how to write thrillers that stay forever in the memory...

Write thrillers with bags of emotion...

When out with friends for a chat and catch up, we often talk about the books we have read (or not read as the case may be).  My friends sometimes think I’m a bit ‘nuts’ as I tell them I often don’t finish novels.

I am a person who hates to waste time so I will only carry on reading a book if the writer has caught me up in a story (involved me emotionally). If I am not enjoying a book I will cast it aside and not waste further time on it. It doesn’t even have to be a really bad book for that to happen – it may simply be that it is boring me a bit. I know that sometimes if I continue it will get better but why should I bother when there are so many other juicy books to get stuck into. On the other hand I know people who will persevere with a book – provided it is not that bad! The engine that turns so-so fiction into well-loved and remembered books? Emotion!

When I ask friends what a book is actually about and they cannot remember I know it wasn’t that good. For me the plot has to hang together well and the story must engage some kind of strong emotion in me. Whether that is horror, happiness, sadness or sorrow an emotion of some kind must be there. When I think back to books I read as a child/young woman I find it is the emotion I remember most clearly about the story.

 I generally judge a good book by how well I can remember it weeks later. If it truly stays with me, I know it was a great book. One such novel in recent months was “The Incredible Pilgrimage of Harold Fry”. That book almost brought me to tears at the end and I can remember most of it even though I read it a while ago! Whereas the one I read last week was fairly good but I can’t remember it without a prompt! Another great recent read was Jo jo Moyes " Me Before You"

No, I know they were not really thrillers but there ARE plenty of thrillers who are awash with emotion (both love and heart warming terror to name but two). In fact I would say thrillers cannot be good stories (no matter how much of a roller coaster ride) without that all important connection to the reader.  Take for example the stories of Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Tess Gerritsen, and even Jodi Picoult.  They are all chock full of supense but they also look at our very human frailties and our relatinships with each other. Great reads every one of them!!!

Of course Charles Dickens may have been the best ever for injecting masses of emotion into his stories as well as suspense... Who could ever forget the image of a small thin boy holding out a bowl and asking meekly for more?

 Do certain stories have a big impact for you?

Inspirational Eureka Moments

My dictionary tells me’ inspiration’ can be ‘a good idea, creative influence or stimulus’. In terms of writing, that definitely fits the bill! But my idea of inspiration is not a flash of insight or a good idea but moments when my dear friend, Mary Muse is sitting on my shoulder.

My friend Mary calls at some odd times and sometimes when I desperately need her, she doesn’t visit at all! But all is not lost, as almost always when I need inspiration, Mary comes calling eventually.

I believe inspiration is actually the end product of lots of subconscious thinking. And although inspiration can suddenly arrive – almost a ‘eureka moment’ – I often realise belatedly, that my brain was working on the problem all the time – albeit in the background. It is moments like these that make me persevere when I have a problem with my plot or the mechanics of writing seem to be going nowhere. It is what makes me come alive and sparkle with enthusiasm at some new idea that has abruptly come to me. It restores my faith that I knew what I was doing all the time (even when, in my heart of hearts, I knew that was not the case).

A frequent quote I have come across a few times in the blogosphere is “all who wander are not lost” and whilst I cannot recall where this comes from, I do know it is certainly true of my own writing. Sometimes I do seem to wander all over the place and even get totally off course with my story but there is always a way to salvage things and that is when my muse is most often helpful as it may even suggest a new direction or a new story line which makes the tale much better and enables me to feel inspired and filled with renewed passion for my writing.

It was just such an inspirational moment when it occurred to me to put two ideas I had been considering for a story, together and tie a known historical event - the plague in 1665 - in to a contemporary story of mother love and murder. The result was  The Afterlife of Darkmares  - my latest offering...

Does your muse visit you at crucial times? Does inspiration come easily to you?

Dead or Alive? Re-birth of the soul

 

R - Reincarnation

"I am confident that there truly is such a thing as living again, that the living spring from the dead, and that the souls of the dead are in existence."
- Socrates

Reincarnation actually means re-birth of the soul in successive bodies but people often use the word when they mean a re-launching of something in a different way.

