Arts & Entertainment, Writing
Pacing, Tension, and Suspense
Lesson time 18:51 min
How do you keep readers on the edge of their seats? David shares how he builds suspense, using such strategies as red herrings, plot twists, cliffhangers, and a ticking clock.
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Topics include: Start With a Loss • Lay the Groundwork for Plot Twists • Lay a Red Herring • Maintain a Ticking Clock • Take Your Reader on a Roller-Coaster Ride • Give Your Reader a Refresher • Build Anticipation With Cliffhangers • Cliffhanger: Zero Day
Teaches Mystery and Thriller Writing
In his MasterClass, bestselling thriller author David Baldacci teaches you how he fuses mystery and suspense to create pulse-pounding action.
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[MUSIC PLAYING] - Thrillers, for me, are books that I like to read. I was a big Robert Ludlum fan, you know, growing up. And he started the Bourne series-- "Bourne Identity," and "Bourne Supremacy," and all that. And that was just a great ride because it took you all over the world, and you got to see different cultures, and how people interact, and secrets, and high stakes, and you know, it mattered. So I was kind of drawn to those stories just because it thrilled me. And I thought it would be kind of fun to try to write a thriller like that. Building mystery into your thrillers is paramount. It's important, because all thrillers have a sense of mystery. You know, you could look like a Dan Brown's books. You wouldn't necessarily classify them simply as mysteries. They're thrillers because they take place all over the world and the stakes are very high. But there are clues that, you know, this characters follow to try to resolve some type of issue. You write a story that's not a thriller or a mystery, the story's beautiful, it has characters, and dialogue, and narrative, and all that, but the mystery component adds another layer. You have to have clues, and red herrings, and twists, and deception, and you're trying to fool the reader until the end, before they discover who did it. It's a house of cards, unlike any other book. And if I start off with a clue that's here, that clue has to mean something up here, you know, when the book is nearing its finish. And if I get that connection wrong, the whole house of cards comes tumbling down. So you have to build those pieces in, and this is where it's really important to take the baby steps, and to do a little piece at a time. Don't try to think of the whole mystery all at once. How are things gonna fit together fluidly? And all that. That's impossible. That's overwhelming. You'll be like-- you'll be paralyzed. You won't be able to write a single word. So just start with one thing. Please take baby steps. You don't have to do everything in one day. And oftentimes, for me, you know, one clue builds upon another clue, builds upon another clue. Give yourself the time and the latitude to come up with these things. It's not easy to do. It's not like they just come out of your brain like a manufacturing line. It's takes time, and one often builds off the other. [MUSIC PLAYING] What's a thriller without great suspense? Everybody wants to be on the edge of their seats, nervous, not knowing what the next page is gonna bring to them, and that's where I live. That is my sweet spot. That's where I'm in my element. So I love to open stories with suspense right from the get-go. I hit the ground running, and oftentimes, I do that with a loss somehow. Somebody loses something in those very few pages, first few pages, and then all of a sudden, the suspense is there because loss always leads to retribution to a payback. And people don't know how that's gonna happen, where it's coming ...
About the Instructor
David Baldacci has captivated readers across the world with gripping, suspense-fueled thrillers. Now the New York Times–bestselling author of 38 novels shares his techniques for crafting authentic characters, developing research-based plots, and navigating the world of publishing. Learn how to write a novel with red herrings, clues, and plot twists that will keep your readers turning the pages.
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David Baldacci
In his MasterClass, bestselling thriller author David Baldacci teaches you how he fuses mystery and suspense to create pulse-pounding action.
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