1 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:09,040 Thrillers for me are books that I like 2 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:10,880 to read. I was a big Robert Lelham fan, 3 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:12,240 you know, growing up and he started the 4 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:14,559 Born series, born identity and born 5 00:00:14,559 --> 00:00:16,000 supremacy and all that and that was just 6 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:18,000 a great ride because it took you all 7 00:00:18,000 --> 00:00:19,279 over the world and you got to see 8 00:00:19,279 --> 00:00:20,800 different cultures and how people 9 00:00:20,800 --> 00:00:23,920 interact and secrets and high stakes and 10 00:00:23,920 --> 00:00:26,480 you know it mattered. Um, so I was kind 11 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:28,160 of drawn to those stories just because 12 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:30,240 it thrilled me and I thought it would be 13 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:32,160 kind of fun to try to write a thriller 14 00:00:32,160 --> 00:00:34,239 like that. Building mystery into your 15 00:00:34,239 --> 00:00:36,559 thrillers, uh, is paramount. It's 16 00:00:36,559 --> 00:00:39,120 important. Um, because all thrillers 17 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:40,719 have a sense of mystery. You know, you 18 00:00:40,719 --> 00:00:42,879 could look at like a Dan Brown's books. 19 00:00:42,879 --> 00:00:44,879 Um, you wouldn't necessarily classify 20 00:00:44,879 --> 00:00:46,559 them as simply as mysteries. You they're 21 00:00:46,559 --> 00:00:48,079 thrillers. They take place all over the 22 00:00:48,079 --> 00:00:49,920 world and the stakes are very high, but 23 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:51,440 there are clues that, you know, his 24 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:53,120 characters follow to try to resolve some 25 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:54,879 type of issue. You write a story that's 26 00:00:54,879 --> 00:00:56,559 not a thriller or a mystery, the story 27 00:00:56,559 --> 00:00:57,840 is beautiful. It has characters and 28 00:00:57,840 --> 00:00:59,280 dialogue and narrative and all that, but 29 00:00:59,280 --> 00:01:01,359 the mystery component adds another 30 00:01:01,359 --> 00:01:03,120 layer. You have to have clues and red 31 00:01:03,120 --> 00:01:05,119 herrings and twists and deception, and 32 00:01:05,119 --> 00:01:07,200 you're trying to fool the reader until 33 00:01:07,200 --> 00:01:08,960 the end they and before they discover 34 00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:11,520 who did it. It's a house of cards unlike 35 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:13,600 any other book. And if I start off with 36 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:15,760 a clue that's here, that clue has to 37 00:01:15,760 --> 00:01:18,000 mean something up here, you know, when 38 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:19,680 the book is nearing its finish. And if I 39 00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:21,119 get that connection wrong, the whole 40 00:01:21,119 --> 00:01:23,759 house of cards comes tumbling down. So 41 00:01:23,759 --> 00:01:25,360 you have to build those pieces in. And 42 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:26,799 this is where it's really important to 43 00:01:26,799 --> 00:01:28,720 take the baby steps and to do a little 44 00:01:28,720 --> 00:01:30,320 piece at a time. Not don't try to think 45 00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:32,000 of the whole mystery all at once, how 46 00:01:32,000 --> 00:01:33,040 everything's going to fit together 47 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:34,880 fluidly and all that. That's impossible. 48 00:01:34,880 --> 00:01:36,799 That's overwhelming. You'll be like 49 00:01:36,799 --> 00:01:38,240 you'll be paralyzed. You won't be able 50 00:01:38,240 --> 00:01:40,479 to write a single word. So just start 51 00:01:40,479 --> 00:01:43,920 with one thing. Please take baby steps. 52 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:45,520 You don't have to do everything in one 53 00:01:45,520 --> 00:01:48,640 day. And often times for me, you know, 54 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:50,960 one clue builds upon another clue builds 55 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:52,560 upon another clue. Give yourself the 56 00:01:52,560 --> 00:01:54,399 time and the latitude to come up with 57 00:01:54,399 --> 00:01:56,640 these things. It's not easy to do. It's 58 00:01:56,640 --> 00:01:58,399 not like they just come off your out of 59 00:01:58,399 --> 00:02:00,479 your brain like a manufacturing line. It 60 00:02:00,479 --> 00:02:02,240 takes time and one often builds off the 61 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:05,240 other. 