Jude Hardin

Author, Drummer, Turtle Whisperer

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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

How To Write a Thriller: Part One

Every Who
Down in Who-ville
Liked Christmas a lot...


But the Grinch,
Who lived just North of Who-ville,
Did NOT!


Start in media res. Blood on the floor. Tension from the get-go. Establish the primary conflict ASAP, and make sure it’s a clash that can sustain friction through to the climax.

Do you have an opening line or paragraph from a thriller that you'd like to share? It can be one of your own, or someone else's. Feel free to go nuts in the comment section.

Stay tuned for How to Write a Thriller: Part Two tomorrow.

7 Comments:

Blogger lainey bancroft said...

All right. Since it is wildly known that I am crazy and you invited crazy, I'll go first. Granted, romantic suspense isn't a thriller, but FWIW, this is the opening of my 'newest baby'

Well insulated by thousands of dollars in landscaping, the Tudor mansion stood stately and silent. Behind one of those dark windows lay something that belonged to her. She’d come to retrieve it—at any cost. She pressed a hand to the achy void in her belly and tried to focus on her mission. In ground sprinklers came to life with a click, the hiss of water almost deafening in her already ringing ears as the spray saturated the half acre of lush lawn that separated the majestic home from the elite cul-de-sac. She sucked in a deep breath. The earthy scent of soil and fresh cut grass calmed her, and squaring her shoulders, she skirted several ornamental trees and stuck to the shadows as she made her way toward the back of the house.

12:09 PM  
Blogger Jude Hardin said...

Lainey:

Psycho stalker ex on a mission? My worst nightmare!

2:15 PM  
Blogger lainey bancroft said...

lmao, Jude! Had a lot of those psycho stalker ex on a mission experiences, have you?

And hey, who says she's the psycho?

7:43 PM  
Blogger Jude Hardin said...

She's always the psycho. ;)

7:58 PM  
Blogger Davin C. Goodwin said...

What the heck.... I'll give it a go. Comments are always welcome.

The Stranger placed the revolver on the kitchen counter. Grayish blue smoke whiffed from the barrel as blood oozed from the cylinder, pooling on the granite.

10:11 AM  
Blogger Jude Hardin said...

Makes me wonder how blood got in the cylinder, Dave.

10:25 AM  
Blogger Davin C. Goodwin said...

Jude.... good! You'll have to read further to find the answer(s)....

10:49 AM  

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