The Ingredients of a Good Thriller: A Simple Guide to Noir, Cops, Gangsters, Heists, Badasses in Book and Film, and How to Make That Genre Work for You: Amazon.co.uk: Chris Wood: Books

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Product Description

Ever wanted to write a thriller?

Ever thought you had a story but didn't know where to start?

This book gives you:

- A detailed breakdown of characters.
- Tips on getting the reader's attention.
- Ways of effectively telling stories.
- The impact of good dialogue.
- Explorations of top thrillers.
- Hints on how to give your story impact.

"The Ingredients Of A Good Thriller" is a guide to an area that has huge potential and gives great pleasure. It's an easy to follow approach to writing and improving your story. It provides solid examples to show you what works - and what doesn't.

Clear and easy to follow, this book is helpful for any thriller writer. Don't start without it!

From the Publisher

The ideal tool for anyone thinking of writing a thriller, or for anyone with interest in that area. This accessible and amusing book is packed with information and insights into an area that is always popular.

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt

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14 Reviews

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4.4 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)

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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars MORE ADVANCED ART OF MURDER, 25 Dec 2008

By	DAVID BRYSON (Glossop Derbyshire England) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

The last theoretical manifesto of thriller-writing I read was Chandler's `The Simple Art of Murder'. Chandler was blowing his own trumpet and uttering a blast of it against the monstrous regiment of women (Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers etc) who dominated the genre in his time. What he produced became a famous piece of literary criticism, maybe indeed a piece of literature in its own right. What Chris Wood is doing is both less and more ambitious. This book has no pretentions to being literature, but the thriller genre has come on a lot since the day of Philip Marlowe, and Chris Wood offers would-be authors a handy manual of tips on what to try to achieve and particularly what to avoid.

He casts his net quite widely, including James Bond stories, the Godfather series, Graham Greene's Brighton Rock and other productions outside the `whodunit' category that Chandler restricted himself to. I suppose this is only realistic - it would not make much sense these days to try to exclude so much of what has become the mainstream. If the consequence of that is that a good deal of the advice offered could apply generally to novels that are nobody's idea of `thrillers', then that is a consequence we just have to accept. Chris Wood proceeds mainly by examples, and without actually having counted the examples I'd guess that more than half of them are taken from films. Even assuming that his advice is aimed at authors and not film producers or directors I still have no real problem with that until he raises the matter of background music, which surely should have been restricted to a footnote at the most. On the other hand, if films can feature so prominently, why is there not more about detective series on television? Some of these, e.g. Morse or Inspector Frost or my own beloved Taggart series, are genuine pukka `mysteries' as we used to say, and those should at least form the basis of any treatise on `thrillers'.

The points made seem sound and sensible for the most part to me. I am not about to write any thrillers myself, but I have read plenty of them in my time, and I could certainly consider adding to my experience any thriller written to the Chris Wood quality assurance standard. We should probably be grateful that he has put the effort into pulling the threads together even to the extent that he has. Chandler followed his own advice and produced out-and-out masterpieces. Perhaps Chris Wood will do the same. Meantime by way of practical assistance I can offer him a few corrections he might like to make when the book is reprinted. Surely it is Hannibal Lecter, not `Lector' as he has it throughout? On p 47 I also think he probably means Nigel Stock. Starting from p 29 when I started to notice there are the following errata -- p 29 `in's'; p31 `inciteful'; p 33 `mains'; p 64 `who's'; p 65 `gargantuum'; p 71 `mislead'; p 90 `reigns'; p 131 `Potempkin'; p 142 `breath'; p 159 `plaigarism'. Among the many helpful don'ts, don't neglect accuracy.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful and well produced, 15 April 2009

By	Damaskcat (UK) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I love reading books about writing as it's the next best thing to writing itself. This is a well produced book with a larger than average typeface which won brownie points from me as I like reading when I'm on the bus or train.

It is arranged into useful sections covering characters, plot, atmosphere and dialogue amongst others, by reference to films and books in the genre. There are useful lists of films to watch and books to read even if you do not wish to write thrillers.

The section I found most interesting was the one about the anti hero, who I had never really considered before. The information about atmosphere has made me look at books and films with a more analytical eye so that I can improve my own writing with the addition of the small details which make all the difference.

This book is an excellent concise guide to how thrillers work from an enthusiast and I shall read and watch them with more understanding having read it. I would recommmend it to anyone not just writers.

