The Muse & The Marketplace 2020

The “literary thriller” is, by definition, a hybrid genre, utilizing the techniques of great mysteries and thrillers—plot, pacing, unexpected twists, crime—to create a work of fiction that extends beyond mere potboiler and into the meaningful reservoir of literature. If that sounds simple, it isn’t. The literary thriller has a double job: It must work as a mystery thriller and as a resonant piece of writing. How do you manage to create the nail-biting tempo of a propulsive plot while managing to create meaning characters and ask the harder and less solvable questions? This seminar will offer some possibilities on style, structure, plotting, and ambitions when attempting to write a “literary thriller.” What makes a piece of work exciting literature? How do you stay true to plot and to character? How do you satisfy the reader's expectations and still feel you’ve written important material? A literary thriller can feel like trying to juggle rabid squirrels on fire, but this session will ask and answer these questions and more.