A Writer Caught in a Whirlwind of Authors

It has been exactly one week, since I returned from an eight-day stay in New York City for the Thrillerfest Writing Conference. While there, I not only had cocktails with famous authors, but I listened to them pour their hearts out trying to help aspiring writers make it through the solitude trenches to publication. My notebook is filled with over 60 pages of NEW hand-written information that I didn’t receive the past two years I have attended. How is it, I still have so much to learn?

Most of the information given at Thrillerfest is top secret to the writers who attend the conference, but just in case you are writing a thriller, suspense, mystery or crime novel, here are a few tidbits I can share with you:

Last year, I spent a whole day at FBI Headquarters. This year I spent my first full day from 8 am to 6pm hanging with a room full of Special Agents with the ATF. What is ATF? It is the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. I heard about real cases involving firearms and explosives, real criminals (some are quite stupid, but others are beyond brilliant) and all the background leading up to the crime, the search for evidence, the apprehending and arrest in each incident. I was able to try on some of the ATF equipment, hold the weapons and inspect them up close, and learn about all the different kinds of firearms from legal to illegal. I also had the opportunity to meet the youngest “Explosives Detection Canine” in the ATF, Kara (aka The Bomb Dog). Kara even gave us an amazing demonstration of a protective sweep.

One of my favourite workshops was with David Putnam, called “The Anatomy of Violence: What Does It Take To Shoot Someone?” David stepped us through the seven points of force when up against a criminal, explaining everything from using gentle hands on to using deadly force. He asked us to consider three important things before you shoot someone… Can you legally shoot the person? Can you morally shoot someone? And do you have the ability to emotionally pull the trigger? It only takes a couple of seconds for a person to shoot someone else. As a writer, you need to get the facts straight. High emotion is imperative to your story.

Author Steven James was hilarious, and I was disappointed to only have him for one 50-minute workshop on “The Secrets That No One Is Telling You”. He speaks fast and furious. I had a hand cramp that lasted a few hours! He told us about twenty secrets, when he only promised to reveal the top ten. The importance of being at the conference is huge, when it comes to workshops like this. Did I mention at the end of every workshop there is time for a few questions and answers? Anything you want to know, you can ask… and they will answer.

Did you know there is science behind writing a thriller novel? Me neither, but I do now. Authors James Rollins and W. Craig Reed conducted a workshop called, “The Science Behind Writing a Thriller.” They even gave a 12-page handout full of brilliant tables, graphs and lists, along with descriptions on how to entice readers and get them to react to your story the way you want them to.

Author & TV Producer Lee Goldberg introduced “Using TV Writing Techniques to Make Your Thriller Move Like a Rocket.” This guy had us laughing continuously. I could’ve spent the whole day with him. Bottom line: Screenplays need to be tight. Every scene needs to be compelling and move the story forward, if not, cut it! Less is MORE! My favourite quote of the day from Lee, “The main reason writers drink or do drugs is because they kill babies and puppies!” He followed up with, “I didn’t mean it literally. I was talking about cutting some of your favourite lines, characters and scenes. Those are the babies and puppies!”

Lee Child, an author who NEVER outlines said, “I get the same shock as the reader gets. At the end of every chapter, I say ‘Wow, I definitely did not see that coming.’”

There was a fabulous panel on “Discover the Business and the Metrics of Publishing.” The moderator was Jon Land (who writes the new Murder She Wrote series) and the panel consisted of: J.D. Barker, Liz Berry, John Gilstrap, Meryl Moss, Neil Nyren and Dan Slater. Highlights of this session were BRANDING IS KEY! And, by branding, I mean using the same name, same photo, same font type, same everything across all social media (yes, you need to be involved on a social media platform or you will go nowhere). Readers need to already know you, before your book hits the shelves. Plus, networking with like-minded writers who write what you write in the same genre is also the key to success. The gossip going around said that 100% of the networking is done at the bar or cocktail parties. They give you free drinks on purpose, so go and network. Make friends with a whirlwind of authors. Try the special cocktail of the party, “George R.R. Martin’s Purple Wedding Cocktail.” DELICIOUS! This makes introverts into extroverts in no time flat. 😉

There was a panel on Finding Inspiration to Write. It was informative. Several authors shared their secrets to writing bestsellers here. I learned there was such a thing as a Smoke Jumper and they get paid to do it, not to mention it is a dangerous occupation. Joan Johnston wrote a novel with a smoke jumper as a main character. Sold like hotcakes, because no one knew what a smoke jumper was. J.R. Ripley needed money to pay the rent, so he created a pen name and wrote SIX cozy mysteries in one year about different kinds of birds. It worked quite well and still, to this day; he has a place to live because of the success of cozy mysteries. Mind you, he is also the guy who says he’s unfit for the real world and never had a real job. Just wandered around enjoying music and writing stories. He was born to be a storyteller.

Thea Paris taught me how to kidnap The Marsh King’s Daughter… while I hung out with K.J. Howe and Karen Dionne in the hallway at Thrillerfest. We managed to remember to take a picture together. K.J. Howe informed us about airplane safety (research for her new novel, Skyjack), where to sit on the plane so you are likely to live if the plane goes down, which section is the first area to be in trouble and most likely die (important info to know if you travel by air). She went over the security measures at various airports (some are lax and some are anal). She also mentioned the people who like to make an entire plane disappear so they can use the passengers to get ransom money. Yeah, I’m almost thinking I should drive to New York City next year instead of flying. Ha!

Did I mention you should pack light while attending the conference? Like seriously, who needs to pack seven pairs of underwear when only one will suffice? Reason: There are FREE books for you to take home. I managed to stuff 25 novels in my luggage for the way home (see photo at top of the blog post). Security didn’t even blink an eyelash at me this year. Of course, I’m sure I’ve already been documented for crossing the border the last two-year’s in a row, with books and they searched every nook and cranny of my luggage looking for whatever it is they look for. I’m a bibliophile and I didn’t mind the wait, as long as I could read while they conducted their search.

Last thing I’ll mention is Author George R.R. Martin, and if you have never heard of him, you must live in a cave. He was the King of the Party last week. Poor guy, I almost felt sorry for him. He said, “Keep your eye on the fortune, not the fame.” What he meant by this is the constant negative daily messages and emails he receives from angry fans wondering why he is attending a conference, when he should be home writing the next book in the series. The fans are waiting. The fans are angry. They hate it when he kills someone off that they loved. The fans are angry about many different things. He can’t even leave his house without escorts (body guards), due to the public harassing him. He’s spent 50 years in the writing profession and he said, “Don’t go into writing if you need security. This is a profession for gamblers.” Now, I can’t stop thinking about that. It gives me chills. I’ll leave you with a link to an interview with George and his editor (originally posted on Facebook by the International Thriller Writers). It was a great 50-minutes spent with a legend. (Apparently, I cannot embed the video link for you in this post, so go to International Thriller Writers on Facebook and watch it there.

Bottom line, this is only the tip of the iceberg on information I was given… there is soooooo much more to share (and some things I can’t share). Basically, if you want to write thrillers, suspense, mystery or crime novels, YOU should be attending this conference. However, I’m giving you an 11-month advance notice about the next Thrillerfest conference. It is taking place July 8^th-13^th, 2019 at the Grand Hyatt in New York City with Author John Sandford as the ThrillerMaster. I hope to see you there.