Most thrillers fail for one reason: the plot does not feel true.
Reid Winslow says “plot is the number one thing” and the “gold standard is whether the story rings true.” He even calls out the kind of twist he refuses to use: a last-minute cousin showing up with “five hundred thousand dollars to fix everything.”
That mindset comes from 34 years practicing law, mostly as a litigator and trial lawyer, starting in criminal law and later moving into civil cases (which he notes can be “even more unpleasant than criminal cases”). It also shaped his view of people: he’s “far more cynical,” having seen “every facet of human character… at their best and at their worst.”
His writing process reflects that realism:
- He starts with situations where he often knows how they ended because he “experienced them or knows about them.”
- He’s evolved into outlining, taking “two or three plots” and weaving them together “organically.”
- He’s most interested in character arc: what happens “when they face unpleasant or seemingly unsolvable problems.”
If you like thrillers that feel plausible, not convenient, this is the promise behind his work.
Do you prefer thrillers with big twists, or thrillers that feel uncomfortably real? Comment with the last book that truly “rang true” for you.