I remember devouring the entire Hardy Boys series over one summer, enthralled by their bravery and cleverness.
If it wasn't painfully difficult, you did it wrong!
I write slowly. I actually write quickly, but I throw out so much material.
Writing an informative yet compact thriller is a lot like making maple sugar candy. You have to tap hundreds of trees - boil vats and vats of raw sap - evaporate the water - and keep boiling until you've distilled a tiny nugget that encapsulates the essence.
Powerful truth has its own gravity and eventually pulls people back to it.
Langdon turned to Sophie. "Who is that? What... happened?" Teabing hobbled over. "You were rescued by a knight brandishing an Excalibur made by Acme Orthopedic.