Writers Can Learn from Best-Selling Author April Henry Nov. 22
New York Times best-selling author April Henry knows how to kill you two dozen ways – if you’re one of her unfortunate characters in her popular thrillers for teens and adults.
Learn her techniques on Tuesday, Nov. 22, at three opportunities co-sponsored by the Springfield-Greene County Library District and the Christian County Libraries.
Henry will present “How I Quit My Day Job and Became a Killer and a Thief” at 9:30 a.m., doors open at 8:30 a.m., at The Springs Church (formerly the First Evangelical Free Church), 5500 S. Southwood Road, for grade 8-adult. Call 417-581-2432 for details.
At 5:30 p.m. in the Library Center auditorium for age 14-adult, Henry will inspire you with “How to Grow Your Plot.” To register call 883-5341. From 7-9 p.m., same room, for age 12 and older, Henry will talk about her road from a peaceful childhood to a career of killing off fictional characters in “What Doesn’t Kill You: A Writer’s (Sometimes Crazy) Commitment to Getting It Right.” Four of her books will be available for purchase and signing at the event.
Teen readers have often awarded Henry for her work. She discovered that mysteries are the most popular genre with adults, but there weren’t that many for teens. “I think I’ve found a sweet spot.’’ Teens seem drawn to reading suspense because there are built-in life-or-death stakes, she adds. “Readers like to imagine themselves in a situation and hope that they might be as resourceful and clever.”
Plot drives her writing most of all, Henry says. “I’ll see a news story and think, ‘What if?’ Then I start adding twists and turns, and thinking of what kind of character would feel the most emotion in that situation.” In fact, Henry often uses real-life news events as inspiration for her novels, including her newest title “The Girl I Used to Be,” inspired by a 1980s cold case in Washington state.
Her advice to the budding writer: “Persevere,” she says. “Hard work and some talent beats relying on natural talent and not being willing to work.”
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