62 00:02:08,479 --> 00:02:09,840 What's a thriller without great 63 00:02:09,840 --> 00:02:11,599 suspense? Everybody wants to be on the 64 00:02:11,599 --> 00:02:13,040 edge of their seats, nervous, not 65 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:14,480 knowing what the next page is going to 66 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:16,800 bring to them. And that's where I live. 67 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:18,560 That is my sweet spot. That's where I'm 68 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:21,040 in my element. So, I love to open 69 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:22,879 stories with suspense right from the 70 00:02:22,879 --> 00:02:24,640 get-go. I hit the ground running. And 71 00:02:24,640 --> 00:02:26,800 oftentimes, I do that with a loss. 72 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:28,319 Somehow, somebody loses something in 73 00:02:28,319 --> 00:02:30,400 those very few pages, first few pages, 74 00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:32,000 and all of a sudden the suspense is 75 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:33,840 there because loss always leads to 76 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:36,160 retribution to a payback. And people 77 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:37,599 don't know how that's going to happen, 78 00:02:37,599 --> 00:02:38,959 where it's coming from. It can happen on 79 00:02:38,959 --> 00:02:40,560 the very next page, and all of a sudden, 80 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:42,959 the suspense is there. I wrote a book a 81 00:02:42,959 --> 00:02:44,480 few years ago called The Guilty. It was 82 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:46,800 Will Roby. He's on a mission. This guy's 83 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:50,000 never failed on a mission. and uh he 84 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:52,480 fails and he can't pull the trigger. The 85 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,120 target is taken out by a backup, but his 86 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:57,120 career is over because he failed to pull 87 00:02:57,120 --> 00:02:59,519 the trigger. That's a loss for him and 88 00:02:59,519 --> 00:03:00,879 he has to go on this journey to trying 89 00:03:00,879 --> 00:03:03,200 to figure out what's going on with that. 90 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:04,800 And that builds suspense because when 91 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:06,000 you're when you're talking about these 92 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:07,519 types of characters who have lost 93 00:03:07,519 --> 00:03:08,959 something, then all of a sudden you you 94 00:03:08,959 --> 00:03:10,239 have people who are plotting and 95 00:03:10,239 --> 00:03:12,640 planning to do something back. And that 96 00:03:12,640 --> 00:03:14,159 revenge factor builds suspense because 97 00:03:14,159 --> 00:03:16,159 the reader doesn't know what shape or 98 00:03:16,159 --> 00:03:18,560 form that's going to take. And it could 99 00:03:18,560 --> 00:03:20,720 be is Roi going to be walking down the 100 00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:21,920 street and somebody's gonna blow him 101 00:03:21,920 --> 00:03:24,239 away, you know? I don't know. It could 102 00:03:24,239 --> 00:03:26,000 be is somebody gonna, you know, detonate 103 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:27,440 a bomb in his apartment and take him 104 00:03:27,440 --> 00:03:29,360 out. I don't know that either. So when 105 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:30,720 people are plotting and planning against 106 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:32,159 other people that build suspense because 107 00:03:32,159 --> 00:03:33,760 the readers have no idea what that 108 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:35,280 retribution and the shape it's going to 109 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:38,280 take. 110 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:43,519 The difference between a good plot twist 111 00:03:43,519 --> 00:03:46,400 and one that's, you know, out there, um, 112 00:03:46,400 --> 00:03:48,000 is the reaction you're going to get from 113 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:49,599 people. And the reaction is going to be, 114 00:03:49,599 --> 00:03:50,640 I can tell you what your reaction is 115 00:03:50,640 --> 00:03:52,319 going to be with a bad plot twist. Well, 116 00:03:52,319 --> 00:03:54,799 that was stupid. You know, he didn't, 117 00:03:54,799 --> 00:03:56,319 and the reason it's stupid is you didn't 118 00:03:56,319 --> 00:03:57,760 lay any groundwork for that twist to 119 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:00,959 happen plausibly. Anyway, so people, not 120 00:04:00,959 --> 00:04:03,920 only didn't they not see it coming, u, 121 00:04:03,920 --> 00:04:05,680 but they didn't see it coming because 122 00:04:05,680 --> 00:04:07,120 you didn't set anything up for them to 123 00:04:07,120 --> 00:04:09,200 see it coming. The great plot twists are 124 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:11,360 where you've laid a foundation for it 125 00:04:11,360 --> 00:04:13,200 and then all of a sudden the twist 126 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:14,799 happens and then instead of saying it's 127 00:04:14,799 --> 00:04:17,280 stupid, the reader goes, I should have 128 00:04:17,280 --> 00:04:18,560 seen that one coming. Of course, it 129 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:20,160 makes perfect sense. And the only way 130 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:22,479 you do that is to plausibly build a 131 00:04:22,479 --> 00:04:24,800 scenario that allows that plot twist to 132 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:27,520 happen down the road. And it's detail by 133 00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:30,000 detail, you know, morsel by morsel, clue 134 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:32,240 by clue. I had spoken earlier about the 135 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:34,080 opening for the fix when you have a man 136 00:04:34,080 --> 00:04:35,759 and a woman coming together in front of 137 00:04:35,759 --> 00:04:38,000 the FBI building and and Decker is there 138 