Quick one today. I’m leaving for New York in a few, but had to keep my daily post promise.

Google alerted me with this article about Mark Nykanen, a thriller writer. He gives a lot of pretty basic, yet invaluable, advice. Even for those who don’t write thrillers, I’d go and check it out just to have these tips burned into your brain one more time. It never hurts to re-learn, especially with writing.

Of all Nykanen’s quotes, I find this one most important:

“Don’t fall so in love with the prose that you lose sight of the story,” he adds. “In the thriller, that’s essential. Absolutely essential. Which isn’t to say that thrillers can’t be well written … but if you are so in love with your prose that you’re willing to sacrifice your story, you’re not going to be very successful, no matter what you’re doing, whether it’s a thriller or literary fiction.”

Like we discussed yesterday, you can’t let yourself get carried away with flowery language. Just tell us what happens. This, of course, goes beyond prose. I’d consider taking this approach when writing your dialog too. Nykanen’s words echo Faulkner’s, “Kill your darlings.” If you find yourself head over heels for a bit of dialog — that really clever, self-aware, “I’m so cute!” line you’ve given your protagonist — take it out back and kill it. At least convince it to commit suicide.

The dialog should serve the character, who in turn should serve the story. None of it, except the process, should serve you.