title: Writing the Thriller: How to Craft Page-Turning Suspense with Instruction from Best-Selling Authors
author: T. MacDonald Skillman
description: The first thing T. Macdonald Skillman sets out to do in <i>Writing the Thriller</i> is define the thriller. Unlike the mystery, she says, "Suspense is emotional. It's surprise and confusion and fear and anticipation. And suspense is danger. Immediate danger." Thrillers come in a variety of guises: action-adventures; legal, medical, techno-, and political thrillers; psychological suspense; romantic-relationship suspense; women-in-jeopardy suspense. Skillman addresses each element of fiction writing--such as setting, dialogue, and point of view--as it applies to the various types of thriller. For all thrillers, she says, it is best to begin "in the midst of the action or danger"; any subsequent back story should "add a new dimension to the suspense itself." And the pacing should be "like climbing a long, steep series of stairways.... As you cling to the railing at the bottom of the last set of stairs, your heart is pounding; your lungs are burning." Most useful here are Skillman's case studies in plotting, for which she creates eight plots (one for each type of thriller) using the same cast of characters.
zlib_text: **PRAISE FOR KAREN ROBARDS’S**  
   **PREVIOUS NOVELS**
  
   _ **GUILTY**_
  
  “Robards once again shows her flair for coupling first-rate suspense with
  multidimensional characters.”
  
   _ **—Publishers Weekly**_
  
  “Truly a pleasure … An especially exciting, top-notch tale of romantic
  suspense.”
  
   _ **—Booklist**_
  
   **“** 4 Stars! This one’s intense to the max!”
  
   _ **—Romantic Times BOOKreviews Magazine**_
  
   _ **OBSESSION**_
  
  “A creepily effective suspense novel … a real gripper.”
  
   _ **—Seattle Times**_
  
  “A stunning and powerful tour de force thriller.”
  
   _ **—Midwest Book Review**_
  
  “With vibrant characters and a great plot, this is one of bestselling
  Robards’s best.”
  
   _ **—Booklist**_
  
  “Twisty and terrifying … a top-notch romantic thriller!”
  
   _ **—Romantic Times BOOKreviews Magazine**_
  
  “A page-turner.”
  
   _ **—Publishers Weekly**_
  
   _ **VANISHED**_
  
  “4½ Stars! A terrifically intense chiller … This is power-packed stuff.”
  
   _ **—Romantic Times BOOKreviews Magazine**_
  
  “A knockout romantic th