January 15, 2016

Do you love the idea of writing your own crime or thriller novel? Can you spend a weekend in Sydney with me and aspiring authors for my Crime Fiction and Thriller Writing weekend course on 6 and 7 February 2016 at the Australian Writers Centre?

The top 10 living crime fiction authors have sold 450 million books and that figure just keeps rising. Do you love gritty detectives, troubled PIs and cool FBI agents? Or are you a fan of fast-paced, high stakes thrillers with a hero plunged into danger on a seemingly impossible mission? Crime and thriller novels dominate the bestseller lists around the world. Just think of Michael Connelly, Dan Brown, Stieg Larsson, David Baldacci, Patricia Cornwall, Janet Evanovich or Michael Robotham? Or shows like The Bourne Identity, Law and Order, Sherlock and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• different types of crime fiction and thrillers – and what kind of story yours is
• core ‘ingredients’ of a detective story and a classic thriller
• techniques to discover your story
• researching your story
• creating intriguing and well-rounded central characters
• opening paragraphs to your novel, hooking your reader
• creating a sense of place in your story
• writing action scenes
• managing pace and building suspense
• discovering your story’s climax
• publishing options available, and the market for crime fiction and thrillers today.