ITW’s Online Thriller School

Learn from the Masters:
Ten Weeks of Intensive Craft Lessons

Includes a Bonus “Ask Me Anything” Panel!

Join Liv Constantine, Jeffery Deaver, Lisa Gardner, Alexia Gordon, Adam Hamdy, Cate Holahan, Anthony Horowitz, Steven James, Tosca Lee, Jaime Levine, David Morrell, Samuel Octavius, Alex Segura, and Jerri Williams.

The Eighth Annual Online Thriller School has now concluded. To be put on a waiting list and be among the first to know when the schedule and list of instructors for ITW’s Ninth Annual Online Thriller School (2022) please email Christopher Graham at ITWOnline@thrillerwriters.org

In this TEN-week program, which begins September 14, 2021, the craft of thriller writing will be front and center. Each instructor will teach an aspect of craft during a two-hour Live Zoom session, will provide written materials for further reading along with study suggestions, and will offer an entire week of online Q&A with the registered students. The goal is simple: To make each student a better writer.

Attendance is limited, and we sold out last year, so please register today or CLICK HERE for more information.

Registration for the ten-week online course is $495.

The talented instructors will delve into the following topics: Pacing, World Building, Building Suspense, Villains – Beyond the Cardboard Cutout, How to Edit Like a Pro, Creating Depth of Character, The G-Woman: An Insider’s Look at the FBI, How to Write a Killer Twist, Creating Realistic Dialogue, and Developing and Honing Your Voice

Bonus Panel: “Ask me Anything” with Alexia Gordon, David Morrell & Alex Segura – Moderated by Samuel Octavius

Advice From Your Online Thriller School Instructors:

“To be satisfying, a twist needs to be more than merely shocking – it must be both surprising and believable with the reader saying at the end of the book: Ah, I should have seen that coming but I didn’t.” –Liv Constantine

“My advice to beginning authors: Write the type of fiction you love to read, plan each book or story ahead of time, don’t rush it to completion, rewrite and rewrite and rewrite, and remember: rejection is a speed bump, not a brick wall!” —Jeffery Deaver

“Writing is a journey, not a destination. Never forget to enjoy the ride.” —Lisa Gardner

“Writer’s Block is a malady borne of missing research. Learn more about your setting, character, or central conflict and it goes away.” –Cate Holahan

“Readers don’t want to read about nice characters doing nice things, they want to read about conflicted characters doing difficult things.” —Steven James

“No story will turn out exactly how you thought it would. It’s like raising kids.” —Tosca Lee

“Be a first-rate version of yourself and not a second-rate version of another author.” —David Morrell

“What most people know about the FBI comes from books, TV, and movies. When authors of thrillers and police procedurals take the time to learn who the FBI is and what the FBI does, they make their stories as true to life as possible while capturing and engaging readers.” —Jerri Williams

CLICK HERE to learn more, including the full schedule, instructor bios and FAQs.

ITW Community

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*original member joined by June 4, 2005