SHALLA CHATS with author Brett Battles

"Elements of a Page Turner"

by Shalla De Guzman

First of all, who ’s Brett?

Brett Battles was born and raised in southern California. His parents, avid readers, instilled the love of books in him early on. From days spent rifling through the volumes of Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators as a pre-teen to diving into the works of Alistair MacLean, Robert Ludlum and Graham Greene as he grew older, reading has always been a huge part of his life. In Brett’s words, books have not only entertained him, but have also served as important teachers in his development as a writer.

While he still make California his home, he has traveled extensively, including trips to Vietnam and Germany—two locations that play prominent parts in his debut thriller THE CLEANER.

Shalla: Hello Brett, congrats on your debut novel, The Cleaner—everyone’s loving it over at Amazon. It’s receiving a lot of 5 stars.

Brett: Thanks, Shalla. I appreciate it. And I definitely appreciate all the nice things people have been saying.

Shalla: Many say The Cleaner is a successful page turner: Readers, filled with anticipation, want to know what’s going to happen next. For any writer, this is an amazing feat and you have done it. And of course we’d like to ask you for some tips so that we can try to do it too.

So, what makes a page turner? What adds suspense and tension to every page?

Brett: First and foremost, characters that the readers can care about. If you don’t have that, then all you’re left with is a plot no one will care about.

It always comes down to character. Whether it’s a page-turning thriller, or a slice-of-life drama, a writer needs to create characters who are not just cardboard cutouts with standard qualities, but rather people who are layered and complex and have histories and emotions. In other words, like I first said, characters people will care about.

Now, you’re not necessarily going to get all the information you’ve worked out for your characters out on the page, but that doesn’t matter. In fact, you shouldn’t get it all out. It would be too much. What that excess knowledge will do for you is inform everything you do write about the character, giving you confidence that you will know everything that character would do or say in nearly any situation.

Once you have those compelling characters, then it’s a matter of creating situations and obstacles for your protagonist which will raise the tension and the action in believable ways. By believable, I don’t necessary mean real-world believable, but believable in the world the author is creating.

Shalla: How do you construct your plot? Do you use index cards?

Brett: Well…kind of a loaded question. In the past, I would jot a few notes down and then just go. I would probably know where I wanted to end up, and I’d probably have a beginning scene in mind, but everything else in between would be up for grabs. I’d work it out as I was writing.
What this also meant was that once I was done with that first draft, I would have a lot of rewriting to do to make everything work. But that was okay. I like rewriting. In fact, there is a part of me that enjoys rewriting more that writing that first pass. Rewriting is when things get tied together, and characters get enhanced, and motivations clarified.
I said “in the past” because as I’m beginning book 3 (book 2 is done), I’m trying to write a more comprehensive outline. Don’t think I will stick to it 100%, but at least I will use it as a guide. I know I’ll still be doing a lot of rewriting, that’s just in my nature. But I’m hoping by working from the outline, I’ll avoid more of those times when I’m sitting around trying to work out what’s next. We’ll see. It’s kind of an experiment for me. Who knows? By book 4 I might be back to my old ways.

Shalla: How do you plot your scenes?

Brett: As you’ve probably guessed based on my previous response, it’s mainly all in my head. As I come to a scene, I’ll know what I need to get out of it, and that’s about it. I’ll just start writing and see what happens. Sometimes I’ll have to start again if I’m not happy with the direction, but mostly I get through it. Again, when I come back later and rewrite it, it might change a lot.

Shalla: What are the best ways to end a chapter? Best ways to end a scene?

Brett: For a thriller, the best way to end scenes and chapters is to have a button or hook. Something that will draw your reader forward and cause them to say to themselves, “Maybe just one more chapter before I go to sleep.”

Discovering a dead body right at the end, or having the protagonist find himself or herself in an extremely dangerous situation always works. Often it’s a reversal…everything seems to be headed in one directions, then something happens or some information is revealed that changes everything.

Shalla: What are the best ways to start a chapter? Best ways to start a scene?

Brett: I don’t know if there is any “best” way. There are definitely a lot of very good ways. And I’m speaking in terms of thrillers here, not anything else.

