Tips for Writing Thrillers from Chris Karlsen, Author of 'Silk'
Every
author has their own rules when it comes to thrillers no matter what period of
place they are set. Here are a few I keep in mind.
**Make
sure your protagonist and antagonist are worthy of each other in intellect and cleverness—think
Professor Moriarty and Sherlock Holmes, or Auric Goldfinger and James Bond.
**Don't
rely on a convenient shortcut to get a character out of danger—no suddenly
unlocked doors where there hadn't been or would be, no miraculous self defense
maneuvers/martial arts abilities not shown or mentioned until the characters
life is at stake. No handy nail files discovered on the floor to unpick cuffs
etc.
**Avoid
two-dimensional villains, the antagonist should be as evolved and complex in
his or her own way as the protagonist. They may not share as much page time as
the protagonist but they need to be more than just "pure evil." They
need some kind of motivation for their actions.
**Let
the main characters surprise the reader. The villain can do an unexpected act
of kindness and the hero/heroine can lie or do something out of character.
Whatever it is that the hero/heroine does should have some negative or
dangerous effect on them as a character or on the plot.
**Show
the hero/heroine's thought process as they move to capture the villain(s).
**Lure
the reader into thinking one thing and then flip it on its head.
**Make
the reader wait—don't give them everything up front, make them figure stuff
out.
/////////////////////////////////
Title: Silk
Genre: Thriller
Author: Chris
Karlsen
Publisher: Books
to Go Now
SUMMARY
London-Fall,
1888
The
city is in a panic as Jack the Ripper continues his murderous spree. While the
Whitechapel police struggle to find him, Detective Inspector Rudyard Bloodstone
and his partner are working feverishly to find their own serial killer. The
British Museum's beautiful gardens have become a killing ground for young women
strangled as they stroll through.
Their
investigation has them brushing up against Viscount Everhard, a powerful member
of the House of Lords, and a friend to Queen Victoria. When the circumstantial
evidence points to him as a suspect, Rudyard must deal with the political
blowback, and knows if they are going to go after the viscount, they'd better
be right and have proof.
As
the body count grows and the public clamor for the detectives to do more,
inter-department rivalries complicate the already difficult case.
AUTHOR BIO
Chris
is a Chicago native. Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was in her late
teens where she later studied at UCLA. She graduated with a Business Degree.
Her father was a history professor and her mother a voracious reader. She grew
up with a love of history and books.
Her
parents were also passionate about traveling and passed their passion onto Chris.
Once bitten with the travel bug, Chris spent most of her adult life visiting
the places she'd read about and that fascinated her. She's had the good fortune
to travel Europe extensively, the Near East, and North Africa, in addition to
most of the United States.
After
college, Chris spent the next twenty-five years in law enforcement with two
agencies. Harboring a strong desire to write since her teens, upon retiring
from police work, Chris decided to pursue her writing career. She currently
writes three different series. Her historical romance series is called, Knights
in Time. Her romantic thriller series is Dangerous Waters, and he latest book,
Silk, is book one in her mystery/suspense series, The Bloodstone series.
She
currently lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and five wild and
crazy rescue dogs.
I want to thank Writer's Life e Magazine for this opportunity to showcase Silk and chat about thrillers.
ReplyDeleteChris Karlsen