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Informative. Enjoyable. Easy to read. But who's it for...?, 19 Feb 2009

By	Hooligween "Rowena the Red" (Kernow, Great Britain) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Despite having a subtitle long enough to strangle a cat, this is a really accessible and entertaining wee book. I'm not certain who would be likely to pick it up, because much of the ground it covers is basic stuff which I expect most fans of the genre to be very familiar with. Why would you consider writing a thriller if you weren't already a fan, I ponder?
However, the details in each chapter which refer constantly to examples from films, books and TV, are thoroughly engaging. This book is more like a conversation in a pub than a lecture from an expert; I found myself arguing a point or two with the author (I'm not sure that Mr Blonde really is any kind of hero, you know; surely he's just too mental for that? Etc) over some bones of contention, while making notes to catch up on some older films which I've obviously missed.
In fact that's one of this book's strongest points. Even if you're not remotely considering writing any sort of thriller, it gives you a great reading/viewing wishlist of the author's most influential and admired thrillers. Much of the content relates to recent offerings, and the author obviously adores No Country For Old Men and other works from the Coen brothers, plus Se7en and Reservoir Dogs, but the classics get a tip of the hat at appropriate moments too.
When I started reading 'The Ingredients...' I was pretty sure that it wasn't a book I'd get very much from. By the time I'd finished it, I was sad it was over. The writing is accessible, punchy and to the point. The publishing is no-frills (like that matters...?), and the subject matter is of continual interest to me. Why are we attracted to the evil in life, and why do we fictionalise it so much? Read this, and get a little closer to understanding.
8/10

ps; if you really do want to write crime fiction then Lawrence Block's Telling Lies for Fun and Profit 'Telling Lies for Fun and Profit' covers the subject in greater depth and with the experience gained from that authors extensive career

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Not particularly informative
Whilst this was an enjoyable read, I didn't find it particularly insightful. Yes it gives the ingredients bit it's no cookbook: imagine reading a cookbook that tells you who makes... Read more

Published 3 months ago by Pedro

5.0 out of 5 stars A Cookbook of Crime
The title of this book is very appropriate. It truly does give the ingredients of a good thriller.
The book is written in a style which is ideal for someone sho is disecting... Read more

Published 6 months ago by Dulcinea

5.0 out of 5 stars A thumping good read AND a tool with which to make my millions
This easy to read and thought provoking guide has inspired me to have a crack at producing my own thriller! Read more

Published 8 months ago by M. Fitzmaurice

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ingredients of a Good Thriller
I've read a lot of thrillers. Some were excellent. Others, not so much. I can think of more than a few authors who should have picked up a copy of The Ingredients of a Good... Read more

Published 9 months ago by Tami Brady

5.0 out of 5 stars A valuable resource
While the self-publishing industry has created opportunities for thousands of aspiring writers to share their creative visions with the world, many of the works I've been paid to... Read more

Published 9 months ago by L. A. Kane

4.0 out of 5 stars So You Want To Write a Thriller!
Tapping into a market, surely, is this book which offers guidance in writing thrillers. The market is actually bigger than the generic term "thriller" suggests. Read more

Published 10 months ago by John Austin

4.0 out of 5 stars Help to Free Your Inner Book
They say that there's a book in all of us. We're a race of story tellers. With the advent of the internet, all of us have the ability to "publish" whatever we choose worldwide,... Read more

Published 10 months ago by Brian o vretanos

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical Pop-Culture
This book is a very useful as a practical guide for all wannabe thriller writers. The savvy tips on the key things to think about when writing a success thriller will give many... Read more

Published 10 months ago by Mr. G. D. Lear

4.0 out of 5 stars good fun
This book can be fun if you like, well, "thrillers" in a very loose sense indeed. There are a lot of movies and books described herein that are a long way from what I would call... Read more

Published 10 months ago by David W. Straight

5.0 out of 5 stars Neat!
This book is neat. Neater than the author's house anyway which is really untidy.

Published 10 months ago by Jonathan Castle

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	61% buy the item featured on this page: The Ingredients of a Good Thriller: A Simple Guide to Noir, Cops, Gangsters, Heists, Badasses in Book and Film, and How to Make That Genre Work for You 4.4 out of 5 stars (14) �9.87
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	8% buy Sherlock Holmes and the Underpants of Death 3.9 out of 5 stars (14) �7.99

The Ingredients of a Good Thriller: A Simple Guide to Noir, Cops, Gangsters, Heists, Badasses in Book and Film, and How to Make That Genre Work for You (Paperback)

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