After years of struggle and now years of success, author Charlie Donlea started his talk to BWW members as most writers do – with a good hook. “Growing up I was not a reader or a writer. I never took a writing class and didn’t read a novel until I was 21 years old.” I was hooked. How did he become an accomplished writer of thrillers? He spoke of craft in a way that only someone who has published multiple books and writes 1,000 words a day could.

BWW member Sharon Bossard introduces author Charle Donlea at Barrington’s White House.

To demonstrate the important role a first sentence plays in hooking the reader Donlea read some from his books. Consider this one in “Don’t Believe It”: The blood was a problem. He revealed: “The first line is the last line I write.”

He’s an outliner. While each of his books includes a dead body, it is the skeleton (outline) that guides his writing. For him the outline directs what he will write about each day. It’s a choice each writer needs to make. He positioned it as Plotting versus Pantsing. He opened the idea to the audience asking which one we preferred. As expected, there was a variety of replies. He encouraged each writer to find their own process. Continue reading →