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:40,639 observing this and the way I just 139 00:04:40,639 --> 00:04:42,800 gleaned the material the writing you 140 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:44,000 know something bad is going to happen 141 00:04:44,000 --> 00:04:45,199 when these two people meet but you 142 00:04:45,199 --> 00:04:46,160 really think the woman is going to be 143 00:04:46,160 --> 00:04:48,720 the instigator for it you know and then 144 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:50,960 the twist happens but if you look the 145 00:04:50,960 --> 00:04:52,560 way I created the male character and 146 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:54,960 what he was doing all of a sudden you 147 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:56,240 realize when he pulls out the gun and 148 00:04:56,240 --> 00:04:57,840 shoots her and then shoots himself you 149 00:04:57,840 --> 00:05:00,960 realize I totally missed that because I 150 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:03,600 was so focused on her. The way the words 151 00:05:03,600 --> 00:05:05,520 were written and strung together, he 152 00:05:05,520 --> 00:05:07,440 told me stuff about the guy in the 153 00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:10,160 opening, but I ignored it because the 154 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:11,600 woman was a little more interesting. She 155 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:13,440 was a little more mysterious, but he 156 00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:15,840 played fair. That's a great plot twist, 157 00:05:15,840 --> 00:05:18,479 you know, and but if I hadn't done that, 158 00:05:18,479 --> 00:05:20,160 given them sort of equal time, but 159 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:22,560 favored her a little bit, if I hadn't 160 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:24,479 done that and then he pulls a gun and 161 00:05:24,479 --> 00:05:25,360 shoots her, they would have been like, 162 00:05:25,360 --> 00:05:26,960 "Well, that was stupid." You know, 163 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:28,800 that's not the reaction that you want. 164 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:32,080 The twists are little details placed 165 00:05:32,080 --> 00:05:34,080 perfectly, strung together in a way. 166 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:36,240 It's almost like a musical score. If you 167 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:37,680 have one false note, the whole piece 168 00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:39,840 falls through. Doesn't make any sense. 169 00:05:39,840 --> 00:05:41,360 Um, and that's what you have to do. And 170 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:43,520 that's why I I I really emphasize the 171 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:45,600 fact that you take baby steps on this. 172 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:47,120 You can't think of all this stuff all at 173 00:05:47,120 --> 00:05:48,720 once. This is what you build slowly, 174 00:05:48,720 --> 00:05:53,479 piece by piece. Do not try to push it. 175 00:05:56,720 --> 00:05:58,320 I love getting emails from readers and 176 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:01,360 you will too. Uh, and here's the phrase 177 00:06:01,360 --> 00:06:03,440 you'll hear a million times. God, I 178 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:05,759 never saw that coming. You know, I 179 00:06:05,759 --> 00:06:08,000 thought it was, but of course it wasn't. 180 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:09,759 And as I read along, I was like, why did 181 00:06:09,759 --> 00:06:11,919 that happen? And then you explained it 182 00:06:11,919 --> 00:06:13,520 fully, but again, I never saw it coming. 183 00:06:13,520 --> 00:06:15,840 That's what you want to have as a as a 184 00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:17,840 as a a writer. You want to have readers 185 00:06:17,840 --> 00:06:19,680 saying, I never saw that one coming. And 186 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:22,880 it could be really something subtle. It 187 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:26,000 could be that when you say in in in a 188 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:28,800 novel uh a character like Amos Zucker, 189 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:30,479 uh three things happen to him in the 190 00:06:30,479 --> 00:06:31,759 beginning of the fallen. He's standing 191 00:06:31,759 --> 00:06:33,680 on the on the porch drinking a beer and 192 00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:37,680 a storm is rolling in. And then um in 193 00:06:37,680 --> 00:06:39,199 chapter 2, he's going to find two dead 194 00:06:39,199 --> 00:06:40,560 bodies in the house, but before he finds 195 00:06:40,560 --> 00:06:42,160 the dead bodies, he's sitting on the on 196 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:43,759 the porch watching a storm come in, 197 00:06:43,759 --> 00:06:44,880 drinking a beer, and three things 198 00:06:44,880 --> 00:06:46,720 happen. He hears a noise on the street, 199 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:48,560 a clunk and a scrape. A clunk and a 200 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:50,319 scrape. A clunk and a scrape. He hears a 201 00:06:50,319 --> 00:06:52,560 car start up, but he doesn't see it 202 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:56,319 drive off. And he sees the red lights 203 00:06:56,319 --> 00:06:59,759 and hears a plane going over. Okay. Now, 204 00:06:59,759 --> 00:07:01,520 giving those three three elements in the 205 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:03,360 very opening in the book, readers are 206 00:07:03,360 --> 00:07:06,240 like, "Okay, I know this is important." 