Jori (J.J.) Hanna

How to Write a Suspense Novel: Raising the Stakes with a Deadline

Updated: Oct 18, 2021 Last week, I began a series about how to write suspense novels. In the next few weeks I’ll be focusing on one of the aspects below in the “what you’ll need” section. What you’ll need: This week I’ll be discussing why a strict timeline is vital to the plot of a suspenseContinue reading “How to Write a Suspense Novel: Raising the Stakes with a Deadline”

How To Write a Suspense Novel: Character Archetypes

Updated: Oct 18, 2021 It’s time to dive into how to write suspense novels, how to fix tension in your plots, and how to craft characters worth rooting for. In the next few weeks I’ll be focusing on one of the aspects below in the “what you’ll need” section. What you’ll need: We’ll start with theContinue reading “How To Write a Suspense Novel: Character Archetypes”

Uncommon Motives for your Antagonist

Updated: Feb 24, 2020 It’s been a little while since I took a moment to talk about villains or antagonists, so for this post, I’m going to suggest some different motivations for your antagonist beyond the typical revenge, money, jealousy options. Curiosity. I haven’t seen this one done very often, but it can be a funContinue reading “Uncommon Motives for your Antagonist”

Writing Ensemble Casts

“When you write a story, you only have to write one story, but there will always be people who will refuse to read the story you have written.” – Flannery O’Connor This is true of any story you write, whether it’s movie, book, or short fiction. Depending on who the main character is, the storyContinue reading “Writing Ensemble Casts”

Villain Types: The Carefree and Cruel

We’ve seen them in film. We’ve seen them in books. This villain is evil for the fun of it. They’re cruel for no other reason than that they can be because nothing stands in their way. They don’t care about the consequences if they do get caught, they don’t care about the public’s opinion ofContinue reading “Villain Types: The Carefree and Cruel”

3 Things to Consider when Writing a Villain

Updated: Feb 24, 2020 As a kid, I was inspired by a commentary on the making of Kung Fu Panda, where Ian McShane, the voice of Tai Lung, says something along the lines of, “I love playing villains. They always have the best lines.” I couldn’t agree with him more. From a writer’s perspective, villains areContinue reading “3 Things to Consider when Writing a Villain”