The one where NYT Bestseller David Ellis explains why he builds characters before plot.

David Ellis knows how to write successful suspense into his novels. With twists and turns frequenting his pages, he puts forth special effort to make sure his plots are both complex and head-scratching while remaining decipherable to his average reader. David is a NYT bestseller of ten standalone crime novels and has co-authored eight novels with James Patterson. To purchase his latest novel, Look Closer, follow the link below. From Amazon.com: David Ellis is a judge and an Edgar-award-winning author of nine novels of crime fiction, as well as five books co-authored with James Patterson. In December, 2014, Dave was sworn in as the youngest-serving Justice of the Illinois Appellate Court for the First District. Dave currently lives outside Chicago with his wife and three children. In this episode, you’ll discover: Why David builds characters before plot Why he isn’t afraid to keep pivoting How his work as a judge influences his writing Why he starts writing at 3am What it’s like writing with James Patterson Links: J. D. Barker - http://jdbarker.com/ J. Thorn - https://theauthorlife.com/ Zach Bohannon - https://zachbohannon.com/ Wonder Lodge - https://www.vrbo.com/2911457?unitId=3483497 2022 Colorado Gold Writers Conference - http://rmfw.org/conference-2022/ Tess Gerritsen - https://www.tessgerritsen.com/ Rizzoli & Isles: Listen to Me: A Novel - https://books2read.com/rizzoli13 Three Story Method: Writing Scenes - https://books2read.com/threestorymethodws Best of BookTook - https://bestofbooktok.com/ Story Rubric - http://storyrubric.com Nonfic Rubric - http://nonficrubric.com Scene Rubric - http://scenerubric.com Proudly sponsored by Kobo Writing Life - https://kobowritinglife.com/ and Atticus - https://www.atticus.io/ Music by Nicorus - https://cctrax.com/nicorus/dust-to-dust-ep Voice Over by Rick Ganley - http://www.nhpr.com and recorded at Mill Pond Studio - http://www.millpondstudio.com Audio production by Geoff Emberlyn - http://www.emberletter.com/ Contact - https://writersinkpodcast.com/contact/ *Full disclosure: Some of the links are affiliate links. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/writersink/support