Here is this year’s ThrillerFest Schedule. Looks like a fun week.
If you haven’t signed up yet, do.
Category Archives: Writing
RUN TO GROUND Up For Ben Franklin Award
I just learned that RUN TO GROUND is one of 3 finalist for the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award, Mystery/Suspense Category. I’m thrilled and honored.
CRAFTFEST Schedule Posted
The annual ITW thriller writing craft school CRAFTFEST will be held on Wednesday and Thursday, July 10th and 11th this year. THRILLERFEST follows on Thursday through Saturday.
We have some wonderful teachers again this year. Here is the line up:
Register before midnight on April 30th to take advantage of the advance pricing for CraftFest, AgentFest, ThrillerFest, and the banquet.
http://www.thrillerfest.com
Don’t miss THRILLERFEST and CRAFTFEST this year. They will be fun.
DP Lyle
ITW VP for Education/CraftFest Director
Guest Blogger: Pam Johnson: Mind Maps for Writers: Get Inspired and Get Organized
Whether you are a person new to the field of writing or someone who has an intense love for the discipline, you might need some help with getting inspired and getting organized. How can mind maps help you to complete both of these tasks?
The Definition
Before we can properly explain how you might use a mind map to better your writing skills, it’s important that you understand what this type of tool actually is. Basically, you will take a starting word or concept and place it in the middle of the paper. From that, you will stem off into different directions. For example, let’s say that the word in the middle of the paper is “archaeology.” One branch leading from it may say “dig,” and another might say “ancient civilizations.” “Dig” could lead to lines with places where famous digs have been done for example.
Using Some Colors
At first read-through, the description of a mind map might sound rather confusing. After all, you are going to be connected all of these different words and ideas. However, it is possible to accomplish, and it’s wise to look up pictures of one before you get started. You could choose to use a particular color for each main branch you are making, so you can easily follow along with your thought process. You could also use different colored labels to create this type of organizer.
Why It Works
One of the major problems that a lot of people have with writing is getting started. They have no idea what they are going to talk about when it comes to the main topic, so they need to spend a lot of time brainstorming. This type of mind map helps because it lets the writer get his or her ideas down on paper. Instead of wondering what should be said next when typing or writing, the words are neatly laid out in this type of organizer. Of course, not every word has to be used, but it helps the writer to gather his or her thoughts.
Creating an Outline
Making an outline on a piece of paper can also come from this type of mind mapping. If you are familiar with the traditional outline made of Roman numerals and letters, this might help. Consider the word in the middle as the main idea of the entire paper, and you can place this word on the type of your blank sheet. Then, the first offshoots from that word are the Roman numerals. The second offshoots that come from each of those words then act as the capital letters. Once you get the hang of it, you can have a beautiful and helpful outline created in just a few minutes.
Knowing what to write about is one of the hardest parts of crafting a paper or document. People know the main topic that they want to include, but it’s often difficult to fully express those ideas. Using a mind map is one of the most useful tools out there.
Author Pam Johnson is an author of sociology who spends a lot of time evaluating her own writing skills. She obtained her degree from one of the Best Top 10 Online Bachelor’s in Sociology Programs in the country.
Guest Blogger: Pam Johnson: How to Evaluate Your Writing Skills
People are becoming increasingly more aware of how important it is to have superb writing skills. This rule does not apply only in the humanities or literary fields, but it also expands out into a diverse array of occupations. Therefore, you might be quite interested in the steps you can take to improve your own writing.
Read Out Loud
When you are reading your own paper and your eyes are scanning the words, it can be really difficult to find mistakes. You know what the paper is supposed to say, so you do not wind up noticing where you have made errors. However, reading the paper out loud is going to force you to slow down. You are going to start to see more of your own mistakes, and you are going to hear if sentences sound awkward. Furthermore, you will likely begin to see when you use the incorrect word.
Buy Grammar Books
A major part of writing is how the paragraphs are organized and if the sentences seem to flow together. However, if you have incorrect grammar, then you have incorrect writing. In order to ensure that your writing is really up to par, it is time to purchase some grammar books. When you have a question as you are writing, you can look up the answer in the book. As are you inputting the correct comma or semicolon, make sure you completely understand why you are doing it.
Visit Writing Centers
If you are a college student, your campus likely has a writing center. At writing centers, you have the ability to work with a professional tutor. This person is going to help you work on your mistakes and to work through issues with various problems involved with writing. For example, you might focus on the organization of the paper or you might talk about a specific grammatical issue with which you are struggling. Having another person go over the paper with you can be a majorly important tool.
