Carolyn Wheat Quotes:

One key to the distinction between mystery and suspense writing involves the relative positions of hero and reader. In the ideal mystery novel, the readers is two steps behind the detective.... The ideal suspense reader, on the other hand, is two steps ahead of the hero.

Topics: Hero, Writing, Keys, Mystery Novels

I first heard the term "meta-novel" at a writer's conference in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The idea is that even though each book in a series stands alone, when read collectively they form one big ongoing novel about the main character. Each book represents its own arc: in book one of the series we meet the character and establish a meta-goal that will carry him through further books, in book two that meta-goal is tested, in book three - you get the picture.

source: - Carolyn Wheat (2011). “How to Write Killer Fiction: The Funhouse of Mystery & the Roller Coaster of Suspense”, p.41, SCB Distributors

Topics: Book, Character, Writing, Tulsa

It's like a convent, the hospital. You leave the world behind and take vows of poverty, chastity, obedience.

Topics: World, Poverty, Illness

Writing the middle of a novel is a lot like driving through Texas. You think it's never going to end, and the scenery looks the same.

source: - Carolyn Wheat (2011). “How to Write Killer Fiction: The Funhouse of Mystery & the Roller Coaster of Suspense”, p.31, SCB Distributors

Topics: Writing, Thinking, Texas

We don't want to read a book. We want to live an experience.

Topics: Book, Reading, Want