Thriller 101

Send me a Text Message! Join the Thriller 101  newsletter for exclusive updates  Click here to rate and review the podcast! Find out more about Erin Flanagan Episode with Mandy McHugh Connect with David on Twitter EPISODE INFO: The art methodically rising tension is a tricky one...because there really isn’t a hard and fast rule.  However, while talking to our guest today, I learned so much about h...

Send me a Text Message! Download the Official Thriller 101 Hook Checklist Here Click here to rate and review the podcast! Find out more about Mandy McHugh Connect with David on Twitter EPISODE INFO: If you’re into morally gray characters, then you’re going to love today’s guest.  And you’re going to love her even more if you want to write great dialogue. Seriously, if you need to improve your dial...

Send me a Text Message! Download the Official Thriller 101 Hook Checklist Here Click here to rate and review the podcast! Find out more about Amy Nielsen Listen to Last Time: Catherine McKenzie Connect with David on Twitter EPISODE INFO: If you’re hoping to sign with your agent in the next few months, you’re going to love this episode with my guest today.  We’re going to dive deep into a fantastic...

Send me a Text Message! Free 5-Day Email Mini Course on Hooking an Agent with Your Opening Paula Hawkins on LitHub Get the list of 125+ Literary Agents who rep Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, and Crime Fiction Study the Opening Paragraphs of the Top Authors Writing Thrillers Right Now

Send me a Text Message! Free 5-Day Email Mini Course on Hooking an Agent with Your Opening Click here to rate and review the podcast! Find out more about Catherine McKenzie Link to the last time Catherine was on the podcast Connect with David on Twitter EPISODE INFO: In today’s episode, we’re going to hear from a best-selling author about how she plans and organizes her novels. Anyone who writes i...

Send me a Text Message! Free 5-Day Email Mini Course on Hooking an Agent with Your Opening Click here to rate and review the podcast! Find out more about Emmy Nordstrom Higdon Link to the last time Emmy was on the podcast Connect with David on Twitter EPISODE INFO: In today’s episode, we’re going to hear from a literary agent about what you need in your opening pages.  If you’re hoping to sign wit...

Send me a Text Message! Free 5-Day Email Mini Course on Hooking an Agent with Your Opening Wanda Morris on CrimeReads Interviews Referenced: Literary Agent Kimberly Brower Author James Byrne Author JM Donellan Get the list of 125+ Literary Agents who rep Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, and Crime Fiction Study the Opening Paragraphs of the Top Authors Writing Thrillers Right Now

Send me a Text Message! Free 5-Day Email Mini Course on Hooking an Agent with Your Opening Agent: Carleen Geisler Author: Brooke Robinson Author: Aaron Philip Clark Get the list of 125+ Literary Agents who rep Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, and Crime Fiction Study the Opening Paragraphs of the Top Authors Writing Thrillers Right Now

Send me a Text Message! Click here to rate and review the podcast! Find out more about Kathleen Foxx Brooke Robinson Episode Carleen Geisler Episode Sign up to be notified when agent submissions reopen! Connect with Kathleen on Twitter Connect with David on Twitter EPISODE INFO: Today, we have another agent interview! I’m so excited to share this conversation with a brand new agent who has a resum...

Send me a Text Message! Click here to rate and review the podcast! Sign up to be notified when agent submissions reopen! Connect with Brooke on Twitter Connect with Brooke on Instagram Connect with David on Twitter EPISODE INFO: The opening of your story is something we talk about a lot on, through their one-on-one and that's because it's so important.  It's not just important to ge...

Send me a Text Message! Antagonist Checklist Sign up to be notified when agent submissions reopen! Connect with JM Donellan JM Donellan's YouTube Connect with David on Twitter EPISODE INFO: In thrillers, (maybe more so than in any other genre) an antagonist has a lot of weight to carry. They have to be believable but ruthless. Dangerous and deadly but also sympathetic. I mean, how much time d...

Send me a Text Message! BONUS: Carleen shares where to put your inciting incident & more! Article Sign up to be notified when agent submissions reopen! Connect with Carleen on Twitter Connect with Carleen on Instagram Connect with David on Twitter EPISODE INFO: Are you wondering what agents are looking for in submissions? Well this agent is going to talk all about what to include in a summary...

Send me a Text Message! The 5 Minute Writer Series is designed to help writers save time. James Byrne Interview Allison Buccola Interview It’s a free weekly article that provides ~5 minute summaries of a longer articles, podcasts, videos, or courses. It’s designed to give you the highlights without the fluff so you can gain the knowledge without wasting time. So you can get back to writing!  Get t...

