Summary of Dan Brown’s Masterclass on Writing Thrillers

34 key takeaways from the author of The Da Vinci Code and Lost Symbols

masterclass.com

1. When you write a book, you’re actually writing a million books. Each person who reads your book will read it differently and imagine different things. Your job as a writer is to create the framework, the points of interest, that would enable the reader’s imagination to connect all the dots in an interesting and enjoyable way. Give them just enough to bring them to the next point. This is how you build suspense.
2. Follow the 3 C’s — the contract, the crucible, the clock. The contract is your promise that by the end, all questions, however small, will be answered. The crucible is that the hero is in a high stakes situation with only one way out, a path filled with miserable obstacles. The clock is the element of time pressure. Bring the 3 C’s together in ways that the reader doesn’t see coming, and you’ve got a thriller.
3. Write what you WANT to know. The common advice is to write what you know, but writing what you want to know instead is more fun. Choosing topics and locations that you are personally interested to learn more about will fuel your passion to research it and think about it creatively.
4. Write in a moral grey area. Ambiguity makes conflict more textured and characters more interesting. Tradition…