Enroll in Courses
Another excellent way to really evaluate your writing and to see how you are doing is to sign up for a class. You might take a class at the college level. If so, look for some workshops. Doing workshops, you will usually read the papers of other students and they will read yours so that you all have the ability to critique one another’s work. Of course, you could also look for some writing clubs in your area too. Through these clubs, you will not have to worry about paying high fees for classes or working toward obtaining a certain grade. You can work with other writers to learn how to craft better pieces.
Evaluating your own writing skills can be a bit of a challenge, but having the tools to do so makes it much easier. One way to really complete this task is to ask other people to evaluate your writing and to look some samples over with people who are professionals in the field.
Author Pam Johnson is an author of sociology who spends a lot of time evaluating her own writing skills. She obtained her degree from one of the Best Top 10 Online Bachelor’s in Sociology Programs in the country.
ITW Announces Two New Events: FanFest and a Tweeting Contest
International Thriller Writers (ITW) has developed two new and exciting events for this year’s ThrillerFest: FanFest and a Tweeting Contest.
FANFEST:
FanFest is a new program for ITW and ThrillerFest. A group of ITW author’s, including me, will host a cocktail party on Friday evening of ThrillerFest. Each author will invite special fans but the party is open to all attendees.
So if you are coming to ThrillerFest/CraftFest/AgentFest, don’t miss FanFest. It should be fun.
TWEETING CONTEST:
Win a $50 gift certificate for B&N! It’s so easy you can do it right from your computer or mobile device!
If you’re attending ThrillerFest, CraftFest, AgentFest or FanFest, just use the hashtag #Thriller13. Tweet about your prep for the event, the event, the workshops, your experiences, who you met, whatever you like! On Saturday July 13 at noon, we will search for the hashtag and count the number of tweets! The person with the most tweets, using the hashtag #Thriller13 wins the $50 gift certificate! Come on! You were going to tweet anyway, right?
If you are NOT attending, but want to participate and keep up-to-date on all the excitement during the event, just follow the hashtag #Thriller13 and re-tweet the ones you love the most! The person with the most re-tweets will also win a $50 gift certificate for B&N!
Don’t know how to search for the hashtag? Go to www.twitter.com and sign into your account. Look at the top right, and you will see the “Search” bar. Type in #Thriller13, and you can find the posts and become part of the fun!
Kimberley Howe
Executive Director, ThrillerFest
International Thriller Writers
Guest Blogger: Marcela De Vivo: Promoting Your Crime Novel Through Blogs
Promoting Your Crime Novel Through Blogs
In today’s online world, blogging is all the rage. Blogging can reach a huge audience, is cheap and very easy to learn. People use blogs to promote all kinds of things, from health and fitness coaching, creative products like women’s fashion accessories, and even books. Your book.
Photo courtesy of http://leroyhouserseminars.com/files/2012/02/Website-Traffic.jpg
Blogging is a powerful way to bring in new readers and keep previous fans interested in your upcoming books. In 2011, it was estimated that there were over 150 million public blogs in existence. If you’re looking to start your own personal blog, consider a few of these tips below to get started.
Making Your Blog Successful:
- Analyze Your Audience And Customer Base
- Use Social Networking
- Listen To Your Fans
- Talk Back
- Get Creative With Content
Using Blogs For Marketing
If you decide to use your blog to market your crime novel, the first thing you should do is sit back and analyze your audience. Who will be reading your book? If your book is for young adults, gather ideas on what sort of articles and interactive activities draw them into online blogs.
A hugely popular way to draw not only young adults, but anybody that uses a computer to your blog is to use social networking. Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest are great methods for catching the attention of your fans. Creative a Facebook page that links to your twitter and update it regularly with exclusive information.
Of course, it is always quite wise to listen to your fans. They might leave comments on your blog telling you that they absolutely love what you’re doing or that they dislike it. If they’re enjoying the content, keep doing what you’re doing. If not, change it up. You can even take some of their suggestions and tweak them to your liking as you see fit.
Interact with the blog readers by answering individual questions left in comments, sent in emails or otherwise. This is another style of building website morale. Talking back could ease tension on the blog and reassure readers that there is someone on the other side that cares about their thoughts and feelings. Nobody enjoys the feeling of talking to a bot.
Already have a blog, but are just looking to spice it up? Consider finding a service such a Blog Wranglers who will take the blog you already have and move it to WordPress –a more hip and interactive blog base.
The widgets and plugins are great tools to help your writing become slightly more interactive via your blog, as opposed to just talking about the book itself.
