>What elements are familiar to your genre?</i></p> <p><b>Establishing plot.</b></P> <p>Plots normally adopt the following structure: <b>intrigue/hook, conflict, climax, resolution.</b></p> <p>When devising your plot, don’t get too hung up on originality. Most stories have been told before; the trick is to come up with a fresh angle.</p> <p>Novels are predominantly plot driven or character driven. I favour plot driven. As a thriller writer I need to know the entire story in outline form before I begin to write. This way I can plant deadlines, red herrings and twists as I know how the story is going to end.</p> <p>Think of yourself (the author) driving at night and in your passenger seat is the reader. Imagine going on the journey together seeing only what your headlights allow. You can make the whole journey that way providing <i>you</i> know your route and destination. At all times you should try to keep your passenger moving forward but never let them know where they’re heading until you have to. Give them clues, signposts, but take them in unexpected directions, and keep your foot on the gas. </p> <p><b>The power of questions.</b></p> <p>Ask a question and people usually stick around for the answer. Ask an interesting question and you have intrigue. This should occur early in a novel, in the first chapter, if not the first paragraph. The engine of a novel is in the what happens next? That’s how to get the pages turning. In a thriller this question is often in the form of <i>how the hell’s he going to get out of this?</i></p> <p><b>Memorable characters.</b></p> <p>Protagonists, at least in thrillers, are generally in the form of either an action professional or an average Joe. The former is the tough guy who is handy with his fists and knows his way around a gun (James Bond, Jack Reacher). The latter is the everyman character, ordinary men/women who find themselves in extraordinary situations (<i>The Fugitive’s</i> Dr Richard Kimble, <i>Tell No One’s</i> David Beck). Whichever you choose, keep them likable, identifiable and to some extent flawed. And don’t neglect the antagonists (the bad guys). They must be worthy opponents. Try to explore their motivations, revealing why they are bad. </p> <p><b>Pacing.</b></p> <p>Thrillers are fast paced. Get in late and get out fast, moving from venues with minimum drag. Start close to the essential action. In a thriller there’s no time to 'get into it'. Stress should be created at the very beginning and it shouldn’t let up. Keep asking those questions.</p> <p>I like short sentences and short chapters, where every line either builds character or advances the action. Unnecessary words dilute impact. Removing them heightens suspense and pace. Find economical ways to describe characters and destinations. Readers want to be involved, so provide them with enough of an impression to finish off your image for themselves. Take the following description of a minor character: <i>reeking of gin, the crusty old geezer appeared to have dressed in the rejects bin of a charity shop.</i> The specifics of his appearance are an irrelevance; the reader has more than enough of a picture to add/assume the rest. </p> <p><b>The importance of conflict.</b></p> <p>Novels are based on conflict. <i>What is standing in the characters way?</i> In a thriller, external conflict is the opposition that drives the plot. So pile on the pressure. Just as your hero is struggling to keep plates spinning, add a few more, then have your antagonist throw stones at them. Put your hero in seemingly impossible situations, forcing him/her to find solutions. And don’t just put obstacles in the way of your hero; give the perpetrators their fair share.</p> <p>Conflict can also be internal or character based. Maybe your hero has to make a difficult decision between solving his/her problems and doing what is morally right. </p> <p><b>Creating suspense.</b></p> <p>If you want to make somebody hungry, delay their food. In other words, arouse expectation in your reader and then delay the fulfillment of that expectation. Leave them hanging on until the critical moment. Readers keep reading when they are waiting for a resolution they know is coming.</p> <p><b>The ticking clock.</b></p> <p>A good way of adding another layer of complication is by establishing time constraints. Have your hero solving a problem by a set deadline. This keeps the tension cranked up and offers another question; <i>will the problem be solved in time?</i></p> <p><b>Twists and surprises.</b></p> <p>A twist is a revelation that changes the direction of the story. The reader must believe they are heading one way then bam! Everything is knocked sideways, down a more exciting or dangerous route. As for surprises, <i>save the best till last.</i> For a story to succeed, the climax must be the most satisfying experience of all. Readers read to get to the end and they have to be happy with the answer. The surprise ending has to be consistent with the rest of the book, credible and unique. Some things can be left unresolved but the main threads must be tied up in a way that the reader doesn’t see coming. The author should know more than the reader until the last page. A guessed ending is not a surprise ending. But resist temptation to suddenly have the villain revealed as an unlikely character. Plausibility is vital. </p> <hr/> <br /> <table> <tr> <td><div align="center"><a href="http://www.johnbairdauthor.com/"><div align="center"><img src="banner_johnbaird.gif"></a></td> </tr> </table> <!-- ============ End Content ============== --> </td> <!-- ============ Right Column ============== --> <td class="Right Padded"> <table cellspacing="0" class="BoxStyle" style="width: 200px; margin-bottom: 15px;"><tr><td style="padding: 15px;"> <div class="BoxStyle" style="width: 164px; height: 482px;"><img src="Chasingbookmarks.gif" width="164" height="482" alt="skyscape (3K)"></div></p> <div align="center"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chasing-Shadows-John-Baird/dp/085778059X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1280170628&sr=1-1"><div align="center"><img src="amazonUK.gif"></a></p> <div align="center"><a href="http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/john+baird/chasing+shadows/7902723/"> <div align="center"><img src="waterstonesold.jpg"></a></p> </td><td class="Padded"> </td></tr> </table> <div align="center"><a href="http://www.thecwa.co.uk/"><div align="center"><img src="thecwalogosmall.jpg"></a></p> <div align="center"><a href="http://www.calliopress.com"><div align="center"><img src="cplogo10.jpg"></a></p> <div align="center"><a href="http://twitwall.com/view/?what=0700030001"><div align="center"><img src="adtwit.jpg"></a></p> </td></tr> <!-- ============ Footer ============== --> <tr><td colspan="3" class="Footer" style="vertical-align: middle;"> Copyright &copy; John Baird &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Design by <a href="http://www.ironspider.ca/freetemplates/index.htm" title="(External link - Opens in a new window.)" target="_blank">Iron Spider</a> </td></tr></table> </body> </html>