{"id":13502,"date":"2023-06-25T16:37:37","date_gmt":"2023-06-25T06:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/?page_id=13502"},"modified":"2025-05-19T11:19:22","modified_gmt":"2025-05-19T01:19:22","slug":"thrillcraft-story-structure","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/contact-tony\/my-books\/thrillcraft-story-structure\/","title":{"rendered":"ThrillCraft: Story Structure"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"702\" height=\"1024\" data-attachment-id=\"13500\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/contact-tony\/my-books\/structurecover2-1\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/StructureCover2-1.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"845,1233\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"StructureCover2-1\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/StructureCover2-1-206x300.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/StructureCover2-1-702x1024.jpg\" src=\"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/StructureCover2-1-702x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-13500\" style=\"width:702px;height:1024px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/StructureCover2-1-702x1024.jpg 702w, https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/StructureCover2-1-206x300.jpg 206w, https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/StructureCover2-1-768x1121.jpg 768w, https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/StructureCover2-1-700x1021.jpg 700w, https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/StructureCover2-1-274x400.jpg 274w, https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/StructureCover2-1.jpg 845w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For the past twelve years, I\u2019ve been honing my writing skills, publishing (at the date of this publication) one non-fiction book \u2014 this one \u2014 and eighteen novels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I write mostly crime fiction. There are a couple of sci-fi books in the mix, but the overall gist is crime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Private Investigators in Australia.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Telecommunications Engineers in far-flung parts of the world sticking their noses where they shouldn\u2019t.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A millionaire Irishman solving mob-related crimes in South Florida.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A young Australian actress trying her damnedest to make a living in La-La-Land.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>When I started out, I knew nothing about CREATING a story. I\u2019d read thousands by then. Some were great, some were awful, most were just good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But I learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve written eighteen books over the past dozen years. They all \u201cfollow\u201d the structure laid out in this book. These guidelines keep your story pacy and on point. My goal, when writing a story, is to have the reader start at point A, finish at a completely unrelated point Z, wonder how in the hell they got there, yet at no point in that journey get pulled out of the story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My readers seem to think I\u2019m getting the hang of things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>\u201cThis is a fast read, interesting plot.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 <strong>Book \u2018Em<\/strong> review.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cVery action-packed, on the edge of your seat story.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 <strong>Broken<\/strong> review<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cIt was so fast-paced<\/em> that sometimes I couldn&#8217;t tell if the story advanced by one day, one week or one month. But it was really entertaining and definitely a page-turner<em>.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 <strong>Broken<\/strong> review<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cThis is a short, fast read, \u2026with lots of action, a few twists and turns, and several suspects to follow.\u201d <\/em>\u2013 <strong>Batteries Not Included<\/strong> review.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>\u201cIt&#8217;s action-packed from start to finish with a twist or two to keep the reader engaged\u201d<\/em> \u2013 <strong>Number Fifteen<\/strong> review.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>\u201cAs the case progresses, the plot gets more and more twisted, involving double cross, revenge, and manipulation. A fast read that&#8217;s pretty much all on the surface like an action\/adventure.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 <strong>The Murder of Jeremy Brookes<\/strong> review.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>And dozens more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Making sure you hit the beats described in this book can ensure your story doesn\u2019t lag, and your readers don\u2019t toss your book on the DNF pile and reach for someone else\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Available now from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/ThrillCraft-Story-Structure-Unputdownable-Fiction-ebook\/dp\/B0C8BYM3P9\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Amazon<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thriftbooks.com\/w\/thrillcraft-story-structure-for-unputdownable-crime-fiction_tony-mcfadden\/39381119\/\">ThriftBooks<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.walmart.com\/ip\/ThrillCraft-Story-Structure-for-Unputdownable-Crime-Fiction-Paperback-9780645673319\/2818274033\">Walmart<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.waterstones.com\/book\/thrillcraft\/tony-mcfadden\/9780645673319\">Waterstones<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For the past twelve years, I\u2019ve been honing my writing skills, publishing (at the date of this publication) one non-fiction book \u2014 this one \u2014 and eighteen novels. I write mostly crime fiction. There are a couple of sci-fi books in the mix, but the overall gist is crime. When I started out, I knew &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/contact-tony\/my-books\/thrillcraft-story-structure\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">ThrillCraft: Story Structure<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":6913,"menu_order":30,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-13502","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6919,"url":"https:\/\/tonymcfadden.net\/wp\/the-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":13502,"position":0},"title":"The Me","author":"Tony McFadden","date":"July 29, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019m a late-start writer with eighteen books under my belt, the nineteenth coming out in May 2024 (assuming I manage to finish it). I have a penchant for crime fiction. I\u2019ve dabbled a bit in sci-fi, but the heavy lifting has involved crimes, punishment and the odd plot twist. 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With American crime fiction, conflict, more often than not, reduces to gunplay. They're not as prevalent in Australia. And the penalties for illegal possession of a firearm are severe. Typically, up to 14 years for possession of an illegal weapon. 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