Thrill Me: Essays on Fiction

by Benjamin Percy

Overview

Bold new essays on how to craft a thrilling read—in any genre—from the bestselling author of The Dead Lands

Anyone familiar with the meteoric rise of Benjamin Percy's career will surely have noticed a certain shift: After writing two short-story collections and a literary novel, he delivered the werewolf thriller Red Moon and the postapocalyptic epic The Dead Lands. Now, in his first book of nonfiction, Percy challenges the notion that literary and genre fiction are somehow mutually exclusive. The title essay is an ode to the kinds of books that make many readers fall in love with fiction: science fiction, fantasy, mysteries, horror, from J.R.R. Tolkien to Anne Rice, Ursula K. Le Guin to Stephen King. Percy's own academic experience banished many of these writers in the name of what is "literary" and what is "genre." Then he discovered Michael Chabon, Aimee Bender, Cormac McCarthy, Margaret Atwood, and others who employ techniques of genre fiction while remaining literary writers. In fifteen essays on the craft of fiction, Percy looks to disparate sources such as Jaws, Blood Meridian, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo to discover how contemporary writers engage issues of plot, suspense, momentum, and the speculative, as well as character, setting, and dialogue. An urgent and entertaining missive on craft, Thrill Me brims with Percy's distinctive blend of anecdotes, advice, and close reading, all in the service of one dictum: Thrill the reader.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781555977597
Publisher:	Graywolf Press
Publication date:	10/18/2016
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	187,260
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.65(d)

About the Author

Benjamin Percy is the author of three novels, most recently The Dead Lands, as well as two books of short stories. His honors include an NEA Fellowship, the Whiting Writers' Award, two Pushcart Prizes, and the Plimpton Prize.

Editorial Reviews

This lively, helpful guide presents a series of arguments for tapping into the basic tenets of popular fiction to create propulsive stories and novels in any genre. Without stooping to formula or how-to promises, Percy…provides precise advice concerning basics like suspense, setting and style…Beyond craft or theory, and perhaps more helpful than any advice, this book serves as a reminder that writing is hard work.

The New York Times Book Review - Daphne Kalotay

06/27/2016
Percy (The Dead Lands) assembles 15 short essays on various topics related to the art and craft of fiction writing. Many of the selections began as lectures for writing workshops, and aspiring and established authors will get the most out of Percy’s advice. Percy inevitably talks a lot about his own work, but he offers plenty of examples from other writers. Pushing back against the prejudice in literary circles against genre writing, he encourages writers to lean into something more thrilling than simple realism. The book covers topics such as creating urgency, avoiding backstory, and writing violence. On the basis that “work defines us,” Percy advises that a character’s job should shape how that person sees the world. He also frequently draws on filmmaking conventions, explaining how novelists and short story writers can learn lessons about structure and modulation from screenwriters. Percy’s essays skillfully dissect the structure, mechanics, and concrete details of what makes good writing sparkle. Agent: Katherine Fausset, Curtis Brown. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

[A] lively, helpful guide. . . . [Percy] provides precise advice concerning basics like suspense, setting, and style. . . . His evocative personal anecdotes invigorate even familiar material. . . . In each essay we glimpse an industrious Percy at the daily grind of writing, rereading and editing his fiction. . . . . Beyond craft or theory, and perhaps more helpful than any advice, this book serves as a reminder that writing is hard work.”—The New York Times Book Review

“[Benjamin Percy] peppers his observations of today's literary scene with homey, witty anecdotes, and he couches his analysis in no-nonsense wisdom. . . . Not only does he frame the ins and outs of the writing process with warm, wry reminiscences drawn from his own life, he refuses to lapse into stereotypical preciousness or pretentiousness. He talks bluntly and amiably about how stories work and why they matter, an approach that doesn't take a fellow writer to appreciate.”—NPR Books

“[Benjamin Percy] demonstrates he’s one of contemporary fiction’s sharper critical minds, an author with a rare talent for explaining his craft. . . . Thrill Me is packed with concise, practicable counsel.”—Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

“[Thrill Me] is a fine choice for readers and writers looking for a holistic take on writing that spans genres and styles.”—Tor.com

“Percy dives in head first, and his enthusiasm, in conjunction with his eye for substance and style and his skillful explication, prove a heady mix. . . . Thrill Me is comprehensive in its scope, touching on most of the important pieces of storycraft from stylistic choices to character development . . . with character and vigor, and with a joyful populist tone.”—Electric Literature