207 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:08,160 And uh let me see which ones are more 208 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:09,199 important. Okay. The clunk and the 209 00:07:09,199 --> 00:07:12,000 scrapes got to be important. The uh you 210 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:13,759 know, the car starting up and we don't 211 00:07:13,759 --> 00:07:15,199 know where it went. You know, if he 212 00:07:15,199 --> 00:07:16,560 finds dead bodies, that's got to be 213 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:18,319 important. Plane going over can't be 214 00:07:18,319 --> 00:07:19,520 important. It's a plane. What are you 215 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:22,160 gonna do at 35,000 ft? 216 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:24,880 I just laid the red herring. You know, 217 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:27,759 red herrings are making people render 218 00:07:27,759 --> 00:07:30,240 mis assumptions about something. They 219 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:32,400 assume, but it's a misassion. And you 220 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:33,759 laid it out there for them. It's all 221 00:07:33,759 --> 00:07:35,039 right there. I told you the plane went 222 00:07:35,039 --> 00:07:36,560 over. You I told you there was a red 223 00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:38,400 light in the sky and this noise sound of 224 00:07:38,400 --> 00:07:40,720 a plane going over and you just assumed, 225 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:42,880 well, it must have been a plane, right? 226 00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:44,560 And later on when you find out maybe it 227 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:46,639 wasn't a plane, then that's a red 228 00:07:46,639 --> 00:07:48,400 herring. So those are the types of 229 00:07:48,400 --> 00:07:49,759 things you have to think about, right? 230 00:07:49,759 --> 00:07:51,199 That's why I say writers have to be 231 00:07:51,199 --> 00:07:54,080 writers, magicians because you know the 232 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:56,319 red herring over here and I I have to 233 00:07:56,319 --> 00:07:58,240 show it, you know, but but I don't want 234 00:07:58,240 --> 00:07:59,520 you to focus on it too much. I do 235 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:00,479 something really interesting over here 236 00:08:00,479 --> 00:08:01,759 and you look over there and then it's 237 00:08:01,759 --> 00:08:03,680 gone. That's the kind of the response 238 00:08:03,680 --> 00:08:06,160 you listen from that would be like I 239 00:08:06,160 --> 00:08:09,879 never saw that one coming. 240 00:08:13,599 --> 00:08:15,280 A lot of times an editorial letters 241 00:08:15,280 --> 00:08:18,240 coming back for me in in my novels my 242 00:08:18,240 --> 00:08:20,479 editor and it's good that he does it 243 00:08:20,479 --> 00:08:22,800 will a comment will be like I don't feel 244 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:24,639 the time ticking here. I feel like you 245 00:08:24,639 --> 00:08:26,080 know a little bit of focus has been 246 00:08:26,080 --> 00:08:27,840 lost. I don't feel like I think we 247 00:08:27,840 --> 00:08:29,199 strayed a little bit away from the main 248 00:08:29,199 --> 00:08:31,199 plot and I'd like to get you back on the 249 00:08:31,199 --> 00:08:32,959 track to keep this moving forward. I 250 00:08:32,959 --> 00:08:34,880 want to feel the nervousness that 251 00:08:34,880 --> 00:08:36,479 something is about to happen and and 252 00:08:36,479 --> 00:08:38,640 it's not going to be uh you know 253 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:41,120 prevented in time. So, that's a great 254 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:43,360 way to sort of instill tension uh in a 255 00:08:43,360 --> 00:08:44,800 read because you want that particularly 256 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:46,720 in a thriller. Um, it could be you have 257 00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:48,160 to find someone. It could be you have to 258 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:49,440 prevent something from happening. It 259 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:52,160 could be you have to uncover a clue for 260 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:54,080 uh that clue allows something really bad 261 00:08:54,080 --> 00:08:56,240 to happen to somebody or a lot of people 262 00:08:56,240 --> 00:08:59,279 or a place or a geographic location. Um, 263 00:08:59,279 --> 00:09:00,880 but that ticking clock is a great way 264 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:02,640 and and it has to be set up. It can you 265 00:09:02,640 --> 00:09:04,160 just can't throw it in and forget about 266 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:06,399 it. If you start a ticking clock in a 267 00:09:06,399 --> 00:09:08,000 novel, you have to keep coming back to 268 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:11,360 it uh to give the reader uh who may not 269 00:09:11,360 --> 00:09:12,959 be totally aware where you're going with 270 00:09:12,959 --> 00:09:14,959 this to let them know this is a signal, 271 00:09:14,959 --> 00:09:16,720 you know what, this is important. Do not 272 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:18,240 forget this as you go along. This is 273 00:09:18,240 --> 00:09:19,920 like the