Dan Brown’s 13 Steps to Writing a Thriller

This week I’ve had theme of kindness and paying it forward but I can’t forget about the hungry pens out there. Thursday is our lesson day and one lesson that I would recommend is #13 from with Dan Brown from MasterClass. I’ve shared a few segments from his lessons but if you want to know how to build a world from the ground up, you should take a look at this lesson.

Dan recreates his process in 13 steps that he uses for his own books. These are geared toward thriller writers but they can still be applied across several genres. What are his 13 steps? Here they are:

1. Select a world and find a gray area
2. Create the hero
3. Create the villain
4. Check for the 3 C’s
   1. Do you have a ticking clock or time limit?
   2. Do you have a crucible? Or as Dan says, a place where your character has no place to go?
   3. Do you have a contract with the reader, or a promise to them?
5. Set the stage
6. Write the finale first. You know the ending already – the hero wins. Dan asks the question of how you are going to make it interesting?
7. Navigate the middle muddle
8. Develop the supporting characters
9. Turn up the tension
10. Build obstacles
11. Remind the reader of the stakes
12. Motivate the character to the next location
13. Wrap it up

Review the steps again and ask yourself if you can follow these 13 steps. Create your outline using these rules. Use today’s 5-10 minutes writing out your story.

My posts are Monday through Friday.

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~Yoon Ju