I know. I'm late to the party, but I have to say, at least I finally made it! Just finished Don't Leave Me, Blind Justice, and Try Darkness by James Scott Bell. Okay, everyone said the books were awesome, amazing, and so on and so forth. But they were better than the reviews. They were literary CRACK!What made them so amazing? So addictive?
Every single time I thought I saw where Bell was going with story, he fooled me. And that hasn't happened in a suspense novel in a long time. Most of my fave authors have recently left me knowing right away who the big rollers were and why, but Bell kept me trying to figure out
WHODUNIT OR WHY? right to the end...
That's what I love about suspense. Like a frightening roller coaster ride. One that drags you all the way to the top, and then when you think your stomach has settled down for a second, it drags you up again. Up and down, up and down until you nearly lose your lunch.
THAT'S A GREAT SUSPENSE!
So after buying my first novel from Bell, I was hooked. I had to buy more. Literary CRACK had me by the throat and was squeezing out every last penny from my pocket!
So how do we get to be better writers like Bell? We take classes, belong to crit groups, but more importantly, we read in the genres that we intend to write. If you want to be a great football player, you don't go to Wimbleton each year. If you intend to be the next A-Rod, scratch that, not a good idea; if you intend to be the next Babe Ruth--Okay? then you want to watch baseball, not hopscotch.
Read in the genre you intend to write, and when you find a James Scott Bell, don't let anyone give you an intervention. Read, read, and read some more. If you become an addict, in this instance,
that's all right.
Happy reading!
9 comments:
Good advice! And excellent addiction!
Linda, Glad you've hopped on the Jim Bell bandwagon. Not only is he a great teacher, reading his fiction lets me see examples of what he teaches, and it works.
Thanks for sharing.
Started to listening to a writing workshop by Mr. Bell this very morning! Thanks Linda!
If you can make the trip to Colorado Springs, Jim will teach six sessions at the Writing for the Soul conference, February 13 to 16, along with novelists Angela Hunt and Brandilyn Collins. See www.ChristianWritersGuild.com
-- Andy Scheer
Oh, Andy. Would love to be able to, believe me! And Brandilynn's workshops are amazing. yup, would love to hear Bell. Can't believe I hadn't read him yet, but one book and I was hooked.
Yes, Elaine. I am def addicted.
Dr. Mabry. I'm going to scrounge around for some of his teaching. I'd love to sit in on some classes. Missed him a couple years ago.
Rick, you'll have to let me know where you found the workshop. I'd love to take one.
Linda,
I took one of his classes at the Christian Writers Guild conference and he's not only phenomenally talented, but funny, eager to share his knowledge, and loves to help others out. What a guy! And his books... don't get me started on his books :-)
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