The Art of Suspense by A.J. Scudiere

Wait for it . . . wait for it . . .

Every thriller depends on suspense. Without it, it’s just another tale. Like most things, suspense is both an art and a science. The science can be learned, but the art takes talent and practice – and the best suspense writers have both. To be honest, part of the art is learning when to ignore the science, but you have to know both first.

All thrillers have a uniform goal: mess with the readers’ sleep patterns! Up all night, calling in sick to work, nearly exasperated at the inability to put a bookmark in it and get anything else done. Those are the signs of a thriller done well.

So how do you do it?

Step 1 – Begin in the middle. Okay, you can begin at the beginning. But when you hit chapter three, go back and erase chapter one and probably chapter two as well. Open with the strangest line you have (“The bird asked him how his day went”) or the one that would make the least sense if taken out of context (“The boy crawled along the ceiling”). These require explanation . . . and the reader will have to follow along to find out.

Step 2 – Cut out background information. (Why did she shoot her boss?) Don’t give in to the temptation to put it there. You can add it later. (A lover’s spat? Blackmail? Corporate espionage?) The wait makes the reading intriguing and keeps the pages turning. This step is nearly the opposite of the next step, and they need to be used in concert. The art comes in deciding which to use when.

Step 3 – Set up your punches. Think about a sitcom (follow me on this one for a minute . . .) The best sitcom jokes are the ones that build throughout the show, so that by the time the punchline comes around, you have all the pieces you need. Key ideas and occurrences should never be followed by an explanation – just like in a joke. If an explanation is needed beforehand, cut it into tiny pieces and disperse it throughout the prior info.

Step 4 – Don’t explain. Trust your readers to get it. You can only go for a certain audience – and the best thrillers assume the audience is smart enough to catch on. (A man walks into a bar . . . and says ‘ouch’. Because it’s a bar, like a beam, not like where you drink – Yup, I lost you at ‘because’.) A good beta-reader will let you know if you need more info.

Step 4b – Assume the reader isn’t a specialist. This harkens back to steps 4 and 3. You do need to explain anything that’s not in the general knowledge pool. Dice it into tiny pieces and sprinkle them liberally into the text, so that when the student shows up late for his LSAT, the reader already knows that he won’t be let in, and that the next test isn’t until February, thus keeping him out of law school this year.

Step 5 – Tie it up. But please, not too neatly. If I read another thriller where the killer explains himself to a victim while the good guys get into place, I’m going to . . . (sorry. I read yet another one of those at 10am this morning.) Please! I beseech you: Don’t do it! (Step 4 also applies to characters!)

These are just some of the key pieces to great thrillers. Sometimes the suspense is intrinsic to the story, and other times it can be edited in. Of course, there are more things you need, but we could never hit them all in one spot. What are some of the other essential ingredients for building suspense you can think of?

So bring on the edge-of-your-seat, roller-coaster, can’t-put-it-down-even-though-it’s-four-AM stories! I can’t wait . . .

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It’s A.J.’s world. A strange place where patterns jump out and catch the eye, very little is missed, and most of it can be recalled with a deep breath. It’s different from the world the rest of us inhabit. But the rest of us can see it – when we read. In this world, the smell of Florida takes three weeks to fully leave the senses, and the air in Dallas is so thick that the planes “sink” to the runways rather than actually landing.

For A.J., texture reigns supreme. Whether it’s air or blood or virus, it can be felt and smelled. School is a privilege and two science degrees (a BA and MS) are mere pats on the back compared to the prize of knowledge. Teaching is something done for fun (and the illusion of a regular paycheck) and is rewarding at all levels, grade school through college. No stranger to awards and national recognition for outstanding work as a teacher, trainer and curriculum writer, like most true teachers, the real joy for A.J. is in the “oh!” - the moment when the student sees the connection and it all makes sense.

A.J. Scudiere has lived in Florida and Los Angeles among a handful of other places. Recent whims have brought the dark writer to Tennessee, where home is a deceptively normal looking neighborhood just outside Nashville.

http://www.ajscudiere.com/

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Developing Characters, by Adrianne Sainte Eve

Creating characters is the most rewarding part of writing, because life is full of endless inspiration. As human beings none of us can live without each other, yet we are all self-centered, maddeningly unreliable, emotional and unpredictable. We are hypocritical, pretentious, annoying and rampant with contradictions. Nobody is consistent, which is what makes us all fascinating. Naturally, our fictitious characters must have some of these qualities. They must have their own delusions, hopes, fears, and subtle nuances, and they must have some admirable as well as some shameful traits. They come to life when we give them physical descriptions, nicknames and distinguishing marks. I love to dress and accessorize them, like imaginary paper dolls.

It is always easier to see the worst traits in other people, so I find that someone in life who really aggravates me is a great starting point for a character. Certainly some of us are truly vile. Though there may be no excuse for this, but there is always a reason. We are complex creatures and everyone has some redeeming qualities through the stench of pain that shrouds us.

Delving into insanity is the best of all challenges. I believe most of us start with similar mental equipment, which becomes warped in different ways. It is entertaining to wallow in the bizarre, contemplate some loathsome and disturbing ideas, when you can attach them to someone else. I have once been told this is sick, though I think not. As authors, we have the freedom to paint in whatever shades of gray seem entertaining.

