Download or read book How to Write a Damn Good Thriller written by James N. Frey and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2010-03-30 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Gone Girl written by Gillian Flynn and published by Ballantine Books. This book was released on 2012-06-05 with total page 497 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The “mercilessly entertaining” (Vanity Fair) instant classic “about the nature of identity and the terrible secrets that can survive and thrive in even the most intimate relationships” (Lev Grossman, Time “One of the Best Books of the Decade”)—now featuring never-before-published deleted scenes ONE OF TIME'S 100 BEST MYSTERY AND THRILLER BOOKS OF ALL TIME, ONE OF CNN'S MOST INFLUENTIAL BOOKS OF THE DECADE, AND ONE OF ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY'S BEST BOOKS OF THE DECADE ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Janet Maslin, The New York Times, People, Entertainment Weekly, O: The Oprah Magazine, Slate, Kansas City Star, USA Today, Christian Science Monitor On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: San Francisco Chronicle, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Chicago Tribune, HuffPost, Newsday

Download or read book Mastering Suspense Structure and Plot written by Jane Cleland and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-03-31 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Enthrall Your Readers! Suspense is one of the most powerful tools a writer has for captivating readers--but it isn't just for thrillers. From mainstream fiction to memoir, suspense creates the emotional tension that keeps readers on the edge of their seats. Mastering Suspense, Structure, & Plot is your hands-on guide to weaving suspense into your narrative. Award-winning author Jane K. Cleland teaches you how to navigate genre conventions, write for your audience, and build gripping tension to craft an irresistible page-turner. Inside, Cleland will show you how to: • Implement thirteen no-fail techniques to construct an effective plot and structure for your story • Use Cleland's Plotting Road Map to add elements of suspense like twists, reversals, and moments of danger • Write subplots with purpose • Improve your descriptions, character development, sentence structure, and more Packed with case studies, exercises, and dozens of examples from best-selling authors, Mastering Suspense, Structure, & Plot is the key to writing suspenseful, engaging stories that leave your readers wanting more. ------ "Indispensable! For newbie authors and veterans alike, this terrific how-to is your new go-to. Don't write your book without it--it's a treasure." --Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha, Anthony, Macavity and Mary Higgins Clark award-winning author

Download or read book Writing the Thriller Film written by Neill D. Hicks and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ISBN 9780941188395 appears to have also been used for the title "Writing the action-adventure film: the moment of truth," by Neill D. Hicks.

Download or read book DIY MFA written by Gabriela Pereira and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2016-07-08 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Get the Knowledge Without the College! You are a writer. You dream of sharing your words with the world, and you're willing to put in the hard work to achieve success. You may have even considered earning your MFA, but for whatever reason--tuition costs, the time commitment, or other responsibilities--you've never been able to do it. Or maybe you've been looking for a self-guided approach so you don't have to go back to school. This book is for you. DIY MFA is the do-it-yourself alternative to a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. By combining the three main components of a traditional MFA--writing, reading, and community--it teaches you how to craft compelling stories, engage your readers, and publish your work. Inside you'll learn how to: • Set customized goals for writing and learning. • Generate ideas on demand. • Outline your book from beginning to end. • Breathe life into your characters. • Master point of view, voice, dialogue, and more. • Read with a "writer's eye" to emulate the techniques of others. • Network like a pro, get the most out of writing workshops, and submit your work successfully. Writing belongs to everyone--not only those who earn a degree. With DIY MFA, you can take charge of your writing, produce high-quality work, get published, and build a writing career.

Download or read book How to Write a Mystery written by Mystery Writers of America and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2022-04-12 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From 70 of the most successful mystery writers in the business, an invaluable guide to crafting mysteries—from character development and plot to procedurals and thrillers—“this is a writing guide that readers and writers will turn to again and again” (Booklist, starred review). Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is known for providing unparalleled resources on the craft, art, and business of storytelling, helping writers of all levels improve their skills for nearly a century. Now, this handbook helps authors navigate the ever-shifting publishing landscape—from pacing, plotting, the business side of publishing, to the current demand for diversity and inclusivity across all genres, and more. Featuring essays by a new generation of bestselling experts on various elements of the craft and shorter pieces of crowd-sourced wisdom from the MWA membership as a whole, the topics covered can be categorized as follows: —Before Writing (rules; genres; setting; character; research; etc.) —While Writing (outlining; the plot; dialogue; mood; etc.) —After Writing (agents; editors; self-pub; etc.) —Other than Novels (short stories; true crime; etc.) —Other Considerations (diverse characters; legal questions; criticism) Also included is a collection of essays from MWA published authors—including Jeffery Deaver, Tess Gerritsen, and Charlaine Harris—selected by bestselling authors Lee Child and Laurie King and arranged thematically answering, “What piece of writing advice do you wish you’d had at the beginning of your career?” “Everything you wanted to know about how to plan, draft, write, revise, publish, and market a mystery” (Kirkus Reviews), this inclusive manual provides practical, current, easily digestible advice for new and established authors alike.

