As Author and Reader, “Tension” a Must for Creston Mapes

Creston Mapes    @CrestonMapes

My Signs of Life series began with the book Signs of Life, which explored how a mass shooting in Portland, Oregon impacted several specific survivors—including the young shooter, Rogan Sneed; the lead interrogator, Wayne Deetz; and a city school teacher, Tyson Cooper, who lost his wife and faith in the shooting.


The organic, grass roots themes of each of my eight novels have reflected upon where I’ve been, spiritually, at the time of writing. So, Signs of Life hit on the topic of, how and why God allows tragedy in the lives of human beings, especially those who love him? As a Christian, I was struggling with that, and that crucible came out in the pages of Signs of Life.

As a novelist, I am not a plotter, but write by the “seat of the pants” each day. So I walked with the characters in the aftermath of the shooting, day by day. It was extremely emotional. I found myself questioning God and trying to experience what the characters would be feeling in the midst of such anguish. Especially Tyson Cooper, whose wife died in the attack, and Wayne Deetz, a Portland PD investigator close to retirement, who repeatedly interviewed the young shooter, Rogan Sneed.

How I Do It: Novel Writing

By Creston Mapes

I’ve developed a system for novel-writing that helps me avoid dreaded “writer’s block,” and gives me tons of great ideas from which to choose when it comes to “what’s going to happen next.”

TENSION on Every Page

By Creston Mapes

There are notes, small and large, taped all over my computer and desk. They hang from my lamps, stick on my phone, and pop out of my pen holder. They’re reminders:

“Things get worse.”

“Turn up the heat.”

“Don’t take the reader where she wants to go—give her stress, strain, pressure!”

“Discombobulate the reader!”

“The secret of breakout plotting is TENSION on every page.”

These reminders are just a few that I’ve written down from favorite books and websites about how to write page-turning fiction. And I refer to them often when I’m writing. In fact, I have a folder two- to three-inches thick entitled, “Writing Tips.” It includes pages of notes I’ve taken from those favorite books and websites, all about writing good, solid, exciting fiction that keeps readers hooked from cover to cover.

When I come to a place in the manuscript where I don’t know what’s going to happen—which is often, because I like to work with a barebones outline—I simply start looking around at my notes, the ones hanging everywhere. If that doesn’t work, I get out the old “Writing Tips” folder and simply begin reading.

Much of the great advice comes from The Complete Guide to Writing & Selling the Christian Novel by Penelope J. Stokes; Stein on Writing by Sol Stein; On Writing by Stephen King; Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass; The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing by Meg Leder, Jack Heffron, and the editors of Writer’s Digest; and Plot& Structure by James Scott Bell.

One of the notes sticking above me reads: “You must not come lightly to the blank page.”Another: “Writing…this is just another job like laying pipe or driving long-haul trucks. Shut the door and get to it.” And another: “Be strong and courageous and get to work. Don’t be frightened by the size of the task, for the Lord my God is with you: He will not forsake you. He will see to it that everything is finished correctly (1 Chronicles 28: 20).”

I also get revved up and inspired by cranking up some of my favorite music. Usually, within a song or two, I am ready to set the reader on her ear with some jaw-dropping twists and turns.

So, take notes when you’re reading those books on the craft of writing fiction. Print out the articles and tips that inspire you. Crank up the music and get motivated to give the fiction reader what he really wants: tension on every page!

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Creston Mapes is the author of the thrillers Fear Has a Name, Nobody, Dark Star, and Full Tilt. A journalist, copywriter, and editor, he works from his home-office in Atlanta for some of the nation’s top media companies, Christian ministries, and nationally-recognized corporations. His early years as a reporter inspire many of his novels. CrestonMapes.com

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