Book Review: HOW TO WRITE A DAMN GOOD THRILLER

How to Write a Damn Good Thriller: A Step-by-Step Guide for Novelists and Screenwriters by James N. Frey

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This is a good book for authors to add to their arsenal of writing tools.

While there were some EXCELLENT sections in this book, there were also a LOT of pages of information that were not helpful to me at all. However, the significance of the great sections outweighed the disappointment of the weak sections, and so overall I'm still glad that I invested the time and money into this book.

The excellent sections included:
* How to create a villain
* Exploiting the dark mission of the villain
* The plot behind the plot
* Creating a hero

The disappointing sections included:
* Plot structure
* Voice and viewpoint
* Opening, middle, and satisfying resolution

I'm really excited about the information I learned from Frey's book regarding character development and the idea of the plot behind the plot. I've already utilized many of his suggested exercises for my next manuscript.

But regarding the other sections, here are books that I'd recommend instead:
Plot Structure, Openings, & Satisfying Resolutions: SAVE THE CAT by Blake Snyder
Voice: WRITING YOUNG ADULT FICTION FOR DUMMIES by Deborah Halverson
Middle: FIRE IN THE FICTION by Donald Maass



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