Download or read book How to Write a Thriller written by Scott Mariani and published by How to Books Limited. This book was released on 2007 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thrillers have become the number one genre in commercial fiction, with millions of potential readers across the world. Thriller writer Scott Mariani helps aspiring thriller writers into that market, creating exciting, suspenseful novels.

Download or read book Theory of Prose written by Виктор Шкловский and published by Dalkey Archive Press. This book was released on 1991 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Viktor Shklovsky's 1925 book Theory of Prose might have become the most important work of literary criticism in the twentieth century had not two obstacles barred its way: the crackdown by the Soviet dictatorship on Shklovsky and other Russian Formalists in the 1930s, and the unavailability of an English translation. Now translated in its entirety for the first time, Theory of Prose not only anticipates structuralism and post-structuralism, but poses questions about the nature of fiction that are as provocative today as they were in the 1920s. Arguing that writers structure their material according to artistic principles rather than from attempts to imitate "reality," Shklovsky uses Cervantes, Tolstoi, Sterne, Dickens, Bely, and Rozanov to give us a new way of thinking about fiction and, in his most impassioned moments, about the world. Benjamin Sher's lucid translation will allow Shklovsky's Theory of Prose to fulfill its destiny as a major theoretical work of the twentieth century." from back cover.

Download or read book How to Write a Damn Good Mystery written by James N. Frey and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page 286 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Edgar award nominee James N. Frey, author of the internationally best-selling books on the craft of writing, 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, has now written what is certain to become the standard "how to" book for mystery writing, How to Write a Damn Good Mystery. Frey urges writers to aim high-not to try to write a good-enough-to-get-published mystery, but a damn good mystery. A damn good mystery is first a dramatic novel, Frey insists-a dramatic novel with living, breathing characters-and he shows his readers how to create a living, breathing, believable character who will be clever and resourceful, willful and resolute, and will be what Frey calls "the author of the plot behind the plot." Frey then shows, in his well-known, entertaining, and accessible (and often humorous) style , how the characters-the entire ensemble, including the murderer, the detective, the authorities, the victims, the suspects, the witnesses and the bystanders-create a complete and coherent world. Exploring both the on-stage action and the behind-the-scenes intrigue, Frey shows prospective writers how to build a fleshed-out, believable, and logical world. He shows them exactly which parts of that world show up in the pages of a damn good mystery-and which parts are held back just long enough to keep the reader guessing. This is an indispensable step-by-step guide for anyone who's ever dreamed of writing a damn good mystery.

Download or read book Writing Mysteries written by Sue Grafton and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2002-04-22 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Here's your ticket to the greatest mystery-writing workshop ever! In this extraordinary compilation, more than three dozen members of the Mystery Writers of America share insights and advice that can help make your writing dreams a reality. You'll learn how to: • Develop unique ideas • Construct an airtight plot packed with intrigue and suspense • Create compelling characters and atmospheric settings • Develop a writing style all your own • Write convincing dialogue • Choose the appropriate point of view • Work with an agent • Conduct accurate research • and much, much more! You'll also find special guidelines for creating clues, dropping red herrings, and writing medical, legal, historical, true crime, and young adult mysteries. It's all the information you need to solve the mystery-writing riddle!

Download or read book Her Sister s Secret written by E. V. Seymour and published by HarperCollins UK. This book was released on 2019-07-05 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A liar in the family... Rosamund Lupton’s Sister meets The Woman in the Window in this gripping thriller brimming with suspense and lies!

Download or read book Writing and Selling Thriller Screenplays written by Lucy V. Hay and published by Oldcastle Books. This book was released on 2013-09-29 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Writing and Selling Thriller Screenplays has the lowdown not only on getting your thriller feature script on the page, but getting it in front of producers and investors. From premise to resolution, Lucy V. Hay guides you through the craft of thriller writing, citing classic thrillers such as Psycho, The Shining, The Sixth Sense and Fatal Attraction and lesser-known gems like Red Eye, Desperate Measures, Impostor and Deviation. The book also considers how the screenplay might be sold to investors, looking at high concept ideas, pitching, packaging and the realities of film finance. Lucy V. Hay asks: what is flight vs. fight? What is the difference between horror and thriller? What are the different sub genres of thriller? What part do actors play in film finance? How can limited locations create new opportunities in storytelling and financing? Why is the lone protagonist so in demand? Why are female characters so popular in thriller? And much, much more... 'Really hones in on the specific genre of thrillers with expertise' - Write So Fluid 'A must-read for any writer, producer or director looking to create (or in the process of creating) a thriller production. It could also be immensely useful for those generally curious about the genre or looking to learn more' - Film Doctor 'This book should form part of the armoury for any screenplay writers bookshelf' - Stephen Hall Check out Lucy V. Hay's other screenwriting books: Writing & Selling Drama Screenplays and Writing Diverse Characters for Fiction, Film and TV

