THRILLERFEST 2011

In July, I attended the International Thriller Writers’ annual ThrillerFest in New York. This was my second year attending and it was great to be reacquainted with some friends from last year as well as breathing the same air as the likes of Ken Follett, Robert Crais, Gayle Lynds, David Morrell, Karin Slaughter and many other famous thriller authors.

Writers tend not to have the egos of actors, and their bodyguards are unarmed publicists, so even the most hallowed writer would generally be open for a chat, or at least willing to spare a moment for a kind word of encouragement to a fellow writer, even one as yet unpublished. And hearing other writers talk about how they approach writing, particularly how they started, is immensely inspiring.

ThrillerFest has three components: CraftFest, AgentFest and ThrillerFest itself. At CraftFest, authors present on a variety of topics around the craft of writing thrillers. AgentFest is like a two hour speed-dating session between agents and unpublished writers. This year 200 writers had three minutes to pitch to sixty two agents. In the time allowed I found five agents willing to consider my manuscript, which is five more than I have been able to attract in Australia. ThrillerFest is two days of topic panel discussions and spotlight guest speakers, with social events each evening.

Here are some of the gems I collected from CraftFest:

Dr. DP Lyle (Forensics in fiction):

Steve Berry (Psychic Distance):

William Bernhardt (Plotting):

Andrew Gross (Emotion):

Michael Palmer (Crafting the thriller):

John Gilstrap (Point of View):

Ken Follett (How thrillers work):

Erica Spindler/JT Ellison (Relationships without killing pace):

Gayle Lynds (Suspense):

MJ Rose and Doug Clegg (Buzz your book):

One other useful tip was to add a heading at the start of each chapter (or scene) stating whose POV it is. Then, as part of the editing process, search on the POV and follow the linear progress of that character all the way through the book.

These are only a fraction of the take-outs from Thrillerfest. I’d encourage any emerging writer to attend a writers’ festival if you haven’t been. It’s inspiring how much camaraderie and skills can accrue from such an investment.

Ian Walkley, Brisbane, Australia.