Photo courtesy of http://greencottagegallery.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/img_0073.jpg
Generating Blog Content
- Guest blogging
Guest blogging is when a blogger is invited to another website to share their words about a specific topic needed for the particular blog. If you are trying to promote your crime novel, find other fiction writers looking for all kinds of articles to build up content for their own blog and keep their fans interested.
But why is this helpful to you? The great thing about guest posting is that you are usually allowed to include a link to your own blog. This means that there is endless potential to drive traffic to your website by inciting the help of other bloggers.
- Utilize Online Resources
Browse the internet for different tips on how to market your fiction book online. The web is full of resources from people just like you, looking to start blogs or some that have had them for years now. Take advantage of that.
Don’t be afraid to shoot a message to a person that owns a fiction blog much like one you are trying to start. You’d be surprised at how many people are willing to help you get started. Plus, you’ll never know unless you ask.
Marcela De Vivo is a freelance writer and online marketing professional in the Los Angeles area. She’s planning to write a book on online marketing and SEO, and has already begun posting content ideas to her company blog at Gryffin.co.
2013 Thriller Awards Nominees
2013 Thriller Awards Nominees
ITW is proud to announce the finalists for the 2013 Thriller Awards!
BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL
Sean Chercover – THE TRINITY GAME (Thomas & Mercer)
Brian Freeman – SPILLED BLOOD (SilverOak)
Lisa Gardner – CATCH ME (Dutton Books)
Gregg Hurwitz – THE SURVIVOR (St. Martin’s Press)
William Landay – DEFENDING JACOB (Delacorte Press)
BEST FIRST NOVEL
Daniel Friedman – DON’T EVER GET OLD (Minotaur Books)
Owen Laukkanen – THE PROFESSIONALS (Putnam Adult)
Chris Pavone – THE EXPATS (Crown)
Matthew Quirk – THE 500 (Reagan Arthur Books)
Michael Sears – BLACK FRIDAYS (Putnam Adult)
BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL
Blake Crouch – PINES (Thomas & Mercer)
Sean Doolittle – LAKE COUNTRY (Bantam)
Alison Gaylin – AND SHE WAS (Harper)
Alex Marwood – THE WICKED GIRLS (Penguin Books)
Michael W. Sherer – NIGHT BLIND (Thomas & Mercer)
BEST SHORT STORY
David Edgerley Gates – “The Devil to Pay” (Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine)
Clark Howard – “The Street Ends at the Cemetery” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)
Dennis Lehane – “The Consumers” (Mulholland Books)
Gordon McEachern – “The History Lesson” (Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine)
John Rector – “Lost Things” (Thomas & Mercer)
BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL
Michelle Gagnon – DON’T TURN AROUND (HarperCollins)
Andrew Klavan – IF WE SURVIVE (Thomas Nelson)
Dan Krokos – FALSE MEMORY (Hyperion Books CH)
Niall Leonard – CRUSHER (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)
William Richter – DARK EYES (Razorbill)
BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL
Jon Land – PANDORA’S TEMPLE (Open Road E-riginal)
CJ Lyons – BLIND FAITH (CJ Lyons)
Alexandra Sokoloff – HUNTRESS MOON (Alexandra Sokoloff)
Allen Wyler – DEAD END DEAL (Astor + Blue Editions)
Allen Wyler – DEAD WRONG (Astor + Blue Editions)
Congratulations to all the finalists!
The 2013 Thriller Award Winners will be announced at ThrillerFest VIII, July 13, 2013, at the Grand Hyatt (New York City).
Very special thanks to:
Joshua Corin, Awards Committee Chair
Allan Leverone, Awards Coordinator
Jeff Ayers, Awards Coordinator
And all the 2013 Thriller Awards Judges
Carla Buckley
ITW Board of Directors, Vice President, Awards
Character Dichotomies Are Everywhere
We are often told that our characters must be multi-dimensional. And that’s true. A character that is all good or all bad is flat and unrealistic. Good guys should have darker edges and bad guys should have a glimmer of silver lining. Even Hannibal Lecter had his good points.
Evan Dorsey seems to fit this mold. A petty thief with an apparent heart of gold. Sure he was going to do a few B&E’s and grab a little coke to smooth out his day, but he also wanted to do a good deed. Since he stole diabetic medical supplies maybe he was going to help an elderly diabetic manage her blood sugars. But somehow I doubt it.
Guest Blogger: Jodie Renner: WRITING TENSE ACTION SCENES
by Jodie Renner, freelance fiction editor and craft-of-fiction writer
I’m pleased to welcome back Jodie Renner, whose craft e-book, Style that Sizzles & Pacing for Power, just came out in paperback as well.