I think starting into an action scene is a great way to begin a book. Where the preliminaries are out of the way and the meat of the scene is just around the corner. Right off the bat you pull your reader in. Another way to start with action, is to jump into a conversation in progress. As long as the intent of the dialogue becomes clear, your fine.

What you want to avoid, whether at the beginning of a scene or a chapter or even in the middle, is writing anything that will cause the reader to put the book done. In other, avoid being boring.

Shalla: What would make characters intriguing and memorable?

Brett: Making them believable within the world your creating – through the personality you give them, the background you create for them, and the dialogue you put in their mouths.

Layer them, give them depth and a past and goals. But remember you don’t have to put all that stuff into the story. Okay, here’s a pretty tired metaphor, but it works well for this: think of character creation like an iceberg. You have tons of information, but you only need to show the tip. The information below the water is for you. It will give you the confidence to write the character without hesitation. You’ll know, based on these hidden layers, what a character would do or not do, how she’d react or not react, etc. Basically the same thing as I mention when you asked about creating a pager turner.

And then there’s dialogue. Make sure what your characters say is consistent with the type of person you’ve made them out to be. Make sure they adjust to situations the way they would if they were real. And once you’ve finished a scene of dialogue, read it back to yourself out loud. Test it to hear if it sounds like something your character would say. And test it to hear if it sounds like something anyone would say.

Dialogue should always sound natural. Thought in truth, it’s far from it. In the real world, we speak with a lot of pauses and ‘ems’ and ‘ehs’ and ‘you knows.’ Those you can leave out.

Shalla: What are the best ways to make sure the ending fulfills all the build up?

Brett: That’s a tough question. It’s a problem I’m sure most writers struggle with on every book they write. I know I do. From the first draft to the final manuscript, my endings will change drastically. I mean, drastically. I’ve had villains change, final confrontation locations change, motivations change. So rewriting (I know, I keep harping on that) is a crucial ingredient to creating satisfying endings. As is not writing yourself into a corner where your ending turns into something that your readers need to take a leap of faith to believe. If you have a hell of a zinger at the end, then make sure to subtly set it up earlier in the story, because people will go back and check.

And never forget to answer your basic story questions…who did what and why. Don’t bury the plot you’ve been building just to have a spectacular ending. It all needs to make sense in the world you’re creating.

Shalla: Do you use any writing software? Dramatica? Storyview? And do you think writing software can really help?

Brett: Nothing special. Just Microsoft Word. But it could be any word processing software, really. It’s your ideas and your style and your dedication to your story thats important. How you get it on the screen is secondary at best.

The only place I think writing software might help is in screenplays, but even then, it’s only because of the unusual format.

The story comes from the author, not the software. If a person says they can’t write because they don’t have the right software, then they are just making an excuse. A writer writes.

Shalla: Lastly, any other tips on writing thrillers?

Brett: Know your genre – read a lot. But also read books in other genres because there are things to be learned in every type of fiction and non-fiction. Reading is really our best teacher. If you’re not a reader, then perhaps writing is not the right thing for you. Also observe andexperience life. Watch how a city operates, how the people interact, how the crowds ebb and flow. Do things you might not normally do, things that might help you with certain aspects of your story. Travel, eat food your characters would eat, take a gun safety course and go to a firing range if you need to. And do things that are totally unrelated to your writing, as they may come in handy later. Ultimately live – relish in everyday, soak it in and remember.

And finally, most importantly, write. Everyday. Even if it’s just for a few minutes. Even if what you write is crap. You can always throw it away. The best singers practice, as do the best ballplayers, the best painters. Writing is no different.

Write. Write often. And in the end you will write well.

Shalla: Thanks so much Brett.
For more on Brett Battles, please visit http://www.brettbattles.com/

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Shalla DeGuzman's short stories have appeared in Poetic Diversity, the Mad Hatters Review, etc.; her articles in The Scriptorium and L.A. Freepress; her skits at the Stella Adler Theatre. Shalla, a former writer and producer of a health and fitness cable show, is currently writing a novel. She is President of The ShallaDeGuzman Writers Group where she interviews literary agents, publishers, editors, etc. News! Shalla DeGuzman gets nominated for the prestigious Pushcart Prize! Plus! SHALLA Magazine, which features short stories, poetry and more, is here! For more on Shalla: www.shalladeguzman.com

 

 

 

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