What’s New This Fall, 2024?
Welcome to the News and Updates page at Lynne Danley, Wordsmith.
Hello, Word Lovers!
Autumn greetings from Lynne Danley, Wordsmith and our mascot, Jonas the Thriller Killer! My granddaughter Rebecca made him for me and I love him. We’re so glad you’re here! A heartfelt thanks for visiting my website and joining us as we imagine our world through words.
Check out this snippet of what we have in store for you in the coming weeks.
Thunderhead Rising: The Journey Continues
More exciting news!
While I waited for agents to respond to my rewrite of Thunderhead Rising, the first of the Peter Calder Suspense Thriller series, I decided to shell out some cash and have my plot (as presented in my synopsis) critiqued by a respected agent.
In her kind and thorough critique, the agent told me I’d written two parallel stories that might work best if separated. They’ve got lots of action and interesting characters, but they’re not coming together tightly enough. One, she said, is a psychological thriller and the other a crime thriller.
Wow! I didn’t see that one coming. And she was absolutely right.
As some of you know, I’m a professional and academic writer and editor. This is my first foray into novel writing. I’m certainly learning a lot!
What Came Next
First, I went through the two plot lines and wrote a simple 15-page prose plot outline for each. Then I could clearly see the places where plot holes appeared and the two stories diverged. At that point, I had some choices to make. I could rewrite Thunderhead Rising to make it:
A. One of the two stories, scrapping the other.
B. One of the two stories, incorporating the other as a subplot.
C. Both stories as two separate books.
D. A duology or trinity.
E. A new book, quite different from either.
This summer, I tried out a couple different options, writing out a basic outline for each. Lots of new plot ideas and character relationships emerged. Since I already had a polished, finished novel, I had something to work with.
So I decided to go with option B. I wrote a brand new outline and have begun writing new material as I incorporate one “story” into the main plotline. I’ve already made lots of major changes. I promise to let everyone here at Lynne Danley, Wordsmith in on the progress I’m making as I proceed.
I’m looking forward to completing the rewrite so I can get back to work on the sequel. I have lots of great ideas for it percolating around in my head, especially after taking a thriller writing course from Harlan Coben. This really inspired me.
A Short History
A year ago, I worked with a writing mentor, Barbara Kyle, who told me I’d written a suspense thriller with a mystery element rather than the mystery thriller I’d been pitching. Given that, I realized I needed to change the pace, what was revealed and when, and the way the main plot and subplots wove together. Fortunately, I didn’t have to kill a lot of darlings, but I did move a lot of them into a future novels file. And I cut the length by over 17,000 words — something the novel badly needed.
Meet My Mentor
Barbara Kyle, the author of the Thornleigh Saga series of Tudor-era historical novels, has also written several novels of suspense, including The Man from Spirit Creek, and a just-released murder mystery, The Deadly Trade. I very much enjoyed her writing craft book, Page Turner. Barbara also does private mentoring and conducts virtual classes for writers. So I asked for her help with making Thunderhead Rising a page turner, too.
If you’d like to know more about Barbara and the services she offers writers, please visit her website at https://www.barbarakyle.com.
While working with Barbara, I gained a lot of insight about what was working well and what needed some tweaking here and there. But the biggest takeaway was a genuine surprise. I’d written Thunderhead Rising as a mystery thriller. “But you’ve written a thriller,” said Barbara. To paraphrase her, she said that murders happen in thrillers all the time, and she believes Thunderhead Rising is a suspense thriller with a murder element rather than a mystery.
The more I thought about it, the more I knew she was right. This was a game changer. So I brought the storylines together more seamlessly to create more high-octane suspense. But the integrity of the story remains, and the changes are working well. Thank you, Barbara!
Did You Know?
Do you know the difference between crime fiction, a mystery and a thriller? Check out my blog on Crime Fiction here.
And since I’ve been doing critique and beta reader swaps with some wonderful writers whose work I really enjoyed reading and getting feedback from, I decided to write a two-part blog on beta readers, editors and critiquers. The blogs have turned out to be very popular. You can read Part 1, Beta Readers, here. And check out the Part 2 blog, Editors and Critiquers, here.
(Insider tip: If you subscribe to this website, you’ll be the first to know when new blogs come out.)
News You Can Use
Recent and Upcoming Blogs
All of this rewriting has meant taking a short vacation from the blogs. But two more are coming soon!!
In the near future, Oregon Author will be taking readers to the wonderful, fun and supercool world of McMenamins, a chain of restaurant and brew pubs across Oregon and Washington. Each is unique, and there’s nothing quite like them.
And check out the Oregon Author blog on beautiful Trillium Lake. So many people have asked me about the lake on the Lynne Danley, Wordsmith homepage that I was inspired to grab my husband and take a little road trip east of Portland to share Trillium Lake with everyone. We made a bonus stop on the trip, too! In a recent blog on Marionberries, I share my recipe for Marionberry Pie, including my favorite pastry recipe.
Write Right! has some new and upcoming blogs, too. That’s Annoying! How to avoid irritants that make readers want to scream is showcasing Dialogue and Character Names. Character Blunders will discuss annoyances readers waxed eloquent about when writers mishandle characters.
Of course, I’d be delighted to know what you think! So give me your thoughts in the Comments block.
What I’m Reading Now
Lately, I’ve been re-reading some of my favorite writing craft how-tos. I always find these books inspirational. Additionally, they remind me of things I’ve forgotten or shoved to the back of my mind. The books I’m revisiting now include KM Weiland’s books on structuring and outlining novels, Jodie Renner‘s books on fiction writing and writing suspense, Stephen King‘s always wonderful On Writing, and Mastering Suspense, Structure and Plot by Jane Cleland.
Recently, Lucinda Halpern, owner-agent of Lucinda Literary Agency, released a new book. It’s called Get Signed: Find an Agent, Land a Book Deal, and Become a Published Author. Excited, I became a member of Lucinda’s “Get Signed team” and pre-ordered the book so I could get it on its first day of life. I’d finished it by the second day and highly recommend it to writers who are attempting to navigate the rough waters of the traditional publishing world. It’s full of fun, novel and useful tips and tricks for acquiring an agent, and it demystifies some of the puzzling and inaccurate information swirling around social media about agents and trad publishing.
This month, I’m re-reading my comps (recent books that have important marketable similarities with Thunderhead Rising). And I’m reading some new potential comps, too. Next up: novels by Robert Crais, Lisa Unger, Nicci French and Mary Kubica.
Happily, now that my favorite season fall is here, brisk walks and rain are right around the corner. What a wonderful time to be in Portland! Happy reading and writing.
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May the Words Be with You.