Newsletter archive · 17 Apr 2024

The weird time I tried to write a thriller novel

Hello Reader—

I spent six months trying to write a thriller novel.

Thrillers were big on Amazon Kindle.

Writing one thriller novel would help me grow my author brand.

After writing a thriller book, I was going to quit my dreary day job and work on my writing business full-time.

The problem?

My idea for a thriller novel was terrible.

I won’t bore you with the details.

But I spent months getting up at five AM plugging away at my manuscript.

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Then, I met one of my writing heroes.

His name is Robert McKee.

Robert McKee is a screenwriting guru film companies like Pixar call when they have problems with their scripts.

He’s the author of one of the greatest books ever about storytelling.

He was hosting a conference about storytelling.

After it was over, I asked McKee, “How does a writer figure out what to write about?”

He said, “Write what you love to read. Write the truth”.

He even wrote those words on an autographed copy of his book.

Days later, back at my writing desk, I looked at my bookshelf and opened my Kindle library.

My bookshelf was full of books like biographies, memoirs, books about creative writing, and some self-help books.

I wasn’t reading any contemporary thriller books though. I didn’t know much about the conventions of a great thriller book.

And yet, for some reason, I was trying to write within that genre.

So I binned my thriller story away, and I turned to nonfiction.

And slowly, I built a writing business and quit that job.

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So…

Should you write thrillers?

Do what McKee says.

Write what you love to read.

The answer is on your bookshelf.

If you spot thrillers, you’ll enjoy this guide from a best-selling thriller author.

If you read non-fiction, you’ll enjoy my book.

And if you’re obsessed with writing online, reply to this email. I’ll hook you up :)

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Write on,

—Bryan Collins

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