Mary Higgins Clark's Roller Coaster Fiction

The first time I read a Mary Higgins Clark book I vividly remember closing that book at the end and just staring at it and thinking, "How did she do that?"

I mean this in both a Fan Girl way and as a lover of writing…though I wasn't writing yet.

She took me on a roller coaster ride and I wanted to figure out how.

How do you make WORDS move? Grab the reader and drag them along for a ride and never let them go.

That's what her books are like. I read everything of hers I could get my hands on, The Cradle Will Fall, Stillwatch, Where Are the Children, A Cry in the Night, All Around the Town and many more...everything. As I read them, even back then with my unawakened writing desires, I was being analytical.

I'll tell you what I decided…and it's basic…but then she's brilliant so I'm sure she does BASIC really well.

Cliffhanger chapter endings and two stories at once on a collision course.

That's it. She writes along shoving her heroine off a cliff and just as she flies over….BAM new chapter.

As a reader I'm thinking, "NO! DON'T YOU DARE DO THIS! DON'T LEAVE THE CHARACTER (and me) HANGING!!!!

Then you start reading the next chapter and BAM you remember she left some OTHER character hanging from a cliff and you're immediately CRAZED to read the next chapter. "Oh My Gosh! I forgot all about the HERO hanging from a cliff."

Then you're reading along until Clark shoves the hero off ANOTHER CLIFF and BAM new chapter. Back to the dangling heroine.

And as a reader I'm thinking, "NO! DON'T YOU DARE DO THIS! DON'T LEAVE THE CHARACTER (and me) HANGING!!!!

I read two words and remember I was DYING to find out what happened to the heroine and I'm gone for another chapter.

But here's the real trick. You've got to make these dueling stories MATTER.

They need to be equally important or the reader is just annoyed and impatient while reading the less important story. And that’s what’s tough. I just finished a story by an author who shall remain nameless and she had at least three stories on a collision course like this. Except I only found one of the stories engaging. The rest were just filler. The weird part of that is, the one I was really engrossed in was a backflash. It wasn’t even the main story. But it was really well done, a really intense time in the heroine’s backstory and I was wild to find out how she got out of whatever it was and how that made her the messed up head case she was today.

I’ve decided that I, the author, can tell if I’m succeeding by how much I care. I usually jump in and out of the bad guy’s head, but most of us don’t really CARE about the bad guy. We may want to know what he’s up to, but we don’t root for him. Making complex, interesting bad guys isn’t really the same as having dueling stories of significant interest to the reader.

This isn’t a story telling technique with too much relevance to category romance because we usually have two POV characters and they’d usually together. But for longer books it’s a great technique. I struggle to do it. I think I came the closest to succeeding with the Sophie’s Daughters series and Mandy’s secondary story being pulled through the first two books. And I think it’s because I personally CARED about Mandy. I’m trying to do it better. Trying to give my subplots their own weight and appeal. It’s something to strive for.

My goal is to someday come close to the master roller coaster creator Mary Higgins Clark.

Can you think of a book you’ve read that left you amazed. Left you in awe of the author’s accomplishments. A book that taught you something….I’m talking novels here, not How To books.

To get your name in the drawing for a copy of a great How To book--Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook by Donald Maas leave a comment about a great book that inspired you to reach for excellence.

Mary Connealy

I've been working on my series guide and character guide on my website.

If you want to go have a look click on my name above and it will take you to the guide. See if you like it...or understand it...I'm open to suggestions.
Go look but then come back HERE and Play With Us!!!