Writing Advice From Bestsellers

“The best thing to do with Elmore Leonard’s rules for writing is to ignore them.”

This cheerful advice by thriller writer Lee Child was typical of the ‘challenge your assumptions’ approach to writing at Thrillerfest, an annual July gathering in New York at which I’m a frequent attendee and panelist.

It’s half-school and half-celebration of a genre aimed at pulse pounding. For an author, listening to one’s colleagues is a combination of pep rally, instructional reinforcement, and challenge. Child is a great fan of Leonard, but stated, “There are no rules – writing is purely instinctive and cannot be taught.”

In another blog, I led with Leonard’s advice to never begin with the weather. Bestseller Child countered that the weather can work quite well, thank you, depending on the story. He cited Alistair MacLean (Ice Station Zebra, Guns of Navarone, etc.) as an example.

So there is no unanimity. I’m a great believer in reading and listening to other writers’ advice; it saves having to reinvent the wheel. But I also believe every book and author is different, and so “rules” are subjective. Some of what I heard simply doesn’t work for Ethan Gage novels, for example.

That doesn’t mean I won’t share it. These aren’t Nobel winners, but they sell a lot of books:

“Start the novel as close to its end as humanly possible,” said Steve Berry. His The Columbus Affair actually flashes back five centuries, but the contemporary story plays out in 72 hours.

“Create and sustain a dream,” said John Sanford, (the Prey series, etc.) and, “The first chapter sells the book, the last chapter sells the next book.”

Agent Donald Maas, who has written books on how to write bestsellers, said a good story plays off a protagonist’s “greatest fear and greatest desire.”

Two ways to make a reader cry, he suggested is to “say goodbye” by killing a beloved character off, and “welcome home” by allowing one key character to forgive another.

“Turn expectations on their head,” said twist-master Steven James, author of the Patrick Bowers (Pawn) series. He had twenty-two tips for twists.

“The villain must be worthy of the hero,” said Allison Brennan, author of the Lucy Kinkaid (Silened) series. Compelling villains make compelling stories.

“Readers read because they want to worry,” said James Scott Bell, a thriller writer who has also written books of advice, including the recommended The Art of War for Writers. “What they don’t want is happy people in happy land.”

Lee Child said human instinct will turn page after page to search for the answer. “The secret of suspense is posing a question on the first page and not answering it until the last.”

Thriller writer Jan Burke and I agreed in conversation that writing provides endless opportunities to be humbled. But she also recalled a reader picking up her first book at a signing, examining it closely, and solemnly saying, “You’re doing my dream.”

Or another inspiration, quoted in The Strand mystery magazine shared at the conference: “Writing is freedom.” Authors feel fortunate.

So study, and then make your own rules.