THE CRAFT OF WRITING A THRILLER – JANUARY 2025
Welcome back to another year of great writing advice on the CRAFT OF WRITING blog. This year we’re focusing on Genres. We’ll be looking at approaches to writing thrillers, mysteries, romances, and more. Each month I’ll interview an accomplished author who writes in a particular genre, so get ready to learn from the experts!
Today, we’re going to talk about thrillers, and I’m thrilled 😊 to welcome back James Scott Bell. Jim is not only an award-winning author of thrillers, but he’s also well-known for his books on the craft of writing.
His current series is the Mike Romeo Thriller series. Book #1 in that series is shown below.
So read, enjoy, and engage with one of the masters, James Scott Bell.
The Craft of Writing Thrillers with James Scott Bell Share on X
* * *
Good news! In recognition of my Lady Pilot-in-Command series, my good friend and master craftsman Dr. Steve Hooley has provided me with this unique and fabulous “Wilbur and Orville 1903” propeller pen. Hand crafted by Steve, the pen is made from Ash, one of the woods the Wright brothers used to build their first aircraft. The market value of this beautiful creation is around $80.00.
The name of each person who enters a comment will be put into the drawing for the pen. So join the conversation and earn a chance to win. I’ll post the name of the winner after 9 PM Central Time tonight.
* * *
Welcome back to the Craft of Writing blog, Jim. Let’s jump right into the deep end of the pool: What is your definition of a thriller?
A mystery asks “What happened, and how do the pieces fit?” A thriller asks, “What’s happening, and why is it getting worse?” There’s an atmosphere of imminent danger and death in a thriller.
How are thrillers different from other forms of fiction?
Thrillers are the oldest form of storytelling. A hero goes out to fight dragons or giants. Danger and death! By overcoming the danger, the story gave the community, or tribe, courage, which they needed, because there was always some dread of what was out there in the darkness.
Thus, thrillers reinforce the idea that we—individually and collectively—can make it out of danger alive. And in doing so, defeat evil. That’s an ancient and universal longing.
What’s the most important aspect of a thriller?
A lead character you give a hoot for. No matter how “big” the plot, if a readers doesn’t care that much about the hero, the book will not thrill as it should. We’ve got to be pulling for the hero from page one.
The other important aspect is the villain. A villain has to be fleshed out as much as the hero. A villain never thinks about how evil he is (except Dr. Evil from the Austin Powers movies). A villain thinks he’s justified in what he does. I tell my writing students to write a “closing argument” for the villain, as if he’s trying to convince a jury he was right. That’s so much more chilling than a moustache-twirling stereotype. Read Herman Goering’s testimony in the Nuremberg trials sometime. Talk about chilling. He thought the Nazis were doing good.
Why did you decide to write in the thriller genre?
I was practicing law when I started, and the legal thriller was the big genre. I quickly realized that the quest for justice was the theme I’m most interested in, and the thriller is a natural venue for that. I’ve written stand-alone thrillers, legal thrillers, lone wolf thrillers (my Mike Romeo series), classic Hollywood thrillers (Trouble is my Beat) even nun thrillers (my Force of Habit series). But they all coalesce around justice.
Can you give us a brief outline of the process—from concept to completion—that you use to write a thriller?
I usually start with an idea for an opening chapter. Some bad stuff happens. Why? That’s when I start thinking about plot. I then turn to the possible villain and his motive. Motive is all important. If I have that motive, I can also plot out what I call “the shadow story.” That’s the stuff that is happening “off screen” if you will. While the hero is going along, the villain is making moves and strategizing behind the scenes. I use the shadow story to come up with things that happen in the main plot, the stuff we see in real time.
Then I start putting together a cast. Such as those who help the villain, who are, in mythic terms, shapeshifters. I try to have four or five characters who have motives. Then allies for the hero.
I lay out scene cards in Scrivener, with my 14 signpost scenes (as explained in my book Super Structure). It gives me a map of where I’m going but with plenty of room to “play” with how I get there. My “mirror moment” is what holds it all together.
I write a draft, go over it myself, rewrite and give it to my trusted editor, Mrs. Bell. She gives me great notes. I incorporate those, give a draft to beta readers, rewrite as needed, and finally send it out for a proof read.
What advice would you give an author who decides to write a thriller?
Make sure that something about the plot grabs your heart. It’s not just about being clever. It’s about caring deeply for the characters and issues at stake. And there must be some form of death on the line. It’s usually physical death, but there’s also professional and psychological death to consider.
Besides your own books, what thrillers would you recommend?
Tell No One by Harlan Coben
Intensity by Dean Koontz
Lost Light by Michael Connelly
Are you working on a book now?
I’m always working on a book, and have at least one or two “in development.” I try to be like a movie studio. I’m always pitching myself ideas: “What ifs”, hooks, characters, even opening lines. I have a big document full of great opening lines. All I have to do is put a novel after them. Ha!
