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What writing eight books did not teach me about fiction
By Leo van der Aalst, thriller author, Amersfoort, Utrecht, Netherlands
Before starting my thriller, The Price of Proximity, I had already written eight IT-related books. Those books taught me a great deal about structure, deadlines and explaining complicated subjects in a way that readers can follow. They also taught me to keep going when a first version did not work.
I assumed some of that experience would make writing fiction easier. It did, but not always in the ways I expected. A technical book usually has a fairly clear purpose. The information needs to be correct, useful and logically organized. Fiction needs structure too, but logic alone does not make a scene interesting. A chapter can be clear and well-written and still feel flat. I have written several of those.
New writers sometimes think they need to understand the entire book before they begin. Every character should have a history, every plot turn should have a place, and the ending should already be waiting somewhere in the distance. Planning certainly helps me, but the story also changes while I am writing it.
While working on my thriller, I have changed characters, removed parts of the plot and rewritten the opening chapters more than once. I moved scenes when I realized that the reader knew too much at one point and not enough at another. I no longer see those earlier versions as mistakes. They gave me something concrete to respond to. Without them, I would probably still be planning.
A first draft is not a promise
Some scenes work surprisingly quickly. Others contain only one useful conversation, image or reaction. Occasionally, a scene mainly shows you that the story needs to go in another direction. That can feel like wasted time, especially after several hours of work. Still, an unsuccessful scene often teaches me more than another week of thinking about the ideal version.
During one round of edits, I found chapters that contained relevant information but did very little else. The characters had not changed their minds. Their relationships were the same. The danger had not increased. I now check whether a chapter reveals something, increases the pressure, or changes a relationship. It does not always need to do all three, but something should be different by the end.
Good writing may still need to go
Removing a weak sentence is not particularly painful. Removing one you like is another matter. I have deleted lines that had rhythm and atmosphere. A few sounded better than the sentences around them. That was part of the problem: they attracted attention to themselves and slowed down the scene.
Writers sometimes hold on to those lines because they feel like they are proof of their ability. I recognize that feeling. I also know that a reader is unlikely to admire a sentence if it interrupts the story. I sometimes save deleted lines in another document. Most never return but keeping them there makes the decision slightly easier.
Mystery is not the same as confusion
A thriller needs unanswered questions. It does not need unclear action. I learned that while revising my opening chapters. In one version, I explained so much that the tension disappeared. In another, I withheld too much and made the scene difficult to understand.
The balance became clearer after several rewrites. Readers do not need to understand why an event happens straight away. They should, however, understand what happened and what it means for the character. Mystery invites the reader to continue. Confusion may simply make them stop.
Research should serve the story
Research creates a different temptation. After spending hours learning about a place, profession or subject, you naturally want to use what you find. I noticed that some of my details were accurate and interesting but did not improve the scene. Their main purpose seemed to be proving that I had done my homework.
That led me to a more practical question: does this detail affect what a character notices, decides or does? A well-chosen observation may reveal discomfort, experience or authority. Sometimes that is enough. A longer explanation might be accurate, but it may also slow the reader down.
A large part of your research may never appear on the page. I do not think that makes it pointless. It helps you understand the world behind the story and choose details with more confidence. Readers usually do not need to see the research itself. They need to trust the world you have created.
Uncertainty belongs to the process
Even after eight books, I still question my choices. Is the main character interesting enough? Am I revealing the danger too early? Does this scene explain too much, or have I left out something essential?
I try to turn those doubts into questions I can actually use. What changes during this scene? Does the reader understand what happened? Is this detail helping the story, or am I including it because I enjoyed discovering it? Would the chapter read better without the sentence I like most?
These questions do not remove uncertainty, but they make revision more focused. A first draft does not need to prove that you already know how to write the entire book. It gives you something you can read, question and improve. For me, that is where much of the real writing begins.
I wish every new writer the confidence to begin, the patience to revise, and enough stubbornness to continue when the pages refuse to cooperate.
Good luck with your writing.
Leo van der Aalst
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Publishing New Writers,
August, 2026 (vol. 27, no. 7)
Publisher:
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Elgin, IL 60123
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