Download or read book The Story Grid written by Shawn Coyne and published by Black Irish Entertainment LLC. This book was released on 2015-05-02 with total page 459 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: WHAT IS THE STORY GRID? The Story Grid is a tool developed by editor Shawn Coyne to analyze stories and provide helpful editorial comments. It's like a CT Scan that takes a photo of the global story and tells the editor or writer what is working, what is not, and what must be done to make what works better and fix what's not. The Story Grid breaks down the component parts of stories to identify the problems. And finding the problems in a story is almost as difficult as the writing of the story itself (maybe even more difficult). The Story Grid is a tool with many applications: 1. It will tell a writer if a Story ?works? or ?doesn't work. 2. It pinpoints story problems but does not emotionally abuse the writer, revealing exactly where a Story (not the person creating the Story'the Story) has failed. 3. It will tell the writer the specific work necessary to fix that Story's problems. 4. It is a tool to re-envision and resuscitate a seemingly irredeemable pile of paper stuck in an attic drawer. 5. It is a tool that can inspire an original creation.

Download or read book How to Write a Damn Good Novel written by James N. Frey and published by St. Martin's Press. This book was released on 2010-04-01 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written in a clear, crisp, accessible style, this book is perfect for beginners as well as professional writers who need a crash course in the down-to-earth basics of storytelling. Talent and inspiration can't be taught, but Frey does provide scores of helpful suggestions and sensible rules and principles. An international bestseller, How to Write a Damn Good Novel will enable all writers to face that intimidating first page, keep them on track when they falter, and help them recognize, analyze, and correct the problems in their own work.

Download or read book On Writing Horror written by Mort Castle and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2006-11-18 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The masters of horror have united to teach you the secrets of success in the scariest genre of all! In On Writing Horror, Second Edition, Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Harlan Ellison, David Morrell, Jack Ketchum, and many others tell you everything you need to know to successfully write and publish horror novels and short stories. Edited by the Horror Writers Association (HWA), a worldwide organization of writers and publishing professionals dedicated to promoting dark literature, On Writing Horror includes exclusive information and guidance from 58 of the biggest names in horror writing to give you the inspiration you need to start scaring and exciting readers and editors. You'll discover comprehensive instruction such as: • The art of crafting visceral violence, from Jack Ketchum • Why horror classics like Dracula, The Exorcist, and Hell House are as scary as ever, from Robert Weinberg • Tips for avoiding one of the biggest death knells in horror writing—predicable clichés—from Ramsey Campbell • How to use character and setting to stretch the limits of credibility, from Mort Castle With On Writing Horror, you can unlock the mystery surrounding classic horror traditions, revel in the art and craft of writing horror, and find out exactly where the genre is going next. Learn from the best, and you could be the next best-selling author keeping readers up all night long.

Download or read book James Bond written by Henry Chancellor and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For over half a century, the Bond novels have entertained millions around the world. 007 has been a cultural phenomenon since the first publication of Casino Royale in 1953. But no book has celebrated Fleming's literary Bond in his own right. This is an authoritative and entertaining journey through the world of the original James Bond, from Moscow to Mayfair, the bedroom to the war-room, the casino to the villain's lair. Ian Fleming's archive has released never-before seen documents and material to create this book. Sources include research notes and diaries to annotated manuscripts and ephemera from Fleming's files. Illustrated with classy, contemporary images, the book is a visual feast, but it is also engaging, with a rigorous and satisfying text. It recaptures the glamour of an age, and offers a new insight into the twentieth century's most thrilling literary hero.

Download or read book The Lightness written by Emily Temple and published by HarperCollins UK. This book was released on 2020-06-11 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘A psychologically smart debut that swathes teen desire and friendship in mystery and mirth’ Observer ‘Like a twisted Malory Towers or maybe a cosmic version of ‘Heathers’’ Daily Mail ‘Funny, whip-smart and transcendently wise’ Jenny Offill ‘The love child of Donna Tartt and Tana French’ Chloe Benjamin