He Tried to Outsmart James Patterson, Then Patterson Converted Him to Outlining | The First Scarlet Door with J.D. Barker

J.D. Barker spent his early career as a strict pantser, writing more than half a dozen novels without an outline, when a phone call from James Patterson turned into an unlikely writing partnership. Patterson is a hardcore outliner who writes thirty to fifty pages of outline before starting a book, so the two agreed to try it Barker's way first. They wrote The Coast to Coast Murders by pantsing it scene by scene, each one trying to trap the other in an impossible spot, sending new pages back and forth. The book ran to 170,000 words, with 50,000 to 60,000 cut before it worked. Afterward, Patterson turned the tables and handed Barker a full outline for their next book, The Noise, which came together fast with almost nothing left on the cutting room floor. Barker calls it a turning point for how he approaches most of his own books since, though for this new prequel trilogy specifically he used a hybrid method, tracking the original series' twists and dates on a notepad rather than building a full outline. He also talks about writing all three prequels in secret before showing them to his own agent, and how the trilogy is built to make longtime readers unlearn what they thought they knew. Key Takeaways: - Why he agreed to write a whole novel by pantsing before ever trying an outline with James Patterson - How writing The Coast to Coast Murders by trading chapters back and forth shaped its twists - Why one outlined book, The Noise, converted him from a lifelong pantser into a hardcore outliner - How he tracked a decade-old trilogy's twists and dates on a notepad to write this new prequel - Why he wrote all three prequels in secret before showing them to his own agent J.D. Barker | The First Scarlet Door: https://www.amazon.com/First-Scarlet-Door-4MK-Thrillers/dp/B0GKPN3YHV Follow J.D. Barker online: https://jdbarker.com/ Want to be part of the conversation? Join the Patreon and ask your questions for the guest. You’ll also get early access to episodes and a free novella *Cognitive Breach*. Your support helps keep The Thriller Writer Lab going and brings more great thriller authors into the Lab. https://patreon.com/markpjnadon Mark's Thrillers Psychological tech thrillers from your host, including The Treatment Room: https://mybook.to/marksthrillers Follow on Social: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markpjnadon Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thethrillerwriterlab/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thethrillerwriterlab