Where can we find out more about you and your writing?
It’s all on JamesScottBell.com
I’m also writing whimsical essays on my Substack.
I love the written word. I love to entertain. I love to thrill. And I love creating some smiles along the way.
Thank you, Jim, for being with us today and giving us insight into writing thrillers.
The Craft of Writing Thrillers with James Scott Bell Share on X
***
Meet James Scott Bell
JAMES SCOTT BELL is a winner of the International Thriller Writers Award and the author of many bestselling thrillers. He is a popular writing instructor and conference speaker, and formerly served as the fiction columnist for Writer’s Digest magazine. Jim attended the University of California, Santa Barbara where he studied writing with Raymond Carver, and graduated with honors from the University of Southern California Law School. He lives and writes in L.A. and blogs weekly at Kill Zone — http://www.killzoneblog.com
* * *
“a spectacular tale of decades-old murder mystery, human drama, and a hint of romance…” —Prairie Book Reviews
Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Google Play, or Apple Books.
Thanks, Kay, for hosting Jim who always has meaningful advice.
“It’s about caring deeply for the characters and issues at stake.”
If I don’t care about the characters, the plot doesn’t interest me, no matter how clever it is. That’s why I could never get into The DaVinci Code. Obviously millions of readers disagreed so what do I know?
That book was the topic of many, many comments and discussions at a writer’s conference the year it came out. Things like, “you could drop a piano on any one of the characters and it wouldn’t matter.” Or, “If I’d thought of that, I could have written the book, and it would have been GOOD.”
It’s all about the characters for me.
I’m with you, Debbie. The characters drive the story. JSB’s Mike Romeo is an example of a unique character that the reader just can’t help but root for.
Thanks for the kind words, Kay.
It’s great to have you back, starting the year off. Thank you for this great and informative interview. Could you explain the difference between a thriller and a suspense? Or is a thriller like “suspense-plus”? Thank you.
Good morning, Barbara!
It’s great to be back and starting a new year with JSB’s interview. I have a whole bunch of accomplished authors on the list to interview about different genres. It’s going to be a fun year.
Have a good week.
A thriller has high, usually physical death, often mass death. Suspense is a type of fiction, but also a feeling created in any genre. Suspense can be high (death?) or mild (will she like me?).
Fantastic interview. Thanks for sharing your knowledge, JSB!
Good morning, Priscilla!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Thanks for sharing the “closing argument” idea to help flesh out the villain. I have several of your craft books but haven’t run across this concept. Which of your craft book(s) present the idea?
I also enjoyed the inside look at your process, especially asking why the bad stuff happens.
Nice to see you here again with Kay.
Good morning, Rachel, and thanks for stopping by and commenting.
This is going to be a very interesting year with discussions about genre.
Have a great week.
If I wrote thrillers, JSB’s advice would be planted next to my computer. There are plenty of takeaways for other genres, too. Thanks for hosting, Kay.
Good morning, Terry.
You’re right about takeaways for other genres. Although each genre has its own special “rules,” much of writing is the same across them all.
Have a good week.
Kay,
Great to see you have Jim Bell back again on your blog. Keep up the terrific work.
Terry
Good to see you here, Terry. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
I really like the idea of having the antagonist do a closing argument, defending his position. Great post!
I like that idea of the closing argument, too, Patricia. Thanks for stopping in.
Good morning, I really enjoyed reading this post, very interesting and very informative. I must agree, the characters are what make the story for me, the plot also, but more the characters or at least for me. Your book sounds and looks very intriguing! Have a great day and a great week.
Thanks for stopping by and for your comment, Alicia.
Thanks to everyone who stopped by and left a comment on today’s post.
There were eight people who were eligible to win the propeller pen:
1 Debbie Burke
2 Barbara Curtis
3 Priscilla Bettis
4 Rachel Hills
5 Terry Odell
6 Terry Whalin
7 Patricia Bradley
8 Alicia Haney
I ran a random integer generator to pick a number between 1 and 8. The number that came up was 7, so Patricia Bradley is the winner of the propeller pen. Congratulations, Patricia!
Even though I missed my shot at winning another beautiful pen, I’m glad I waited to read this interview until this morning, when I have time to appreciate it. Mr. Bell’s comments on thrillers, heroes, villains, and his process were like a distilled craft book in one article. I’ll come back to this one again and again. Thank you Kay and Jim for giving back, time after time. Congratulations Patricia on the pen!
Thank you for this information! May you have a wonderful day.
Hi Catherine! Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Good morning, Lisa! It’s always a pleasure to get your feedback on the post. Have a great week!
Loved the idea of writing out a “closing statement” for the villain. That alone was a great takeaway, but everything Mr. Bell said was meaty. Thanks for the interview.
Hi Linore! Thanks for stopping by. I also like the idea of a closing argument for the villain.