How Thrillers Control Pace, Tension, and Reader Obsession

Thriller & Suspense
2021
Featuring Darryl Bollinger, J.T. Ellison, John DeDakis, LM (Linda) Whitaker

This audio session is available to KNU members.

Explore Membership Options

ABOUT THIS SESSION

John DeDakis leads Darryl Bollinger, J.T. Ellison, and Linda Whitaker in a wide-ranging conversation about what makes thrillers work. From pacing and structure to the unique demands of psychological and futuristic thrillers, this session explores how to keep tension high and readers fully locked in.

MORE LIKE THIS


What Makes a Thriller Impossible to Put Down
Boyd Morrison, Karen Dionne, Linwood Barclay, Mike Cooper, Owen Laukkanen
2012
Val McDermid on Crime, Craft, and Creative Fearlessness
Jen Forbus, Val McDermid
2011
Spies and Secret Operations in Crime Fiction
Francine Mathews, John Gilstrap, Marc Cameron, Sarah Lovett, Stephen Templin
2014
Dark Secrets Behind the White Picket Fence
Donna Andrews, Judy Penn Shellac, Lindy Walker, Maya Corrigan, Tom Franklin
2015
Creating Tension: How to Keep Readers on the Edge
Brad Parks, J.R. Backland, James Swain, John Gilstrap, Simon Gervais, Taylor Stephens
2018
Turning Any Story into a Page-Turner
Angela Greenman, Dana Summers, Jacy Sellers, Lynn Chandler Willis, Mary McFarland, Shirley B. Garrett
2023
Inside the World of Specialty Thrillers: Spy, Espionage, Political, Legal, Medical, Techno
Benny Sims, J.L. Delozier, Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes, LM (Linda) Whitaker, Luis E. Rosas, S. Lee Manning
2022
Location as the Engine of Suspense
Amanda Kyle Williams, Caroline Todd, James W. Hall, Karin Salvalaggio, Laura McHugh
2015