In my kind of thriller writing, it is of course a very interesting concept that allows much artistic license. No one knows what happens to us after death so no one can actually deny the existence of re-incarnation. Along with tales of the afterlife, zombies, heaven and hell and many other similar concepts, the notion of returning to this life (in some form or another) is a very strong belief to dismiss. I guess this is why it fascinates so many of us.

It is not a new idea either as Ancient civilisations believed in the idea too. Perhaps it is the arrogance (or the fear) that this life could be all there is that drives some to believe so fervently. Most religions have a central tenet that there is life after death – although not all believe in a life reborn here on earth.  But the Hindu religion, especially, has embraced the idea of life after death since time immemorial.

Along with the idea of simply being re-born is the debate of who or what one would come back as! Some believe that a good life would be rewarded and one would come back as something better (whatever that means) or for those who have done bad deeds they would come back as lowly creatures! I would guess that many do not subscribe to this but it is certainly a fun notion to play around with in devising stories.

Whatever your belief, it is an intriguing subject to deal with and it most definitely appeals to those who write and read supernatural stories.

So what would you come back as, if you had a choice? Do you believe in reincarnation? Would you use these kinds of beliefs in your own writing?

Quakes, Quacks and Queries

Q – Quakes, Quacks and Queries…

So, here I am at my favourite letter – Q.

What can I do with that, I ask myself. Well, first there is the word quack - an interesting noun - as in my kind of thriller writing there is often a quack (fraudster or charlatan) somewhere along the way. The world of the paranormal is littered with them. Introducing a character who is a fraud can enliven a plot and raise the tension – especially if the reader knows he/she is a fraud but the other characters do not. Fabulous! In one of my stories the fraud actually turns out to be the good guy too!

Quake is also a useful word too – as in quake with anger or fear. But there is also the larger than life plot that might well centre around an actual earthquake. This is the kind of natural disaster that often makes for gripping thrillers. Most of us have experienced mild earthquakes but to be in a severe one must be the most frightening thing imaginable.

Lastly my offering today is also about queries. Yes, that most scary of writerly things… I don’t know why most writers are so worried about composing queries. I suppose it is because they are our shop front, window display of what we are about and as such have the kind of importance attached that undoubtedly put the fear of God into most of us. A query is also rich with rules which can be difficult to stick to but without which - if we choose to ignore the said rules - we know our work will not even be read! 

Happy Easter, one and all!



All you need is...Love

L – Love

"Hatred ever kills, love never dies" Ghandi

Where would we be without love? More to the point where would our writing be without it? For in one way or another it features in most works of fiction. When I say love I’m not just talking about the romantic notion of love, I am talking about the emotion of caring for something or someone in an unconditional way.

For me the notion of love is intrinsically linked to its opposite, hate. This dichotomy is the engine which drives most rollicking good stories. There is nothing readers like more than to ultimately see love (and other similar admirable qualities) triumph over evil. Whilst I may not write particularly romantic stories, love always features (in some form or another) in all my fiction.  

Love is one of the most basic of human emotions and we have all experienced it at some point in our lives. It is so strong that artists over the ages have written about its power in songs and verse. It is the very bedrock of human happiness and without it we would all be hard put to survive.

The most primitive and basic form of love is that of mother and child. Love is the protective umbrella that we are all reared under and mother love can - quite literally - achieve almost impossible tasks.

What a fabulous premise to underscore a great story! And what a great adversarial emotion to stand against a destructive protagonist…

In my supernatural thriller writing, ‘love conquers all’ is a frequent theme – it may be parental love, it may be romantic love or it may even be love of a belief, place or group of people.  ‘Love thy neighbour’ is also a common theme when one or more people are racing to save a population or even the whole human race. I have often heard of great sacrifice in order to save one single pet! So love at its best is a very admirable human quality that most of us understand.

 Whilst some may think it a simplistic theme, it is a mighty powerful ally in the structure of a modern story. And far from being solely the thematic concern of the romance genre, it ought (in my opinion) to suffuse all our fiction.

The antagonism of love and hate makes for rich pickings in terms of rising tension and suspense and, as fellow human beings, we can all empathise with and cheer for the main characters who think it worth fighting for.