I can only speak for myself, but I found books ‘on writing’ very helpful.
Stephen King’s On Writing was the first book I read on this topic. It wasn’t an instructional on writing horror either, it focused on the craft. I was pleasantly surprised at how engaging it was. Unfortunately, I discovered it after I had completed my first manuscript.
I was drawn in as King recounted his journey of becoming a writer. It was as if he sat across from me with my manuscript in his hands, looking at me over his glasses. While we kicked back in the theatre of my imagination, King went on to explain that what he just read was remarkable. Somehow, I had managed to pack in every damn rookie mistake imaginable, along with a few new ones. Mainly, I had spent too much time explaining and not enough time showing. ‘Show don’t tell’ is one of the first lessons an aspiring author learns.
After finishing that book, I went back to the keyboard and, using the editorial double-bit axe, proceeded to dismember my ‘novel’ chapter by chapter, paragraph by paragraph, sentence by sentence. As I did so, I continued to devour books ‘on writing’. Chuck Palahniuk’s book, Consider This, offered some unique perspectives. Noah Lukeman’s The First Five Pages opened my eyes to the perspectives of agents, editors, and publishers. Teach me, I pleaded to the literary universe.
I amassed loads of books on the topic, I even hunted down textbooks used in university literary programs. I dialed into the thriller genre and found loads of books helpful to authors writing about crime. Since there is usually an crime resulting in fatality nestled somewhere in my plot, I found the following to be very enlightening: Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection Club and The Art of the English Murder by Lucy Worsley.
And on I went. I just finished David Morrell’s The Successful Novelist. That was a really informative read. My plan is to keep reading and learning from the best because I believe my readers deserve my best effort and will appreciate improvement over time.
In regard to my first novel, Three Worlds Collide: Rise of the Demon Scorpion, things did improve. But it took months, years even. After that, I didn’t struggle as much with my second novel, Low Men. I did a lot of research, some outlining, and then dove right in. As of October, 2024, I’m in the depths of my third novel which is the follow up to Three Worlds Collide. It’s a little more complex and maybe a bit ambitious, but with the help of my proofreaders and editor, I believe I can pull it off. We’ll see.
The lessons I’ve learned over the years pop up still. I took notes on the books I read on craft and refer to them often. Even now, I struggle with the balance between showing and telling. You can’t rely too heavily on either. Sometimes, it just makes sense to briefly tell the reader some information, then move on. Keep the pace, that’s an important point when writing thrillers.
To me it’s that fine line that, once you’ve dialed in and focused on it, becomes the infinitely complex no man’s land where authors struggle to bring these two aspects of storytelling, showing vs. telling, into balance. You become the diplomat attempting to negotiate a truce between demonstrating too much emotion and utilizing too much prose, all while keeping the story rolling.
Thanks, Gransom Hayes
Three Worlds Collide: Rise of the Demon Scorpion (A supernatural thriller)
Low Men (Romantic suspense: A symphony of psychological disorders wound into a spicy techno-thriller whodunit with a neo-noir vibe with a dash of medium spice. Hmm, well, okay… a bit more than a dash.)
These are available wherever books are sold. Check me out on social media.
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