psychologist hat again you have 274 00:09:19,920 --> 00:09:21,920 to put on. be aware of your reader's 275 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:24,000 perspectives of what you're tell when 276 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:25,680 you're telling the story. Because if you 277 00:09:25,680 --> 00:09:28,240 if you let that lapse too long and then 278 00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:30,240 you bring it up again, you know, 200 279 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:31,680 pages later, the reader's going to be 280 00:09:31,680 --> 00:09:34,399 confused and sort of disappointed 281 00:09:34,399 --> 00:09:36,320 because they're going to have to go back 282 00:09:36,320 --> 00:09:38,800 and why was that important again? And 283 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:40,080 then you've lost the total momentum of 284 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:43,480 the whole story. 285 00:09:47,040 --> 00:09:49,440 In all of my books, I have these major 286 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:51,200 movements and I I call them it's the 287 00:09:51,200 --> 00:09:54,240 roller coaster ride. So, I bring you up 288 00:09:54,240 --> 00:09:56,000 to the top of the roller coaster. I let 289 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:57,760 you sit up there for a little while and 290 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:00,800 then down you go and then that's the 291 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:02,959 adrenaline rush and then you catch your 292 00:10:02,959 --> 00:10:06,560 breath on the way back up. So, in all of 293 00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:08,560 my books, it's really important. I think 294 00:10:08,560 --> 00:10:11,920 it will be for you, too. Uh, nobody can 295 00:10:11,920 --> 00:10:15,600 sustain 500 pages of crap happening 296 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:17,600 non-stop. It just one, it's not 297 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:19,760 believable. Two, it's exhausting. And 298 00:10:19,760 --> 00:10:21,440 the result probably will be that people 299 00:10:21,440 --> 00:10:22,720 are going to be I can't finish this 300 00:10:22,720 --> 00:10:24,240 book. It's just there's too much going 301 00:10:24,240 --> 00:10:26,240 on. And because you're dealing with 302 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:28,160 people, people can't do that either. You 303 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:29,680 know, your characters are human. They 304 00:10:29,680 --> 00:10:32,160 they can't sustain that level of action 305 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:34,320 and activity where bullets and bombs and 306 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:36,320 stuff's happening all the time. So, 307 00:10:36,320 --> 00:10:37,519 there's got to be movements. And you got 308 00:10:37,519 --> 00:10:38,720 to take a breath. I call them take a 309 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:40,800 breath chapters, take a breath sequences 310 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:43,120 where u something really terrible has 311 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:45,200 happened. Then I deal with the aftermath 312 00:10:45,200 --> 00:10:46,880 of that terrible, but I do it in a way 313 00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:50,560 where wounds are cleaned up. You know, 314 00:10:50,560 --> 00:10:52,880 people might have a dialogue about 315 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:55,040 something else to totally unrelated. 316 00:10:55,040 --> 00:10:56,640 They might go get some more information. 317 00:10:56,640 --> 00:10:58,480 They might just go out and have a beer. 318 00:10:58,480 --> 00:11:00,880 They might travel from A to B while 319 00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:02,880 they're sort of nursing their wounds. 320 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:06,720 Um, you slow it down. The best thrillers 321 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:09,360 uh kind of do that. You know, I I'm some 322 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:10,800 some of the best thriller movies I've 323 00:11:10,800 --> 00:11:12,880 seen are and some people may not think 324 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:15,040 of these movies as thrillers I do are 325 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:17,600 Chinatown, North by Northwest, and Three 326 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:19,920 Days of the Condor. And in each of those 327 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:24,160 films, you will see this movement where 328 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:25,920 crazy things happen and then there's a 329 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:27,519 lull. Crazy things happens, people catch 330 00:11:27,519 --> 00:11:29,760 a breath, there's a lull. Um, that's 331 00:11:29,760 --> 00:11:32,240 really important because 332 00:11:32,240 --> 00:11:34,160 it's not just you're pacing the novel, 333 00:11:34,160 --> 00:11:35,680 it's the readers are having to pace 334 00:11:35,680 --> 00:11:39,040 themselves as well. I've been to I' I've 335 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:42,000 been to movies where it's such an 336 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:43,600 adrenaline rush that I almost feel sick 337 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:44,800 to my stomach and I don't want to finish 338 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:45,920 the movie because I just can't