Send me a Text Message! 5 Minute Writer Article Sign up to be notified when agent submissions reopen! Connect with James Connect with David on Twitter 3 BIG TAKEAWAYS Don't get stuck on genre conventions Revamp your writing routine Write unique characters EPISODE INFO: Character voice can make or break a manuscript. And a lot of times, as writers we’re trying to imitate what we see commonly i...

Send me a Text Message! Learn more about submitting to the Agent Contest Listen to the episode about the Agent Contest Liz Alterman Interview Josh Stallings Interview Bianca Marais Interview Get the list of 125+ Literary Agents who rep Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, and Crime Fiction Study the Opening Paragraphs of the Top Authors Writing Thrillers Right Now

Send me a Text Message! Listen to Wednesday's episode with big announcement here! Thriller 101 Sinem Gunel: Full Interview Get the list of 125+ Literary Agents who rep Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, and Crime Fiction Study the Opening Paragraphs of the Top Authors Writing Thrillers Right Now

Send me a Text Message! Listen to yesterday's episode with big announcement here! Thriller 101 Paula Munier Lori Galvin Thomas Mullen Write like Lisa Jewell Get the list of 125+ Literary Agents who rep Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, and Crime Fiction Study the Opening Paragraphs of the Top Authors Writing Thrillers Right Now

Send me a Text Message! Hey everyone! Today, I'm introducing Thriller 101, the new podcast that will take over for Writerly Lifestyle! Exciting things are happening and I can't wait to tell you all about it! Click here to submit! Get the list of 125+ Literary Agents who rep Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, and Crime Fiction Study the Opening Paragraphs of the Top Authors Writing Thrillers Ri...

Send me a Text Message! 5 Minute Writer Article Last week's interview with Lori Galvin Connect with Thomas on Twitter Link to Thomas Mullen's website Connect with David on Twitter 3 BIG TAKEAWAYS Writing opening scenes Incorporating big ideas into your writing Using existing literature to fuel your writing EPISODE INFO: How many times do you revise your opening scene?  If you’re anything...

Send me a Text Message! 5 Minute Writer Article Last week's interview with Author Aaron Philip Clark Connect with Lori on Twitter Connect with David on Twitter 3 BIG TAKEAWAYS What agents are looking for in a client Your first 5-10 pages What it's like working with an agent EPISODE INFO: Are you looking to land an agent in 2024?  In this episode, Aevitas Creative literary agent Lori Galv...

Send me a Text Message! 5 Minute Writer Article Last week's interview with Ausma Zehanat Khan Aaron's Website Connect with Aaron on Twitter Connect with David on Twitter 3 BIG TAKEAWAYS How to write action scenes Using our unique experiences to drive our stories Developing your craft EPISODE INFO: No matter what kind of writing you’re doing, you’re going to use have to write movement int...

Send me a Text Message! Your Free Editing Outline 5 Minute Writer Article Last week's interview with Johnny Compton Ausma's Website Connect with Ausma on Twitter Connect with David on Twitter 3 BIG TAKEAWAYS Writing tension into your story The author-agent relationship  Sharing stories that matter EPISODE INFO: There are so many ways to write a novel. But the bottom line is this: you jus...

Send me a Text Message! Your Free Editing Outline 5 Minute Writer Article Last week's interview with Liz Alterman Johnny's Website Connect with Johnny on Twitter Connect with David on Twitter 3 BIG TAKEAWAYS Perfecting your dialogue Developing an editing outline Finding your unique idea EPISODE INFO: It’s sometimes hard to notice when you’re reading great dialogue because you end up so s...

Send me a Text Message! 5 Minute Writer Article Liz's Website Connect with Liz on Twitter Connect with David on Twitter 3 BIG TAKEAWAYS Character backstory How to find the right community Finding an agent EPISODE INFO: The dreaded backstory.  How much to use? How much to cut out? Are you building character or are you boring readers?  My guest today is going to help us! Liz Alterman is an abso...

Send me a Text Message! 5 Minute Writer Elle Grawl Interview Interviews referenced in this episode: Editor: Chantelle Aimeé Osman Literary Agent: Amy Elizabeth Bishop Literary Agent: Emmy Norstrom Higdon Author: Rob Hart Author: Josh Stallings Subscribe for Aaron Philip Clark & Ausma Zehanat Khan (Coming in Feburary!) Get the list of 125+ Literary Agents who rep Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, an...