The Elements of a Page-Turner - podcast

The late Stan Lee didn't have any rules about what makes a story a page turner, he just made sure to interest himself along the way. Lee, comic creator of Spider-man, Fantastic Four and X-Man and former president and CEO of Marvel Comics, says an author has to have a basic idea of plot. From there, he must make the audience care about the hero so that when he gets in trouble, they suffer too. Tension develops when the hero keeps trying to do right, only to land in deeper trouble. How will he get out of it this time? Lee often wondered this too! But by introducing complex situations and surprises, readers are taken on quite a journey that offers big relief and enjoyment when the payoff occurs.
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  • All I had to see is Stan Lee and I had to watch it
  • Thanks Sir, This is as much a great honor as it is informative. But the real benefit for me is to have the opportunity to listen to you talk and teach literary expertise to a girl who was born thousands of miles away in Sub-Saharan Africa like me...now that is really priceless.
  • Thanks, Stan. I don't think my book counts as a thriller, like your writing. It's just the story of farm life in the depression years. Even so, I tried to make the isolated events come to life and show the excitement that could be FELT.
  • Hi Mr. Stan Lee....We are both writers, and share the same Birthday !! I have been collecting comics since I was six years old, and still have them. I am 48 years old now, and still enjoy your work. Please look ove3r my book ENDLESS SHADOWS and tell me what you think. Thank You. Daniel Albert Young
  • This was very helpful and supportive of the ceative imagination. Thanks