take 339 00:11:45,920 --> 00:11:48,160 there's no there's no place to to rest. 340 00:11:48,160 --> 00:11:49,200 You know, it's like you're going 100 341 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:50,720 miles an hour and there's no offramp for 342 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:52,240 you to go and just sit there for a 343 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:54,000 minute and collect yourself. The same 344 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:55,519 with books, everybody. The reader take a 345 00:11:55,519 --> 00:11:57,360 breath, collect themselves, think about 346 00:11:57,360 --> 00:11:59,200 what they just read, process it, 347 00:11:59,200 --> 00:12:00,560 understand what it might mean going 348 00:12:00,560 --> 00:12:02,480 forward, and then up to the top of the 349 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:06,519 roller coaster we go again. 350 00:12:09,839 --> 00:12:11,839 One technique that I like to use, I call 351 00:12:11,839 --> 00:12:14,320 it the take a breath and let me give you 352 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:17,279 a recap. Okay, so really complicated 353 00:12:17,279 --> 00:12:19,839 plot. There's a lot going on. And I'll 354 00:12:19,839 --> 00:12:21,040 get to the point where I'm like, you 355 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:24,480 know, I sense that a reader, and you as 356 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:25,839 a writer will probably sense, I sense 357 00:12:25,839 --> 00:12:27,680 that a reader may be getting close to 358 00:12:27,680 --> 00:12:29,200 information overload, too many things 359 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:30,639 going on all at once. They can't keep 360 00:12:30,639 --> 00:12:32,480 stuff track. They I'm I'm trusting them 361 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:33,839 to remember something that happened 17 362 00:12:33,839 --> 00:12:35,600 chapters ago in order to make this 363 00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:38,160 chapter make sense. It could be Will 364 00:12:38,160 --> 00:12:41,040 Roby or Amos Decker or John Puller and 365 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:43,200 they go over the case a little bit. 366 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:44,320 They're talking to somebody. It's 367 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:46,480 totally organic, makes total sense, fits 368 00:12:46,480 --> 00:12:48,320 in because detectives do that. They talk 369 00:12:48,320 --> 00:12:49,839 about stuff trying to as they're trying 370 00:12:49,839 --> 00:12:52,079 to figure it out. So, you know, Amos 371 00:12:52,079 --> 00:12:53,839 Decker may say something as simple. So 372 00:12:53,839 --> 00:12:55,839 here's what we know so far, you know, 373 00:12:55,839 --> 00:12:58,160 and he goes through the five points and 374 00:12:58,160 --> 00:13:00,399 that reinforces to the reader all the 375 00:13:00,399 --> 00:13:02,639 stuff that I expect them to kind of have 376 00:13:02,639 --> 00:13:04,800 a handle on now. It's almost like, you 377 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:06,480 know, taking a refresher course at 378 00:13:06,480 --> 00:13:08,399 school. You know, you failed algebra, so 379 00:13:08,399 --> 00:13:10,399 you take it in summer school to give you 380 00:13:10,399 --> 00:13:12,480 a refresher course. So way back when 381 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:14,000 their memory might have faltered a 382 00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:15,519 little bit. Now I'm giving them an extra 383 00:13:15,519 --> 00:13:17,200 help. Here's a little boost up. I know 384 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:18,880 it's tough to follow all this stuff. 385 00:13:18,880 --> 00:13:20,399 Here's a little extra help for you. Now 386 00:13:20,399 --> 00:13:21,839 let's go ahead and move forward. That's 387 00:13:21,839 --> 00:13:23,279 a technique that I've used in a lot of 388 00:13:23,279 --> 00:13:25,120 different books and I've actually had, 389 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:27,120 you know, fans write an email and stuff 390 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:29,839 and say, you know, this is great how you 391 00:13:29,839 --> 00:13:32,160 do that because I never feel like I'm 392 00:13:32,160 --> 00:13:33,600 swimming in the ocean and I can't get 393 00:13:33,600 --> 00:13:36,480 back to shore um for giving a little bit 394 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:38,720 help like that. But at the same time, it 395 00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:40,880 also helps you the writer because it 396 00:13:40,880 --> 00:13:42,800 will clarify for you everything that's 397 00:13:42,800 --> 00:13:44,480 going on the novel. And it may 398 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:46,399 crystallize such an extent that the 399 00:13:46,399 --> 00:13:47,920 threads going forward are just a little 400 00:13:47,920 --> 00:13:49,279 more focused, a little sharper than than 401 00:13:49,279 --> 00:13:52,720 they otherwise would have been. 402 00:13:56,399 --> 00:14:00,160 I like cliffhers because um they leave 403 00:14:00,160 --> 00:14:02,800 something unresolved. And you as a 404 00:14:02,800 --> 00:14:05,040 writer, what you really want to build is 405 00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:06,240 when you say you want to build tension 406 00:14:06,240 --> 00:14:09,199 and suspense. Just throw those words out 407 00:14:09,199 --> 00:14:10,800 and focus on this word instead, 408 00:14:10,800 --> 00:14:13,040 anticipation. What you want to build is 409 00:14:13,040 --> 00:14:14,800 