“The Art of Suspense” by Ken Follett
I heard this a few years ago and LOVED it. Ken Follett is a master of suspense. Notice how he starts by talking about the emotion produced in the reader and getting readers emotionally involved in a story. He knows exactly what effect he’s trying to product. He also talks about how to determine whether an idea is good enough for a novel. And all this as he describes the interesting form and history of the thriller.
Here are the parts of his speech.
| 1 | Introduction | 10 | Agatha Christie |
| 2 | Erskine Childers | 11 | Dashiell Hammet |
| 3 | John Buchan | 12 | Dennis Wheatley |
| 4 | E Phillips Oppenheim | 13 | Mickey Spillane |
| 5 | Zane Grey | 14 | Ian Fleming |
| 6 | William Tufnell Le Queux | 15 | After Bond |
| 7 | Joseph Conrad | 16 | Thomas Harris |
| 8 | The standard thriller | 17 | Q&A |
| 9 | The psychological thriller |
“The Art of Suspense” by Ken Follett–enjoy!