I enjoy deciding how the various goings on will affect my characters individually. It intrigues me that none of us ever get anything right. We live in our own worlds, always misunderstand everything, put our own skew on it, and run off to act rashly under some misperception. I find that the most rudimentary idea for a story develops itself once I have created my characters and decided how they will fit together. It is a rare and challenging power to determine all their fates. Everyone can relate when terrible things happen to a character, especially when they are undeserved. All the clichés; i.e.: life is tough, good guys finish last, no good deed seems to go unpunished, are about us feeling sorry for ourselves. So some of us must die young, for the sake of a good story, but conversely, some people just have all the luck. It happens. Though never to us, it seems. Still, the truly despicable are often nondescript, blend into the crowd and live their lives without incident. One might even find it therapeutic to get even with a rival, if only in one’s imagination. We have total license to exaggerate, hold up to ridicule, construct a grisly end and chuckle about it, though I admit nothing.

I recently read some opinions on whether or not it is better to write a story in the first person through the protagonist. There’s no doubt that this adds originality to the story. I always wonder how much of the protagonist is based on the author. Naturally, if narcissism demands, you can base the character on your very best self, though he or she must have some blemishes in the interest of genuineness. There is also an excellent opportunity here to sneak in your own personal rants without risk, or the occasion to develop the dark side of yourself, which would be amusing. Some freshness is lost when writing in the third person, but it often makes for a much clearer read. Sometimes it is better to disassociate. As the author, you can be the impartial watcher, just the record keeper, and can be as clinical as you desire.

I like the idea of writing from several people’s perspectives, each with an I voice. This can be confusing, but I say, so what? I personally don’t mind a bit of confusion because it makes me concentrate more. That said, I admit that I have been criticized for having so many characters in my book that it becomes hard to keep track of them. My publisher made me construct a directory as in certain Russian novels. But I felt they were all essential, and all I can say is pay attention.

The point is that as writers, it’s our own story and our own universe. We have free reign to create entire populations. It’s an incredible privilege.

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Adrianne Sainte-Eve was born in Budapest Hungary, and spent her childhood in, Quebec, Regina, Saskatchewan, and Vancouver, B.C. in Canada. She is a graduate of the Art Institute of Chicago and Northern Illinois University, and currently lives in Chicago, Illinois.

An Interview with Lisa Gardner

Lisa Gardner is the critically-acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author of over two dozen novels, and the recipient of the 2010 Thriller Award for Best Novel. Her latest, Love You More (the latest in the D.D. Warren series), is in bookstores now. "Compelling and unexpected, this tale of mystery and maternal devotion shows Gardner at her very best." (Booklist, starred review) "Gardner sprinkles plenty of clues and inventive twists to keep readers off-kilter as the suspense builds to a realistic, jaw-dropping finale." (Publishers' Weekly) Lisa was kind enough to take a break in her national tour to field a few questions from members of the ITW Debut Author Program.

Chevy Stevens: How do you prepare to write--do you have detailed outlines, character sketches, timelines? Do you do your research upfront (and do you tape record your interviews with expert sources?)

Lisa Gardner: When I first started out as a writer, I'd prepare very detailed outlines, almost mini novels covering the major story arc and central "lesson learned" for the main characters. Ironically enough, I've gone from super anal retentive to an almost completely out of the mist writing style. These days, I spend the first three months of my writing process on research, which generally provides key plot points. Basically, I spend quality time with real world detectives explaining how they would investigate my fictional crime, and that becomes main plot points. Often also some plot twists, as detectives are very clever and generally complicate my crime along the way, just to amuse themselves. Oh, I never tape record detectives. They don't seem to like that, I want them to feel comfortable.

So that helps me with bare bones plot. The characters, on the other hand, I leave completely amorphous. Everyone is a bit good and everyone is a bit bad and I wait to see what they'll do to surprise me. I think it leads to more natural character development and I don't know...I feel like ironically enough, the less I plan, the better I plot. The book has a chance to shock me all on it's own, which is my favorite kind of writing day. Something happens I never saw coming but know immediately is exactly right. These are the moments that keep us all churning away. Because twenty years later, the process remains mysterious and magical and mesmerizing.

Carla Buckley: Lisa, what would you say has been the biggest change in the industry since you first began writing? What one piece of advice would you give a writer about to launch their first book into the current climate?

Lisa Gardner: Wow, I feel like a newbie again just from the past six months. I mean, distribution changed fundamentally fifteen years ago, when we went from tons of distributors to basically half a dozen. Then the independent bookstores started to fail. Then the mass merchadisers rose up. Now, the brick and mortar chains are on the auction block, while e-books are taking over the world. I guess what I think about it is that publishing has weathered major growing pains in the past. And each time people said the industry was dead and each time it emerged once again, different but still breathing. People do read. People do love books. As long as that's true, there's hope for us.

As for major advice for an author launching their first book in this industry--ironically enough, that advice hasn't changed in twenty years: write your second book. That's your job. Never forget it. Publishing is for publishers. Writing is for authors. You want a career, write your first book, then your second, then your third, then your fourth, then your fifth. That's how it's done, just like that.

Julie Kramer: Do you ever watch the TV show CASTLE and would you play in the author poker game if asked?

Lisa Gardner: I've never gotten to watch the show CASTLE, but I've heard it's excellent. I'm addicted to Glee, and believe Sue Sylvester is one of the best villains ever written, right up there with Hannibal Lector and Cruella De Vil. You hate her, you're shocked by her, sometimes you do cheer for her and often you even feel for her because every nasty thing she says contains a kernel of hard truth that's impossible to ignore. What can I say. I love a good villain.

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Thanks for answering our questions, Lisa! We hope you have a great tour.