“Expertly balanced, extensively researched, and written in a vibrant, demanding style that can offer you a flower as easily as punch you in the gut. . . . Everyone can learn from [Benjamin] Percy’s essays.”—Kenyon Review

“Thrill Me turns the interior, plodding process of writing into a heart-pounding read, and imparts some excellent lessons along the way.”—Washington Independent Review of Books

“Thrill Me offers a concise, lucid anatomy of the bones that support narratives ranging from Jaws to Blood Meridian.”—Locus Magazine

“Percy is a master wordsmith and he delivers his messages with the panache and style of the grizzled veteran he is, both as teacher and author, engaging you so intensely that you don’t even realize you’re learning something, having become so involved in the telling.”—Hellnotes

“Percy’s essays skillfully dissect the structure, mechanics, and concrete details of what makes good writing sparkle.”—Publishers Weekly

“Now we all have the opportunity to learn from Percy, whose genre-busting, electrifying fiction is opening doors for a new generation of writers. . . . This book also reads like a sly memoir, with the killer ratio of brilliant mind to generous heart. Warmly personal and deviously scholarly, Thrill Me is terrific.”—Karen Russell

“The magnificent Benjamin Percy has written a warm, personal and deeply considered book on the nature of storytelling, genre and fiction that I recommend unreservedly. It laughs and snarls and sparks fire in the mind. Masterful.”—Warren Ellis

From the Publisher

★ 09/01/2016
Percy (Red Moon; The Dead Lands) has collected 15 useful and entertaining essays on the craft (and art) of fiction writing. What sets it apart from other similar books on the subject is Percy's generosity and ego-free frankness in exploring practical aspects of writing frequently glossed over or—worse—ignored. Instead of waxing negative on the seemingly eternal literary vs. genre argument, Percy advises that we focus on what actually works: "Toss out the worst elements of genre and literary fiction—and merge the best." The resultant narrative fusion combines art, philosophy, and adventure; supplies nuanced prose; and drives readers' page-flipping tension. Percy asks what makes the works we love so potent and enduring. His instructive answers cite titles as disparate as Cormac McCarthy's The Road, Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Stephen King's Carrie, and F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby—noting how these authors create iconic scenes enveloped in emotional, psychological, and physical realism. Above all, Percy's compulsively readable essays compel writers to enter unknown spaces and with authentic treasure retrieve readers' sense of wonder. VERDICT This will appeal not only to writers and readers of contemporary suspense and horror but anyone interested in learning more about the inherent demands, excursions, and rewards of the creative process. [See Prepub Alert, 4/18/16.]—William Grabowski, McMechen, WV

Library Journal

2016-08-03
An accomplished writer comes to the defense of genre.Percy (The Dead Lands, 2015, etc.) has practiced what he preaches. His novels can be considered genre novels, but they’re more. In this deeply personal and intriguing apologia for the “pop lit” and pop film that he grew up on—he’s read The Gunslinger more than any other book; Jaws is his favorite movie—the author enthusiastically argues for good “plotted fiction,” books that are “neither fish nor fowl, both literary and genre.” He loves story, “discovering what happened next.” Too much literary fiction, he argues, has “fallen under the indulgent spell of…pretty sentences.” Born out of past lectures and articles, this is a craft book about how to be a better writer, but it’s also a colorful memoir about a young boy who loved reading, especially horror and fantasy books, and realized he wanted to be a writer. Each chapter takes on a specific topic. With setting, aim for a few “indelible moments.” Research your setting fully, and “know what you write.” With tension and suspense, “strategize the delivery of bad news.” Violence? Avoid at all costs “gorenography,” which is “hollow, excessive, masturbatory.” Make the ordinary extraordinary, or “we won’t be willing to follow you to long ago and far away.” Also, don’t provide too much back story. Occasionally, Percy is prescriptive. The book abounds with numerous, sometimes-lengthy excerpts from works, including his own, that he admires. One of the book’s strengths is the many instructive examples of close, in-depth readings. Curious as to why The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was so popular and “compulsively readable,” he read it twice, then color-coded key passages throughout to reveal what made it tick. Percy is in “awe, hypnotized, overwhelmed” by Michael Chabon’s sentences, which “lavishly uncoil.” On Donna Tartt’s sentences in The Goldfinch: your “eyes bug and your heart hurries.” Would-be writers will find Percy’s passionate, pragmatic cheerleading inspiring and energizing.

Kirkus Review