The Writer’s Corner: The Craft of Writing Political Thrillers

A very successful author recently revealed that when creating his novels, he normally wrote a thousand words a day. I thought, Wow, I guess when you reach his level of book sales, you have the freedom to take life a little easier. Admittedly, there are days when I’ll only get one thousand to fifteen hundred words typed out. But usually that is only at the beginning of a new book, when I’m still trying to find my way. Early on, even if I have an outline, there are a lot of plot points and character issues I need to figure out and it’s slow going.

About a quarter of the way into the story, with the characters established, the threat emerging, the stakes clear, I begin to get more comfortable with the plot and my pace picks up. Then I increase my daily goal to two to three thousand words, usually writing for six hours a day. But to be clear: that is net word count. One day, three thousand or more words might pour out of me and I’m convinced they’re some of the best action scenes I’ve ever written. Then the next morning I’ll open my manuscript back up and wonder, What in the world was I thinking? Or I’ll go deep into a subject on a Friday, then come back after the weekend only to realize that what I thought was necessary to the story was just an empty rabbit hole. So I cut those chapters and try again.

The author’s best friend is the deadline. Oh, it doesn’t feel like it when that day is bearing down on us. But deadlines keep us focused. They force us to make choices as to what’s extraneous and what’s essential to completing the story and making sure it’s really emotionally satisfying. Indeed, when I’m just two weeks out from my deadline (usually June 1), my net word count tends to skyrocket to four to five thousand words a day. I ignore emails. I cancel appointments and dinner get-togethers. My life becomes me, my laptop, my coffee mug, and my story.

In my particular case, my writing schedule is interrupted in the spring. I typically start writing a new novel in December; then everything screeches to a halt around the first of March. That’s when I board a plane and fly from Israel to the United States for the book tour for the novel I wrote last year. I’ll speak at conferences and visit bookstores and do dozens—sometimes hundreds—of media interviews about my latest novel. And all the while, the next one is still simmering on the back burner of my brain. Every now and then as I travel and speak, I’ll make a quick note on my phone to fix a particular scene or cut out a rabbit trail or tighten up a particular action sequence. When my book tour concludes around the first of April, I fly back to Israel, take some time to recover from jet lag and all the intensity of the tour, and then dive back into my half-written manuscript. I actually love this moment. It’s like coming back to an old friend I haven’t seen for a while. All the changes I’ve identified in my notes, I fix. Then I go back through the story page by page, employing fresh eyes to change what needs to be reworked. On or around the first of June, I’ll finally send the completed draft to my editor. It’s certainly not ready for prime time. But I love my editor. I trust him. We’ve worked on all but two of my novels together. And I know he’s determined to make sure the final version is as strong and exciting as possible. Sometimes he recommends significant rewrites. Sometimes he loves the whole thing and has minor suggestions. Regardless, I take what he says very seriously and I couldn’t be more grateful for his eagle eye.

Writing a thriller from scratch is quite the process. You’re alone for months on end, with little or no feedback on whether your story is going to work. But I have a great team—from my literary agent to my editor to the senior execs at Tyndale House. They’re tough but fair with me, wanting the same thing I want. To wow my readers every time out! That said, there’s one quality no one can help me or any writer with. Discipline. Even more than creativity, it’s the discipline to write day in and day out and never give up that separates the great writers from the dreamers.

—Joel C. Rosenberg