anticipation. That something is going to 410 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:15,839 happen. You don't know if it's going to 411 00:14:15,839 --> 00:14:17,199 be good. You don't know if it's going to 412 00:14:17,199 --> 00:14:18,959 be bad, but something is going to happen 413 00:14:18,959 --> 00:14:21,519 as soon as I turn that next page. And a 414 00:14:21,519 --> 00:14:23,040 cliffhanger allows you to do that 415 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:25,199 because it's like somebody's on a diving 416 00:14:25,199 --> 00:14:28,000 board and they walked up to it and they 417 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:29,920 pushed down to get momentum and they're 418 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:32,160 down at this point and then I end the 419 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:35,040 chapter and then you don't know until 420 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:37,040 the next chapter when they jumps off the 421 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:39,120 board what's going to happen. So, it was 422 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:40,720 almost like you paused in mid-scene and 423 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:42,800 I love the effect that it has. You can't 424 00:14:42,800 --> 00:14:44,720 use it, you know, in every single 425 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:46,399 chapter. it would feel too contrived 426 00:14:46,399 --> 00:14:48,160 that way. But as a writer, you have to 427 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:50,240 pick your spots for that. And if you 428 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:52,240 immerse yourself in the material, those 429 00:14:52,240 --> 00:14:54,560 spots, I think, will become far more 430 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:56,240 readily apparent to you. There are 431 00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:58,959 multiple elements you can use uh to do a 432 00:14:58,959 --> 00:15:00,959 cliffhanger at the end of a chapter or 433 00:15:00,959 --> 00:15:02,800 the end of a section of a book to propel 434 00:15:02,800 --> 00:15:04,880 their reader. I I'll give you an example 435 00:15:04,880 --> 00:15:08,240 from Memory Man. Um in Memory Man, you 436 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:09,760 the first chapter, you learn Damus 437 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:11,839 Decker's lost his whole family. The 438 00:15:11,839 --> 00:15:13,519 second chapter you learn, you know, he's 439 00:15:13,519 --> 00:15:14,880 living in this residence in, he's a 440 00:15:14,880 --> 00:15:16,320 private detective. He's barely making 441 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:18,160 it. He's grossly obese. He's let himself 442 00:15:18,160 --> 00:15:19,600 go for the last year and a half. And 443 00:15:19,600 --> 00:15:22,560 he's really almost hit rock bottom. 444 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:25,680 And um he goes out and does a job where 445 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:28,160 his job to this guy who's trying to scam 446 00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:30,320 this woman whose father is really 447 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:32,160 wealthy. Uh he's been hired by the 448 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:34,240 father to warn this guy off. So, he's 449 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:35,519 waiting for this guy outside of the 450 00:15:35,519 --> 00:15:36,959 place where they're going to meet and 451 00:15:36,959 --> 00:15:38,959 they go in and Decker's watching him and 452 00:15:38,959 --> 00:15:40,399 the guy's meeting with the woman and all 453 00:15:40,399 --> 00:15:41,839 that and he knows he's a scam artist and 454 00:15:41,839 --> 00:15:43,680 the woman leaves and Decker comes over 455 00:15:43,680 --> 00:15:45,440 and totally in this really cool chess 456 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:47,279 match between the two totally outplays 457 00:15:47,279 --> 00:15:48,880 this guy and you think at first that 458 00:15:48,880 --> 00:15:50,079 Decker's outmatched and then you know 459 00:15:50,079 --> 00:15:51,199 that Decker's playing seventh 460 00:15:51,199 --> 00:15:52,480 dimensional chess and this guy's not 461 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:54,399 even playing checkers and then Decker 462 00:15:54,399 --> 00:15:56,399 just blows him away. Okay, that's the 463 00:15:56,399 --> 00:15:59,759 setup. And then, you know, he's at the 464 00:15:59,759 --> 00:16:02,639 residence in and his old partner, Mary 465 00:16:02,639 --> 00:16:04,639 Lancaster, comes up to him and Decker 466 00:16:04,639 --> 00:16:05,920 doesn't want to see her because he feels 467 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:07,040 embarrassed about how he's letting 468 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:09,040 himself go and all that. And he's kind 469 00:16:09,040 --> 00:16:11,360 of hit rock bottom. And you're leading 470 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:12,880 up. You have no idea what Mary's going 471 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:15,199 to tell this guy. Maybe she's there to 472 00:16:15,199 --> 00:16:17,920 console him, be a friend, how you doing? 