How do you write a compelling thriller, that gets hearts racing? Bestselling author of The Burning Girls, CJ Tudor, weighs in with her advice, and shares with us her most creepy real-life story.
The trickiest part of writing a novel comes about 200 pages in.
I have no problem starting a book – that’s the best part. Two hundred pages in is where I find I tend to hit that wall where I hate everything I’ve written and doubt whether it’s any good or if I can bring it all together.
Endings are also always tricky. Even my favourite authors only nail the ending about 50 percent of the time. If pushed, I’d say that the only thriller I’ve read which is almost flawless with a perfect ending is Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. A close second is My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing.
“My friends and I used to visit this old playground that was kind of creepy.”
My most creepy real-life story comes from when I was about 10 years old.
My friends and I used to visit this old playground that was kind of creepy – it was always dark even on summer days and no one else ever played there. There was an old house that backed on to it with a long, overgrown garden. Right at the bottom was an old Nissen shelter (a large, corrugated hut).
We used to creep through the broken-down fence and sneak inside. It was filled with junk and old newspapers dating back to the 1930s. But the weirdest thing was this old Silver Cross pram, with bullet holes in the side! We would dare each other to go and peer inside the pram but I don’t think any of us ever did, in case we found a mummified baby inside!
I already have the idea for my sixth book laid out.
There are loads of topics I’m keen to explore, such as a really scary, modern-day vampire novel; an Agatha Christie-esque mystery set in a council estate tower block; a slasher novel in a holiday park; and the premise for book six, a triple locked-room mystery set in the middle of a snowstorm in a vaguely post-apocalyptic future. My ideas are all based on stories I’d like to read, and if no one else is going to write them, I’ll have to do it myself!
“My ideas are all based on stories I’d like to read, and if no one else is going to write them, I’ll have to do it myself!”
I don’t actually have any writing must-haves, besides my laptop, of course.
I can write pretty much anywhere. Until we moved, I didn’t have a dedicated space for writing. I just plonked myself down at the kitchen table. Now I have my office upstairs which has wonderful views towards the Sussex downs. I love to stare out of the window and remind myself how far I’ve come and how lucky I am.
CJ’s 5 tips and tricks for generating suspense:
1. Enter every scene late and leave it early.
2. Don’t over-explain your characters actions or stick in great wads of back story.
3. Foreshadowing is great – King is a master at this.
4. Don’t resolve cliff hangers in the very next chapter.
5. Tease the reader. Remember, what you don’t say is often scarier than what you do say. Let the reader use their imagination.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
C.J. Tudor's love of writing, especially the dark and macabre, started young. When her peers were reading Judy Blume, she was devouring Stephen King and James Herbert. Over the years she has had a variety of jobs, including trainee reporter, radio scriptwriter, dog walker, voiceover artist, television presenter, copywriter and, now, author. Her novels, The Chalk Man and The Taking of Annie Thorne, were Sunday Times bestsellers and have sold in over forty countries.
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by C.J. Tudor
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BEFORE YOU GO…
Find out more about CJ and the inspiration for her latest thriller, The Burning Girls in Issue 7 of The Penguin Post magazine, here.
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