PRESENT TENSE: Suspense, Mystery, Thriller Craft and More

Who's Driving This Bus Anyway?

And will it detonate if it slows down? Allow us to reintroduce ourselves.

Jun 18 • Caitlin Wahrer and Andromeda Romano-Lax

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Being a Bestseller Doesn't Actually Guarantee Anything

Andrea Bartz writes about the weird psychic burden of peaking and crashing. Plus, new paperback alert!

Jun 16 • Andromeda Romano-Lax

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May 2026

Why Not Wall Street?

Writing a thriller with power imbalance, plush carpet, and collateral damage

May 28 • Caitlin Wahrer

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Are You Sure You Don't Like This Genre?

Lessons from a divisive book/film category—guess which one!

May 25 • Andromeda Romano-Lax

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How to Talk to Your Family About Why AI Will Not Be Writing Our Thrillers in The Future

Guest post by Lauren Reding and Thomas Bechtold

May 7 • Lauren Reding

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April 2026

What's a high-concept thriller?

Lessons about stakes, duration, and the literary freedom hidden within a seemingly commercial plot, from FIVE by Ilona Bannister and 59 MINUTES by Holly…

Apr 23 • Andromeda Romano-Lax

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Are You Letting Your Ideas Cook Long Enough?

The perks of letting a story idea percolate for a while

Apr 9 • Kristin Offiler

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March 2026

Neglect the stakes and you risk it all

A case for thinking about stakes long before the pros are asking

Mar 27 • Caitlin Wahrer

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Why We Read Tense Novels in Tense Times

Dark novels and TV shows in dark times, a theory—with recs!

Mar 14 • Andromeda Romano-Lax

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February 2026

The Challenges of Writing and Placing Genre-Bending Fiction: Craft Notes from City of Smoke and Sea

From contributor Malia Márquez, on finding a publisher for work that does not fit into a neat category

Feb 27 • Andromeda Romano-Lax

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A Lesson in Suspense from a Viral 30-Year-Old Sci-Fi Lit Thriller

Thank you, TikTok, for bringing it back into the spotlight

Feb 12 • Kristin Offiler

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January 2026

Five Books in Translation For Mystery Connoisseurs

from "Five Books For" Substacker Kate Lillie

Jan 15 • Andromeda Romano-Lax and Kate Lillie

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