473 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:19,680 And at the end of the chapter, she says, 474 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:21,600 "I have some news for you." And he's 475 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:23,279 like, "He doesn't care about your 476 00:16:23,279 --> 00:16:25,519 family." and he looks up and she goes, 477 00:16:25,519 --> 00:16:27,600 "A guy just confessed to killing them." 478 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:31,360 And that's the end of the chapter. And 479 00:16:31,360 --> 00:16:34,000 you know, not to humble brag, but I I I 480 00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:35,759 would guarantee you in a chapter like 481 00:16:35,759 --> 00:16:37,279 that that the reader is going to turn 482 00:16:37,279 --> 00:16:41,000 the page of the next chapter. 483 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:47,440 So, I'm going to read a a chapter ending 484 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:49,040 from Zero Day. It's the very first 485 00:16:49,040 --> 00:16:51,600 chapter in this novel. 486 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:53,600 And this is, you know, I love to end 487 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:55,759 chapters on cliffhers because it drives 488 00:16:55,759 --> 00:16:57,839 the reader to to the next page and the 489 00:16:57,839 --> 00:16:59,279 next chapter. And I think you'll find 490 00:16:59,279 --> 00:17:01,279 this, you know, informative, too. To set 491 00:17:01,279 --> 00:17:02,880 the scene up, there's a it starts off 492 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:04,480 with a mailman who's delivering packages 493 00:17:04,480 --> 00:17:06,240 on his route in this little town in West 494 00:17:06,240 --> 00:17:09,039 Virginia. And he goes into this house uh 495 00:17:09,039 --> 00:17:10,640 cuz he has a package he has to give a 496 00:17:10,640 --> 00:17:12,000 signature for. It's one of those, you 497 00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:14,480 know, ones you have to sign off on. And 498 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:17,439 the door is a jar. So, he he goes in uh 499 00:17:17,439 --> 00:17:19,520 to get the signature signed. And then 500 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:22,400 here's how the chapter ends. 501 00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:24,079 An instant later, the wooden front door 502 00:17:24,079 --> 00:17:25,679 was thrown back, the knob punching a 503 00:17:25,679 --> 00:17:27,120 crater in the drywall, and the glass 504 00:17:27,120 --> 00:17:28,799 door was kicked open so hard that it hit 505 00:17:28,799 --> 00:17:30,160 the metal banister on the left side of 506 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:32,400 the porch, shattering the glass. Howard 507 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:34,240 Reed jumped from the top step to the 508 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:36,720 dirt. His heels dug in. He gave one 509 00:17:36,720 --> 00:17:38,480 shudder, sank to his knees, and threw up 510 00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:40,400 what was little was left in his stomach. 511 00:17:40,400 --> 00:17:42,320 Then he rose and stumbled to his truck, 512 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:43,679 coughing, wretching, and yelling in 513 00:17:43,679 --> 00:17:45,760 terror like a man suddenly deranged. And 514 00:17:45,760 --> 00:17:48,240 he was. Howard Reed would not make it to 515 00:17:48,240 --> 00:17:50,640 the dollar bar today. 516 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:52,400 And the dollar bar was a place he was 517 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:54,240 going to go have a drink after he 518 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:56,400 finished his last round of of mail 519 00:17:56,400 --> 00:17:59,760 delivery. And that that was it. So with 520 00:17:59,760 --> 00:18:02,080 that, you understand that the main 521 00:18:02,080 --> 00:18:03,679 question is what in the hell did this 522 00:18:03,679 --> 00:18:06,480 guy see in the house that caused that 523 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:09,440 reaction from him? And you know, not to 524 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:11,360 toot my own horn, but I if you don't 525 00:18:11,360 --> 00:18:12,960 read the next chapter after reading that 526 00:18:12,960 --> 00:18:15,120 ending, then I I have nothing to give 527 00:18:15,120 --> 00:18:17,039 you because it's just, you know, there's 528 00:18:17,039 --> 00:18:18,559 nothing else I can have in my arsenal 529 00:18:18,559 --> 00:18:20,880 that would entice you. And I like sort 530 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:24,320 of ending it in a scene like that where 531 00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:26,320 for me thrillers are all about 532 00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:28,640 anticipation, you know, and I love 533 00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:31,200 opening lines and I love closing lines 534 00:18:31,200 --> 00:18:34,240 and chapters where I give you something 535 00:18:34,240 --> 00:18:36,240 just enough that you can anticipate that 536 00:18:36,240 --> 00:18:38,720 something is going to happen momentarily 537 00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:40,320 and you just got to find out what it is. 538 00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:41,520 It's like, you know, you can't eat just 539 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:43,120 one lay potato chip. You got to go for 540 00:18:43,120 --> 00:18:45,200 the whole bag. So for me to set it up 541 00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:47,120 that way, I love to build anticipation 542 00:18:47,120 --> 00:18:49,039 because I know that most readers are 543 00:18:49,039 --> 00:18:51,200 going to be like, I got to read one more 544 00:18:51,200 --> 00:18:53,360 chapter.