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- The Spy Who Came in from the Cold by John le Carré. Buy on Amazon. Le Carré’s name has come to be synonymous with the spy genre, and it was this very book that propelled him to international acclaim.
- Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré. Buy on Amazon. Another well-known title from le Carré, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy continues in the same fictional realm set up in le Carré’s previous spy books.
- The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlum. Buy on Amazon. Jason Bourne is rescued by fishermen, the sole survivor of an attack at sea. When he comes to, he’s suffering from amnesia, unable to remember anything about himself or his past life outside of the intermittent flashback.
- Eye of the Needle by Ken Follett. Buy on Amazon. This award-winning classic (and Ken Follett’s first bestseller) follows a German spy, nicknamed ‘The Needle’ due to his signature use of a needle-pointed blade when killing his victims.
May 9, 2024 · The drama of spying — interactions with a cast of secretive characters, high-stakes disguises, and clandestine dead-drops — all make for good reading and propel the plot of spy novels forward. Additionally, many readers love the mix of action, intrigue, and politics found in these books.
- Writing Spy Fiction: Make It A Page-Turner
- Writing Spy Fiction: How to Develop A Blockbuster Concept
- Writing Spy Fiction: Killer Logline
- Writing Spy Fiction: Flawless Structure
- Writing Spy Fiction: Epic Narrative Drive
- It Works!
- Writing Spy Fiction: Need Help?
In this article, I’m going to suggest four keys to developing a plot that has the reader sitting up all night:
The concept is a single short sentence describing what your book is about. A blockbuster concept is one whose themes and appeal are: 1. Original 2. Obvious 3. Easily communicated Imagine you have less than ten words to tell your friend why they should go out and buy your book – what will you say? That’s your blockbuster concept. The classic spy thr...
Once you have a blockbuster concept, we can get the main characters and conflict of your novel established by deciding on the logline. The logline explains the WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, HOW and WHY of your story (and all in a one, or at the most two, sentences)! There’s an art to writing a logline and Writing a Killer Logline introduces the Killogato...
With the blockbuster concept and the logline nailed down, what we need to do is take that great idea and turn it into a story. To do that, we need a plot. And the first thing we need to do to work out our plot is decide what type of plot it’s going to be. I’ve narrowed down our options to four classic spy novel plots that almost all spy thrillers u...
Now, with an outstanding story to tell, we need to tell it just as well and for that we need narrative drive, because that’s what readers of spy books want. They’re not primarily interested in the beauty of language for its own sake. In fact, straightforward language works best. What they do want is the excitement of the protagonist’s struggle with...
I used all the techniques above when I was writing my spy thriller A Kill in the Morning. After being shortlisted for the Terry Pratchett Prize, I sold A Kill in the Morningto a major publisher, Transworld. So I know this stuff works! Read the opening of A Kill in the Morning by clicking hereor on the cover:
If you’d like me to help you develop your spy fiction, then please email me. Otherwise, feel free to share the article using the buttons below.
Jul 28, 2021 · How to Write a Spy Thriller: 6 Tips. Written by MasterClass. Last updated: Jul 28, 2021 • 5 min read. If you’re interested in crafting a fast-paced, action-packed, page-turner, consider writing a spy novel. Here’s what you need—and the books you should read—to get started.
The well-crafted Liz Carlyle novels by Stella Rimington. At Risk (Liz Carlyle #1) – High stakes in an excellent espionage thriller. Secret Asset (Liz Carlyle #2) – An engrossing novel about British counter-espionage. Illegal Action (Liz Carlyle #3) – An engaging spy novel from former MI5 director Stella Rimington.
Mar 23, 2021 · Cleveland occupies a unique spot among spy writers for her ability to show that spies are people, too, like Weisberg’s acclaimed series, The Americans. Joe Finder, The Moscow Club. Finder is known as a writer of superb breakneck thrillers and if you’ve read his early books, you would swear he spent a few years as a CIA analyst.
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Jeremy Hollingshead wrote: "No Ross Thomas novels make the top 100 spy novels, but a bunch of suspense and mystery stories that have nothing to do with spies do. That makes perfect sense, said no one ever."
