What
type of reader are you – one that easily suspends your sense of disbelief and loses
yourself in the story no matter how crazy it may get? Or do you question
everything and get frustrated over the little details that just seem too
far-fetched?
This is
the struggle for thriller writers, I think. I’ve spent most of the summer
revising book two, a sequel to THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING. Sequels present
their own challenges but I’ve decided – the hardest part about writing a thriller
(sequel or not) is the believability issue. I think when your story takes place
in a world filled with magical and paranormal activity, it’s easier somehow to blur
the line that separates believability from just too far-fetched to be real. But
for contemporary thrillers, that line that can be as unforgiving as a tight
pair of skinny jeans the day after vacation where you may have eaten just a bit
more than normal. You have to bend and stretch and work really hard to get
those jeans up and buttoned.
Thrillers
must have extreme and highly unusual situations and the characters almost
always find themselves in a race to save either their own life or someone
else’s. There has to be twists and turns and you have to set them up so they
don’t come out of left field but don’t give too many hints that the reader can
see it coming a mile away. It’s a complicated dance of words and pacing and
tension.
Recently,
my critique group discovered video chatting and it changed my world. To be able
to talk, face to face, and work out plots and character arcs and motivations
has helped me more than I ever thought possible. And almost every conversation
we have – no matter whose story we’re dissecting – there is always the
question, “Will the reader find that believable?”
Because
if that answer is no – the story just won’t work. You could have a brilliant
plot with complex twists and perfect pacing but if the reader doesn’t trust
that world, none of it matters. And then given the fact that every reader has a
different level of what they will or will not believe, you can make yourself
mad trying to figure out how far to push your story.
Sadly, there
is no litmus test for believably, although that would be something I would pay
good money for.
Ashley
Elston lives in Northwest Louisiana with her husband and three sons. Her debut,
THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING, is available now. As you can tell from her post,
she is smack dab in the middle of the sequel that will be published by Disney
Hyperion in 2014.
You can find Ashley procrastinating here:
Website
Goodreads
So true: believably is an important aspect to a mystery/thriller, especially when writing for kids and teens. I'm looking forward to this second book :-)
ReplyDeleteLove your skinny jeans analogy! That's exactly what it feels like. Readers might let you have a few plot stretches, but not many. I often envy writers who use magic/the paranormal. I know they have their own challenges too (world building, etc) but wow, it seems refreshing from where I sit. I've spent half my summer tying myself into a pretzel, trying to figure out plot twists and scenarios that are reasonably realistic for contemporary teens.
ReplyDeleteAmen to this. As I write, I've struggled with the fact that it's fundamentally not very believable that 12 year olds have much free time and freedom, let alone the leap it takes to believe 12 year olds can bring down criminals. Hard to solve mysteries with helicopter parents!
ReplyDeleteHmm - new theory -- maybe kids are not coming in droves to authors' bookstore events because they are too busy fighting crime!
ReplyDelete