I specialize in editing thrillers and other fast-paced, suspenseful fiction, and someone recently asked me how editing thrillers is different from editing other genres. That’s a huge topic, too much for one blog post, and would include differences in plot, characterization, pacing, word choice, and writing style, among many other considerations. For today, I thought I’d just talk about writing effective action scenes, which can also appear in romantic suspense, mysteries, action adventures, fantasies, and any other genre.
When your characters are running for their lives, write tight and leave out a lot of description, especially little insignificant details about their surroundings. Of course, if the details would somehow help them, then definitely include them.
Characters on the run don’t have time to sightsee, reminisce, deliberate at length, or have great long discussions. Their adrenaline is pumping and all they’re thinking of is survival. Show that in your writing style.
A few quick tips for writing strong action scenes:
~ Show, don’t tell (of course!).
~ Stay in the scene with the characters – don’t intrude as the author to explain anything.
~ Avoid lengthy discussions among characters or long, involved thought processes.
~ Cut out any little unneeded words that are cluttering up sentences and slowing down the pace.
~ Use short sentences and paragraphs.
~ Use the most powerful verbs you can find.
~ Show your viewpoint character’s sensory impressions to suck readers in more.
~ Show your POV character’s emotional and physical reactions, starting with visceral responses.
~ Show other characters’ reactions through their words, tone of voice, actions, body language, and facial expressions.
SOME BEFORE AND AFTER EXAMPLES OF ACTION SCENES, WELL-DISGUISED FROM MY EDITING:
Before:
Fortunately for Jennifer, the attacker was far enough away that when he attempted to grab her she sidestepped him and delivered a sharp kick to the outside of his left knee.
He grunted and fell back against the stack of wooden crates. He then got up clumsily, rubbing his arm, showing his anger at how easily Jennifer had dodged and hit him.
After:
The attacker lunged at Jennifer. She dodged to the side and delivered a sharp kick to his knee.
He grunted and fell against the stack of wooden crates. He scrambled up, rubbing his arm, eyes full of hate. [or sneering at her. Or ….]
Before:
His facial expression changed from one showing loathing to one communicating unrestrained glee. Jennifer realized at that moment that she had made a fatal mistake. She looked to her right. The door leading out of the warehouse was about fifty feet from where she was standing.
After:
His expression changed from loathing to unrestrained glee. Jennifer knew she had made a fatal mistake. She searched for the exit door. It was to her right, about fifty feet away.
Before: An inline skater came careening around the corner and skated fast towards them, shouting loudly. Josh shot a look back at Amy as he grabbed her arm and pulled her bodily to the edge of the street out of the path of the oncoming skater.
After: An inline skater came careening around the corner and barreled towards them, yelling. Josh grabbed Amy’s arm and pulled her out of the path of the oncoming skater.
Before: Moments later, another skater was coming at them at breakneck pace. This time it was Amy’s turn to save her companion as she pushed Josh flat against the gray-colored stone wall of the adjacent building.
[At times of stress, sentences need to be shorter. And leave out minor details, as Josh isn’t thinking that the stones are gray-colored right now.]
After: Moments later, another skater came at them at a breakneck pace. Amy shoved Josh against the stone wall of the building beside them. [or just: against the building.]
Before:
Kate and Lauren ran down the tunnel to an open doorway, then up some stone steps leading to a stone walkway. Kate hesitated for only a moment at the top in order to jam the hand gun she was holding into her waistband and give her time to figure out where to run.
In front of them was a huge stone courtyard, which was too open for them to safely cross before the smugglers would come looking for them. Kate knew she had to find a hiding place quickly. Then it came to her.
“Follow me,” Kate commanded, running off to her left.
After:
Kate and Lauren sprinted down the tunnel, then up some stone steps to a walkway. At the top, Kate stopped to jam the gun into her waistband and figure out where to run.
In front of them was a wide open stone courtyard. They’d never get across without the smugglers spotting them. Kate knew she had to find a hiding place quickly. Then it came to her.
“Follow me,” Kate said, dashing off to her left.
So for tense action scenes, write tight, show character actions and reactions, and keep things moving!
* * *
Jodie Renner is a freelance editor specializing in thrillers, romantic suspense, mysteries, and other crime fiction. Please check out Jodie’s website and blog, as well as her group blog, Crime Fiction Collective.
Jodie’s craft-of-fiction articles are published regularly on various blogs, and she has written two popular books on writing fiction that sells, with more to follow. Jodie’s two books, both in the series An Editor’s Guide to Writing Compelling Fiction, are: Style That Sizzles & Pacing for Power, a how-to guide with examples for revving up your fiction-writing skills, also available in paperback, and her shorter e-booklet on writing riveting suspense fiction, Writing a Killer Thriller.
